CLI

The dbx binary is composed from framework-agnostic command descriptors. Commands that run against a project load its dbx.config.ts first, so config-derived defaults apply unless you override them on the command line.

Global flags

Flag	Description
--log-level <lvl>	Minimum log level: debug, info, warn, error, silent.
--color	Force coloured output (the default).
--no-color	Disable coloured output.
--no-update-check	Do not check for a newer dbx version.
--config <file>	Use a specific config file instead of discovering one.
--no-config	Ignore config files and use CLI flags/env defaults only.

These override the logger config and may appear before or after the subcommand. --config resolves relative to the current directory (absolute paths are used as-is); --no-config skips discovery entirely (including inherited parent configs).

dbx checks the npm registry in the background (about once a day) and prints a short notice with a link to the release when a newer version is published. The check is skipped in CI and when NO_UPDATE_NOTIFIER or DBX_NO_UPDATE_CHECK is set, and can be turned off with --no-update-check.

Interactive CLI

The CLI is scriptable first: every prompt has a flag equivalent. In a TTY, however, some commands prompt when the flags are omitted:

dbx create                     # template + name + scope + template inputs/actions
dbx migrate --recursive        # choose the projects to migrate

dbx migrate detects migrations automatically without --from; the prompt is only the project picker for --recursive. --json, a piped stdin, or the explicit flags disable prompts. See Scaffolding and Migrations for the flag forms.

Output

Colour is on by default and follows --no-color / the logger config.

Core

Command	Description
projects	Discover projects and write .dbx/toolchain/projects.json.
sync	Regenerate every managed file (--check, --recursive, --watch, --force, --only, --json).
watch	Sync once, then watch key inputs and re-sync.
reset	Remove generated files, the manifest and/or the config (--all, --recursive); reverts tsconfig.overrides first.
providers	List registered providers + their commands (--json).

Task-only sync

dbx sync --only <tasks> runs just the named sync tasks (comma-separated) and does not prune files owned by the tasks it skipped. This is useful at the end of a build, when only the tsconfig aliases/references need refreshing:

dbx sync --only tsconfig

Unknown task names fail with the list of available tasks.

Scaffolding

Command	Description
project:init	A single-package TypeScript project (--package-manager).
project:init:monorepo	A monorepo root (add --example for one example workspace).
project:init:workspace	A workspace package into an existing monorepo root.
project:config	Generate dbx.config.* for projects missing one (TS/JS, --skip-config for graph only; folds vite.config.*).
create	Scaffold from a template (--template/--kind, --name, --scope, --out).

Templates that declare inputs/actions are prompted for them (--var key=value, --action <id>), see Templates.

On an interactive terminal, a bare dbx create (no --template/--kind/--name) prompts for the template, name and scope with clack; Ctrl-C cancels. See Templates.

Templates

Command	Description
template:list	List templates (--kind, --registry, --online, --json).
template:init	Write a template.json to a directory (--kind, --name, --add, --no-global).
template:add	Record a source (auto-inits local; --no-global keeps it project-only).
template:remove	Remove a source by id or type:locate.
template:registry	List/add/remove the global template search paths (--vscode-dir, --clear).
registry	List/add/remove/set template or provider registries (--kind, --scope).
template:info	Show one template.

See Templates.

Migrations

dbx migrate --from biome --write           # .oxfmtrc.json + .oxlintrc.json
dbx migrate --from biome --from prettier --write  # several sources
dbx migrate --from biome --target vite --write
dbx migrate --from oxc --write             # .oxfmtrc/.oxlintrc -> dbx.config
dbx migrate --from all                     # every detected source
dbx migrate --from vite --recursive --write  # migrate every detected project
dbx migrate --recursive                    # interactive project picker
dbx migrate --check                        # CI: exit 1 when stale
dbx migrate:list

See Migrations.

Tsconfig / cleanup / changelog / workflows

Command	Description
tsconfig	Regenerate workspace tsconfig.json files (--restore [kind] reverts overrides).
cleanup / cleanup:turbo	Remove build artifacts / the turbo cache.
changelog	Derive the semver bump and update CHANGELOG + versions.
workflow	Trigger generated workflows with their vendor CLI (gh, glab or az).

Workflows

dbx workflow [id…] runs every enabled workflow (or the named ids/custom ids/file names) with the CLI for its provider:

dbx workflow                    # every enabled workflow
dbx workflow ci release         # by id
dbx workflow deploy.yml         # by file name
dbx workflow --list --json      # ids, paths and providers
dbx workflow ci --ref main      # pass a branch/ref
dbx workflow ci --gh /path/to/gh --glab glab --az az

GitHub uses gh workflow run <file>, GitLab glab ci run (the project's configured CI file), and Azure az pipelines run --name <pipeline> (the file stem by default). When the matching CLI is not installed the command reports it and continues with the other workflows. See CI for the vendor workflow config.

Providers

Every provider subcommand is a passthrough. Vite+ commands are reachable both directly and through the vite namespace:

dbx fmt                 # the active formatter (vp fmt when Oxc)
dbx run -r build        # forwards to `vp run -r build`
dbx vite dev            # explicit namespace (always works)
dbx vite:build          # named alias for `vp build`

A bare dbx <command> is forwarded to Vite+ when the name (or a Vite+ alias) matches — built-in commands win, so dbx migrate stays the toolchain's migration. The vite command forwards its operands verbatim, so every Vite+ CLI command and flag is reachable.

Programmatic

The CLI is assembled from framework-agnostic command descriptors, so a consumer can build its own program (or reuse the routing helpers):

import {
    createCli,
    runCli,
    builtinCommands,
    registerToolchainCommands,
    withDefaultVite,
    extractConfigSelection,
    extractLogOptions,
} from '@deltabox/toolchain/cli';

Export	Description
createCli()	Build the dbx commander program (global flags + built-in commands).
runCli(argv?)	Parse and run the CLI (extracts logger flags, then defaults Vite+).
builtinCommands()	The commands built into the root CLI (config commands need an engine).
registerToolchainCommands(program, commands)	Wire ToolchainCommand[] descriptors onto a commander program.
withDefaultVite(argv, commandNames?)	Insert vite before a bare Vite+ command (built-ins win).
extractLogOptions(argv)	Pull --log-level / --color / --no-color out of argv.
extractConfigSelection(argv)	Pull --config <file> / --no-config out of argv.

extractLogOptions makes the logger flags work before or after the subcommand and stops at --, so a wrapped binary's own flags are never eaten. withDefaultVite powers the bare-command passthrough described above:

extractLogOptions(['node', 'dbx', 'sync', '--no-color']);
// { argv: ['node', 'dbx', 'sync'], options: { color: false } }

withDefaultVite(['node', 'dbx', 'fmt', '--check']);
// ['node', 'dbx', 'vite', 'fmt', '--check']

Config generator

The generic Zod/env config engine is not a dbx command: a consumer builds an engine with createConfigEngine and registers the config:* commands on its own CLI. See Config Generator.