Command Line Interface (CLI)

Strapi comes with a full featured Command Line Interface (CLI) which lets you scaffold and manage your project in seconds. The CLI works with both the yarn and npm package managers.

Caution

Interactive commands such as strapi admin:create-user don't display prompts with npm. A fix for the npm package manager is anticipated by March 2023. In the meantime, consider using the yarn package manager.

Note

It is recommended to install Strapi locally only, which requires prefixing all of the following strapi commands with the package manager used for the project setup (e.g npm run strapi help or yarn strapi help) or a dedicated node package executor (e.g. npx strapi help).

To pass options with npm use the syntax: npm run strapi <command> -- --<option>.

To pass options with yarn use the syntax: yarn strapi <command> --<option>

ℹ️ Strapi v4 CLI commands removed from Strapi 5:

The strapi install, strapi uninstall, strapi new, and strapi watch-admin commands from Strapi v4 have been removed in Strapi 5:

Strapi v4 command	Strapi 5 equivalent
`strapi install [plugin]`	Use the npx command corresponding to the plugin (found on the Marketplace, see User Guide)
`strapi new`	Use the equivalent yarn or npx command to create a new Strapi project (see CLI installation guide)
`strapi watch-admin`	`yarn develop` or `npm run develop` always starts the Strapi server in "watch-admin" mode. To disable this in Strapi 5, run `yarn develop --no-watch-admin` or `npm run develop --no-watch-admin`.

strapi develop

Alias: dev

Start a Strapi application with auto-reloading enabled.

Strapi modifies/creates files at runtime and needs to restart when new files are created. To achieve this, strapi develop adds a file watcher and restarts the application when necessary.

Strapi also adds middlewares to support HMR (Hot Module Replacement) for the administration panel. This allows you to customize the administration panel without having to restart the application or run a separate server.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi develop
options: [--no-build |--no-watch-admin |--browser |--debug |--silent]

npm run strapi develop
options: [--no-build |--no-watch-admin |--browser |--debug |--silent]

strapi develop --open
Starts your application with auto-reloading enabled & open your default browser with the administration panel running.
strapi develop --no-watch-admin
Prevents the server from auto-reload when changes are made to the admin panel code.
[DEPRECATED] strapi develop --no-build
Starts your application with the auto-reloading enabled and skip the administration panel build process
[DEPRECATED] strapi develop --watch-admin
Starts your application with the auto-reloading enabled and the front-end development server. It allows you to customize the administration panel.
[DEPRECATED] strapi develop --watch-admin --browser 'google chrome'
Starts your application with the auto-reloading enabled and the front-end development server. It allows you to customize the administration panel. Provide a browser name to use instead of the default one, false means stop opening the browser.

Warning

You should never use this command to run a Strapi application in production.

strapi start

Start a Strapi application with auto-reloading disabled.

This command is to run a Strapi application without restarts and file writes, primarily for use in production. Certain features such as the Content-type Builder are disabled in the strapi start mode because they require application restarts. The start command can be prefaced with environment variables to customize the application start.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi start

npm run strapi start

strapi build

Builds your admin panel.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi build

npm run strapi build

Option	Type	Description
`-d, --debug`	-	Enable debugging mode with verbose logs (default: false)
`--minify`	-	Minify the output (default: true)
`--no-optimization`	-	[DEPRECATED]: use minify instead
`--silent`	-	Don't log anything (default: false)
`--sourcemaps`	-	Produce sourcemaps (default: false)
`--stats`	-	Print build statistics to the console (default: false)

Logs in to Strapi Cloud (see Cloud CLI documentation).

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi login

npm run strapi login

strapi logout

Logs out from Strapi Cloud (see Cloud CLI documentation).

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi logout

npm run strapi logout

strapi deploy

Deploys to Strapi Cloud (see Cloud CLI documentation).

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi deploy

npm run strapi deploy

strapi export

Exports your project data. The default settings create a .tar file, compressed using gzip and encrypted using aes-128-ecb.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi export

npm run strapi export

The exported file is automatically named using the format export_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS with the current date and timestamp. Alternately, you can specify the filename using the -f or --file flag. The following table provides all of the available options as command line flags:

Option	Type	Description
`‑‑no‑encrypt`	-	Disables file encryption and disables the `key` option.
`‑‑no‑compress`	-	Disables file compression.
`-k`, `--key`	string	Passes the encryption key as part of the `export` command. The `--key` option can't be combined with `--no-encrypt`.
`-f`, `--file`	string	Specifies the export filename. Do not include a file extension.
`--exclude`	string	Exclude data using comma-separated data types. The available types are: `content`, `files`, and `config`.
`--only`	string	Include only these data. The available types are: `content`, `files`, and `config`.
`-h`, `--help`	-	Displays help for the `strapi export` command.

