Anvil CLI commands

Here you can find a list of the most useful Anvil CLI commands.

For the full list of commands and flags, run

anvil --help
anvil <command> --help

configure

Set up your default Anvil server, editor preferences, and login.

anvil configure

Use this when:

• you are setting up the CLI for the first time
• you want to run the guided setup again
• you want the guided setup instead of configuring pieces manually

checkout

Checkout an Anvil app locally using the interactive picker, the app’s URL in ANvil, or the app ID.

Alias: anvil co

anvil checkout [input] [directory]
anvil co [input] [directory]

Key options:

• -O, --open: open the app folder after checkout. If a preferredEditor is set, the app folder will open in that editor.
• -b, --branch <BRANCH>: check out a specific branch
• -Q, --query <QUERY>: prefill the interactive search

Examples:

anvil checkout https://anvil.works/build/apps/W36XUTXGNPDK6VEA my-app
anvil checkout W36XUTXGNPDK6VEA my-app --url anvil.works
anvil co -Q "dashboard"

Use this when:

• you want a fresh local copy of an app
• you want interactive app selection
• you want to start from an app URL copied from Anvil

If you need to work across multiple accounts or Anvil installations, see Advanced.

watch

Keep your local app folder synced with Anvil while you work.

anvil watch [path]

Key options:

• -A, --appid <APP_ID>: specify the app directly
• -s, --staged-only: sync only staged files
• -a, --auto: automatically handle some branch and sync transitions
• -O, --open: open the watched path in your preferred editor

Use this when:

• you want local edits to sync to Anvil
• you want compatible Anvil changes to sync back to your local files
• you are doing normal day-to-day local development

Other useful commands

Login and account fixes

• anvil login to log in again, or to a specific installation such as anvil login anvil.company.com
• anvil logout if the CLI is using the wrong account

Config commands

• anvil config list to check which server URL and CLI settings are currently in effect
• anvil config set <key> <value> to update a config value directly
• anvil config get <key> to inspect one config value directly
• anvil config reset to reset CLI configuration back to its defaults and clear saved logins

Troubleshooting and maintenance

• anvil version when troubleshooting
• anvil update if the CLI tells you a newer version is available
• anvil help <command> or anvil <command> --help for full command details

Do you still have questions?

Our Community Forum is full of helpful information and Anvil experts.