cli

bunli

The Bunli CLI toolchain for developing, building, and distributing CLI applications.

Installation

bun add -g bunli

Usage

Development

Run your CLI in development mode with hot reloading and automatic type generation:

bunli dev

# With custom entry file
bunli dev --entry src/mycli.ts

# Enable debugging
bunli dev --inspect

# Custom debug port
bunli dev --inspect --port 9230

# Pass arguments to your CLI
bunli dev -- --help

Development options:

• --entry, -e - Entry file (defaults to auto-detect)
• --watch, -w - Watch for changes (default: true)
• --inspect, -i - Enable debugger
• --port, -p - Debugger port (default: 9229)
• --generate - Enable/disable code generation (default: true)
• --clearScreen - Clear screen on reload (default: true)

Note: Development mode automatically generates TypeScript definitions from your commands when codegen is enabled in your config.

Building

Build your CLI for production with automatic type generation:

# Traditional build (requires Bun runtime)
bunli build

# Build standalone executables for specific platforms
bunli build --targets darwin-arm64,linux-x64

# Build for the current platform only
bunli build --targets native

# Build for all supported platforms
bunli build --targets all

Note: The build process automatically generates TypeScript definitions from your commands before building when codegen is enabled in your config.

Type Generation

Generate TypeScript definitions from your CLI commands for enhanced developer experience:

# Generate types once
bunli generate

# Generate types and watch for changes
bunli generate --watch

# Explicit command discovery entry
bunli generate --entry ./src/cli.ts

# Optional fallback directory
bunli generate --directory ./src/commands

# Custom output file
bunli generate --output ./types/commands.gen.ts

Generate options:

• --entry, -e - CLI entry file used for command discovery
• --directory - Optional fallback command source directory
• --output, -o - Output file path (default: ./.bunli/commands.gen.ts)
• --watch, -w - Watch for changes and regenerate

The generator creates type-safe command definitions with:

• Autocomplete for command names and options
• Type safety at compile time
• IntelliSense for command metadata
• Helper functions for command discovery

Available Commands

• bunli init - Initialize a new Bunli CLI project
• bunli dev - Run CLI in development mode with hot reloading
• bunli build - Build your CLI for production
• bunli generate - Generate TypeScript definitions from commands
• bunli doctor completions - Validate generated completion metadata
• bunli test - Run tests with Bun test runner
• bunli release - Release your CLI package

Project Initialization

Create a new Bunli CLI project:

# Interactive setup
bunli init

# With project name
bunli init my-cli

# Advanced template
bunli init my-cli --template advanced

# Specify directory
bunli init --name my-cli --dir ./projects

# Skip git/install
bunli init --git false --install false

Init options:

• --name, -n - Project name
• --template, -t - Project template (basic/advanced/monorepo)
• --dir, -d - Directory to create project in
• --git, -g - Initialize git repository (default: true)
• --install - Install dependencies (default: true)
• --package-manager, -p - Package manager to use (bun/pnpm/yarn/npm)

Testing

Run tests for your CLI:

# Run all tests
bunli test

# Watch mode
bunli test --watch

# Generate coverage
bunli test --coverage

# Run tests in all workspace packages
bunli test --all

Test options:

• --pattern, -p - Test file patterns
• --watch, -w - Watch for changes
• --coverage, -c - Generate coverage report
• --bail, -b - Stop on first failure
• --timeout - Test timeout in milliseconds
• --all - Run tests in all packages (workspace mode)

Releasing

Create a release of your CLI:

# Interactive release
bunli release

# Specific version bump
bunli release --version patch
bunli release --version minor
bunli release --version major
bunli release --version 2.0.0

# Dry run
bunli release --dry

# Ignore unfinished release state and start fresh
bunli release --resume=false

# Disable npm publish explicitly
bunli release --npm=false

# Create GitHub release entry
bunli release --github=true

Release options:

• --version, -v - Version to release (patch/minor/major/x.y.z)
• --tag, -t - Git tag format
• --npm - Publish to npm (--npm=false to disable)
• --github - Create GitHub release (--github=true to enable)
• --resume - Resume unfinished release state (--resume=false to start fresh)
• --dry, -d - Dry run (runs npm publish with --dry-run when npm publish is enabled)
• --all - Workspace release mode (currently not implemented; exits with error)

Note: bunli release supports npm package release flows, including binary package distribution via release.binary (optionalDependencies + shim launcher). For standalone GitHub release assets, checksums, and Homebrew automation, use the bunli-releaser GitHub Action.

Resume behavior notes:

• On failed non-dry runs, Bunli writes checkpoint state to .bunli/release-state.json.
• Next bunli release auto-resumes from that state (with an interactive prompt in TTY shells).
• Side-effectful steps (git tag/push, npm publish, GitHub release) are probed and skipped when already complete.
• Successful release clears .bunli/release-state.json.
• --no-resume is unsupported; use --resume=false.

Build Options

The build command supports several options:

• --entry, -e - Entry file (defaults to auto-detect)
• --outdir, -o - Output directory (default: ./dist)
• --outfile - Output filename (for single executable)
• --targets, -t - Target platforms for compilation (comma-separated)
• --minify, -m - Minify output (default: true)
• --sourcemap, -s - Generate sourcemaps
• --bytecode - Enable bytecode compilation (experimental)
• --runtime, -r - Runtime target for non-compiled builds (bun/node)
• --watch, -w - Watch for changes

Standalone Executables

Bunli creates standalone executables when you specify target platforms. This bundles your CLI application with the Bun runtime into a single binary that can run without requiring Bun to be installed.

# Build for specific platforms
bunli build --targets darwin-arm64,linux-x64,windows-x64

# Build for current platform only
bunli build --targets native

# Build for all platforms
bunli build --targets all

Supported platforms:

• darwin-arm64 - macOS Apple Silicon
• darwin-x64 - macOS Intel
• linux-arm64 - Linux ARM64
• linux-x64 - Linux x64
• windows-x64 - Windows x64

Configuration

Create a bunli.config.ts file in your project root:

import { defineConfig } from "bunli";

export default defineConfig({
  name: "my-cli",
  version: "1.0.0",

  commands: {
    entry: "./src/cli.ts",
    directory: "./src/commands", // optional fallback hint
  },

  build: {
    entry: "./src/cli.ts",
    outdir: "./dist",
    targets: ["darwin-arm64", "linux-x64"], // Compile for these platforms
    compress: true, // Compress multi-platform builds
    minify: true,
    external: ["some-native-module"],
  },

  dev: {
    watch: true,
    inspect: false,
  },

  tui: {
    renderer: {
      bufferMode: "alternate", // or 'standard'
    },
  },
});

Default tui.renderer.bufferMode policy:

• 'standard' by default
• set 'alternate' explicitly for fullscreen/blocking terminal flows

Build Behavior

The build system works as follows:

1. No targets specified → Traditional JavaScript build

   • Creates bundled .js files with shebangs
   • Requires Bun (or Node.js) runtime to execute
   • Supports multiple entry points

2. Targets specified → Standalone executables

   • Creates native binaries with embedded Bun runtime
   • No runtime dependencies required
   • Single entry point only
   • Platform-specific subdirectories for multiple targets

Development

To work on Bunli itself:

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Run in development
bun run dev

# Build
bun run build

# Run tests
bun test

License

MIT