Examples

Yarn
NPM

Examples of strapi export:
# export your data with the default options and the filename myData, which results in a file named myData.tar.gz.enc.
yarn strapi export -f myData

# export your data without encryption.
yarn strapi export --no-encrypt

Examples of strapi export:
# export your data with the default options and the filename myData, which results in a file named myData.tar.gz.enc.
npm run strapi export -- -f myData

# export your data without encryption.
npm run strapi export -- --no-encrypt

strapi import

Imports data into your project. The imported data must originate from another Strapi application. You must pass the --file option to specify the filename and location for the import action.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi import

npm run strapi import

Option	Type	Description
`-k,` `--key`	string	Provide the encryption key in the command instead of a subsequent prompt.
`-f`, `--file`	string	Path and filename with extension for the data to be imported.
`-h`, `--help`	-	Display the `strapi import` help commands.

Examples

Yarn
NPM

Example of strapi import:

# import your data with the default parameters and pass an encryption key:
yarn strapi import -f your-filepath-and-filename --key my-key

Example of strapi import:

# import your data with the default parameters and pass an encryption key:
npm run strapi import -- -f your-filepath-and-filename --key my-key

strapi transfer

Transfers data between 2 Strapi instances. This command is primarily intended for use between a local instance and a remote instance or 2 remote instances. The transfer command requires a Transfer token, which is generated in the destination instance Admin panel. See the User Guide for detailed documentation on creating Transfer tokens.

Caution

The destination Strapi instance should be running with the start command and not the develop command.

Option	Description
`--to [destinationURL]`	Full URL of the `/admin` endpoint on the destination Strapi instance (e.g. `--to https://my-beautiful-strapi-website/admin`)
`--to-token [transferToken]`	Transfer token for the remote Strapi destination
`--from [sourceURL]`	Full URL of the `/admin` endpoint of the remote Strapi instance to pull data from (e.g., `--from https://my-beautiful-strapi-website/admin`)
`‑‑from‑token`	Transfer token from the Strapi source instance.
`--force`	Automatically answer "yes" to all prompts, including potentially destructive requests, and run non-interactively.
`--exclude`	Exclude data using comma-separated data types. The available types are: `content`, `files`, and `config`.
`--only`	Include only these data. The available types are: `content`, `files`, and `config`.
`-h`, `--help`	Displays the commands for `strapi transfer`.

Caution

Either --to or --from is required, but it's not currently allowed to enter both or neither.

Example

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi transfer --to http://example.com/admin --to-token my-transfer-token

npm run strapi transfer -- --to http://example.com/admin --to-token my-transfer-token

strapi report

Prints out debug information useful for debugging and required when reporting an issue.

Option	Description
`-u`, `--uuid`	Includes the project UUID
`-d`, `--dependencies`	Includes project dependencies
`--all`	Logs all the data

Examples

Yarn
NPM

# To include the project UUID and dependencies in the output:
yarn strapi report --uuid --dependencies

# To log everything, use the --all option:
yarn strapi report --all

# To include the project UUID and dependencies in the output:
npm run strapi report -- --uuid --dependencies

# To log everything, use the --all option:
npm run strapi report -- --all

strapi configuration:dump

Alias: config:dump

Dumps configurations to a file or stdout to help you migrate to production.

The dump format will be a JSON array.

Yarn
NPM

strapi configuration:dump
yarn strapi configuration:dump

Options:
  -f, --file <file>  Output file, default output is stdout
  -p, --pretty       Format the output JSON with indentation and line breaks (default: false)

strapi configuration:dump
npm run strapi configuration:dump

Options:
  -f, --file <file>  Output file, default output is stdout
  -p, --pretty       Format the output JSON with indentation and line breaks (default: false)

Examples

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi configuration:dump -f dump.json
yarn strapi config:dump --file dump.json
yarn strapi config:dump > dump.json

npm run strapi configuration:dump -- -f dump.json
npm run strapi config:dump -- --file dump.json
npm run strapi config:dump > dump.json

All these examples are equivalent.

Caution

When configuring your application you often enter credentials for third party services (e.g authentication providers). Be aware that those credentials will also be dumped into the output of this command. In case of doubt, you should avoid committing the dump file into a versioning system. Here are some methods you can explore:

Copy the file directly to the environment you want and run the restore command there.
Put the file in a secure location and download it at deploy time with the right credentials.
Encrypt the file before committing and decrypt it when running the restore command.

strapi configuration:restore

Alias: config:restore

Restores a configuration dump into your application.

The input format must be a JSON array.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi configuration:restore

Options:
  -f, --file <file>          Input file, default input is stdin
  -s, --strategy <strategy>  Strategy name, one of: "replace", "merge", "keep". Defaults to: "replace"

npm run strapi configuration:restore

Options:
  -f, --file <file>          Input file, default input is stdin
  -s, --strategy <strategy>  Strategy name, one of: "replace", "merge", "keep". Defaults to: "replace"

Examples

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi configuration:restore -f dump.json
yarn strapi config:restore --file dump.json -s replace
yarn strapi config:restore < dump.json

npm run strapi configuration:restore -- -f dump.json
npm run strapi config:restore -- --file dump.json -s replace
npm run strapi config:restore < dump.json

All these examples are equivalent.

