CLI Basics

The leadcms command‑line interface provides a set of tools to initialise your project, synchronise content, generate deployment templates and more. All commands can be run through your package manager if the SDK is installed locally or globally. Use --help on any command to see its options.

Core commands

• init – Interactive setup wizard. Connects to your LeadCMS instance, detects languages, configures directories and creates a .env file. See SDK Setup for details.
• login – Authenticates the CLI for write access. Opens a browser for device authentication (v1.2.88+) or guides you through manual token extraction on older versions. Stores the API key in your .env file.
• pull – Downloads all content, media and comments from LeadCMS into your local directories. Uses incremental sync tokens to transfer only changed items on subsequent runs. See Pull Content for more information.
• pull-content – Downloads only content files (MDX/JSON) without media or comments. Useful when you want to refresh text and metadata but not assets.
• pull-media – Downloads only media files into your configured media directory. Run this after updating images in the CMS.
• pull-comments – Downloads only comments. Use when you have user feedback but no content changes.
• status – Shows the difference between your local content and the remote CMS. It lists new, modified, renamed, type‑changed and conflicted files without making changes. See Status for details.
• push – Synchronises your local content with LeadCMS. Detects new files, updates and renames, and prompts for confirmation before applying changes. Supports creating missing content types interactively. See Push Content for details.
• watch – Watches your local files and pulls remote updates on the fly. Use this to develop a live preview server that reflects changes in both directions. See the Preview Setup and Deploy guides for configuration.
• docker – Generates Docker files and templates for deploying your static site and preview environment. Produces production and preview Dockerfiles, nginx configuration and helper scripts.
• version/-v/--version – Displays the installed SDK version.
• help – Shows general help or command‑specific usage information.

Run any command with --help to see its options. For example:

pnpm exec leadcms push --help

Outputs detailed descriptions of parameters such as --dry-run, --force, --slug, --id, and --preview.

Workflow overview

In most projects your CLI workflow follows this pattern:

1. Initialise – Run leadcms init once per project to create a .env file and optional config file.
2. Authenticate – Run leadcms login if you need to push changes back to the CMS.
3. Pull – Use leadcms pull (or pull-content, pull-media, pull-comments) to populate and keep your local files in sync.
4. Work offline – Edit MDX/JSON files, add new content, update slugs and structure using your editor.
5. Check status – Run leadcms status to see what will change and resolve any conflicts.
6. Push – Run leadcms push to apply your local updates to LeadCMS. Use --dry-run or --force options as needed.

Common CLI Commands:

# Initialize project
pnpm exec leadcms init

# Authenticate for write access
pnpm exec leadcms login

# Pull all content, media, and comments
pnpm exec leadcms pull

# Check status before pushing
pnpm exec leadcms status

# Push local changes to CMS
pnpm exec leadcms push

Additional commands like watch and docker support previewing changes in real time and creating deployment artefacts. See the Preview Setup and deployment guides for more details.

Next steps

Now that you understand the CLI basics, dive deeper into specific operations: