@openuidev/cli

A command-line tool for scaffolding OpenUI chat apps and generating system prompts or JSON schemas from library definitions.

Installation

# Run without installing
npx @openuidev/cli@latest <command>

# Or install globally
npm install -g @openuidev/cli
pnpm add -g @openuidev/cli
yarn global add @openuidev/cli
bun add -g @openuidev/cli

openui create

Scaffolds a new Next.js app pre-configured with OpenUI Chat.

openui create [options]

Options

When run interactively (default), the CLI prompts for any missing options. Pass --no-interactive in CI or scripted environments to surface missing required flags as errors instead.

What it does

1. Copies the bundled openui-chat Next.js template into <name>/
2. Rewrites workspace:* dependency versions to latest
3. Auto-detects your package manager (npm, pnpm, yarn, bun)
4. Installs dependencies
5. Optionally installs the OpenUI agent skill for AI coding assistants (e.g. Claude, Cursor, Copilot)

The generated project includes a generate:prompt script that runs openui generate as part of dev and build.

Agent skill

When run interactively, openui create asks whether to install the OpenUI agent skill. The skill teaches AI coding assistants how to build with OpenUI Lang — covering component definitions, system prompts, the Renderer, and debugging.

Pass --skill or --no-skill to skip the prompt. In --no-interactive mode the skill is skipped unless --skill is explicitly passed.

Examples

# Interactive — prompts for project name and skill installation
openui create

# Non-interactive
openui create --name my-app
openui create --no-interactive --name my-app

# Explicitly install or skip the agent skill
openui create --name my-app --skill
openui create --name my-app --no-skill

openui generate

Generates a system prompt or JSON schema from a file that exports a createLibrary() result.

openui generate [entry] [options]

Arguments

Options

Examples

# Print system prompt to stdout
openui generate ./src/library.ts

# Write system prompt to a file
openui generate ./src/library.ts --out ./src/generated/system-prompt.txt

# Output JSON schema instead
openui generate ./src/library.ts --json-schema

# Explicit export names
openui generate ./src/library.ts --export myLibrary --prompt-options myOptions

Export auto-detection

The CLI bundles the entry file with esbuild before evaluating it. CSS, SVG, image, and font imports are stubbed automatically.

If --export is not provided, the CLI searches the module's exports in this order:

1. An export named library
2. The default export
3. Any export whose value has both a .prompt() method and a .toJSONSchema() method

If --prompt-options is not provided, the CLI looks for:

1. An export named promptOptions
2. An export named options
3. Any export whose name ends with PromptOptions (case-insensitive)

A valid PromptOptions value has at least one of: examples (string array), additionalRules (string array), or preamble (string).

PromptOptions type

interface PromptOptions {
  preamble?: string;
  additionalRules?: string[];
  examples?: string[];
  toolExamples?: string[];
  editMode?: boolean;
  inlineMode?: boolean;
  /** Enable Query(), Mutation(), @Run, built-in functions. Default: true if tools provided. */
  toolCalls?: boolean;
  /** Enable $variables, @Set, @Reset, built-in functions. Default: true if toolCalls. */
  bindings?: boolean;
}

Built-in functions (@Count, @Filter, @Sort, @Each, etc.) are included in the prompt only when toolCalls or bindings is enabled. For static UI examples without data fetching, they are omitted to keep the prompt focused.

Pass this as a named export alongside your library to customise the generated system prompt without hard-coding it into createLibrary.

// src/library.ts
import { createLibrary } from "@openuidev/react-lang";
import type { PromptOptions } from "@openuidev/react-lang";

export const library = createLibrary({ components: [...] });

export const promptOptions: PromptOptions = {
  preamble: "You are a dashboard builder...",
  additionalRules: ["Always use compact variants for table cells."],
};

openui generate ./src/library.ts --out src/generated/system-prompt.txt

See also