Strategies

When running the restore command, you can choose from three different strategies:

replace: Will create missing keys and replace existing ones.
merge: Will create missing keys and merge existing keys with their new value.
keep: Will create missing keys and keep existing keys as is.

strapi admin:create-user

Alias admin:create

Creates an administrator. Administrator's first name, last name, email, and password can be:

passed as options
or set interactively if you call the command without passing any option.

Example

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi admin:create-user --firstname=Kai --lastname=Doe --email=chef@strapi.io --password=Gourmet1234

npm run strapi admin:create-user -- --firstname=Kai --lastname=Doe --email=chef@strapi.io --password=Gourmet1234

Options

Option	Type	Description	Required
-f, --firstname	string	The administrator's first name	Yes
-l, --lastname	string	The administrator's last name	No
-e, --email	string	The administrator's email	Yes
-p, --password	string	New password for the administrator	No
-h, --help		display help for command

strapi admin:reset-user-password

Alias admin:reset-password

Reset an admin user's password. You can pass the email and new password as options or set them interactively if you call the command without passing the options.

Example

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi admin:reset-user-password --email=chef@strapi.io --password=Gourmet1234

npm run strapi admin:reset-user-password -- --email=chef@strapi.io --password=Gourmet1234

Options

Option	Type	Description
-e, --email	string	The user email
-p, --password	string	New password for the user
-h, --help		display help for command

strapi generate

Run a fully interactive CLI to generate APIs, controllers, content-types, plugins, policies, middlewares and services, and migrations.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi generate

npm run strapi generate

strapi templates:generate

Create a template from the current Strapi project.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi templates:generate <path>

npm run strapi templates:generate <path>

strapi templates:generate <path>
Generates a Strapi template at <path>

Example: strapi templates:generate ../strapi-template-name will copy the required files and folders to a template directory inside ../strapi-template-name

strapi ts:generate-types

Generate TypeScript typings for the project schemas.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi ts:generate-types

npm run strapi ts:generate-types

strapi ts:generate-types --debug
Generate typings with the debug mode enabled, displaying a detailed table of the generated schemas.
strapi ts:generate-types --silent or strapi ts:generate-types -s
Generate typings with the silent mode enabled, completely removing all the logs in the terminal. Cannot be combined with debug
strapi ts:generate-types --out-dir <path> or strapi ts:generate-types -o <path>
Generate typings specifying the output directory in which the file will be created.

Caution

Strapi requires the project types to be generated in the types directory for them to work. The --out-dir option should not be used for most cases. However, it can be useful for cases such as generating a second copy to compare the difference between your existing and updated types after changing your content structure.

strapi routes:list

Display a list of all the available routes.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi routes:list

npm run strapi routes:list

strapi policies:list

Display a list of all the registered policies.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi policies:list

npm run strapi policies:list

strapi middlewares:list

Display a list of all the registered middlewares.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi middlewares:list

npm run strapi middlewares:list

strapi content-types:list

Display a list of all the existing content-types.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi content-types:list

npm run strapi content-types:list

strapi hooks:list

Display a list of all the available hooks.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi hooks:list

npm run strapi hooks:list

strapi controllers:list

Display a list of all the registered controllers.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi controllers:list

npm run strapi controllers:list

strapi services:list

Display a list of all the registered services.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi services:list

npm run strapi services:list

strapi telemetry:disable

Disable data collection for the project (see Usage Information).

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi telemetry:disable

npm run strapi telemetry:disable

strapi telemetry:enable

Re-enable data collection for the project after it was disabled (see Usage Information).

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi telemetry:enable

npm run strapi telemetry:enable

strapi console

Start the server and eval commands in your application in real time.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi console

npm run strapi console

strapi version

Print the currently installed Strapi version. It will output the current globally installed version if this command is strapi is installed globally, or the current version of Strapi within a Strapi project if the command is run from a given folder containing a Strapi project.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi version

npm run strapi version

strapi help

List CLI commands.

Yarn
NPM

yarn strapi help

npm run strapi help

strapi develop​

strapi start​

strapi build​

strapi login​

strapi logout​

strapi deploy​

strapi export​

strapi import​

strapi transfer​

strapi report​

strapi configuration:dump​

strapi configuration:restore​

strapi admin:create-user​

strapi admin:reset-user-password​

strapi generate​

strapi templates:generate​

strapi ts:generate-types​

strapi routes:list​

strapi policies:list​

strapi middlewares:list​

strapi content-types:list​

strapi hooks:list​

strapi controllers:list​

strapi services:list​

strapi telemetry:disable​

strapi telemetry:enable​

strapi console​

strapi version​

strapi help​

strapi develop

strapi start

strapi build

strapi login

strapi logout

strapi deploy

strapi export

strapi import

strapi transfer

strapi report

strapi configuration:dump

strapi configuration:restore

strapi admin:create-user

strapi admin:reset-user-password

strapi generate

strapi templates:generate

strapi ts:generate-types

strapi routes:list

strapi policies:list

strapi middlewares:list

strapi content-types:list

strapi hooks:list

strapi controllers:list

strapi services:list

strapi telemetry:disable

strapi telemetry:enable

strapi console

strapi version

strapi help