CLI Reference

Elide supports multiple sub-commands organized by function.

Usage Syntax

Usage:
  elide srcfile.{js|ts|jsx|tsx|py|kts...} [OPTIONS] [--] [ARG...]
  or:  elide {script} [OPTIONS] [--] [ARG...]
  or:  elide build|test|project [OPTIONS] [TASKS...]
  or:  elide info|help [OPTIONS]
  or:  elide run|serve [OPTIONS] [FILE] [ARG...]
  or:  elide javac|kotlinc|jar|javadoc|... [OPTIONS] [SOURCES...]

Manage, configure, and run polyglot applications with Elide.

Server Commands

`serve`

HTTP server with static file serving and an interactive TUI dashboard.

shell

$  elide serve ./public                          # serve static files
$  elide serve --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080 ./dist # custom bind
$  elide serve --no-tui ./public                  # plain log output

Flag	Default	Description
`--host <ADDR>`	`127.0.0.1`	Hostname or IP to bind to.
`--port <PORT>`	`3000`	Port to serve on.
`--no-tui`	`false`	Disable the TUI dashboard, use plain log output.

The subject argument is a directory to serve static files from.

`dev`

Development server with live-reload, file watching, and an interactive TUI dashboard. Automatically enables dev mode.

shell

$  elide dev ./public
$  elide dev --no-tui ./public
$  elide dev --no-watch ./public
$  elide dev --port 8080 ./public

Flag	Default	Description
`--host <ADDR>`	`127.0.0.1`	Hostname or IP to bind to.
`--port <PORT>`	`3000`	Port to serve on.
`--no-tui`	`false`	Disable the TUI dashboard.
`--no-watch`	`false`	Disable file watching.

Runner Commands

`run`

Run a script file or a snippet of code. Elide selects an appropriate language if given a clearly identifiable source file.

shell

$  elide run app.js
$  elide run script.py
$  elide run --debugger app.js
$  elide run --coverage app.js

Flag	Description
`—debugger[=MODE]`	Enable debugger (`auto`, `cdp`, `dap`).
`—profiler[=MODE]`	Enable profiler (`cputracing`, `cpusampling`).
`—coverage[=MODE]`	Enable code coverage collection.
`—lsp`	Enable LSP features.
`—insights`	Activate insight scripts.

`test`

Run a polyglot script, server, or interactive shell in test mode.

shell

$  elide test

Project Commands

`init`

Initialize a new Elide project.

shell

$  elide init

`build`

Run the project build or a build script.

shell

$  elide build
$  elide build --no-cache
$  elide build --inspect

Flag	Description
`—inspect`	Inspect the build.
`—no-cache`	Disable build cache.

`install`

Resolve and install all project dependencies.

shell

$  elide install
$  elide install --slim
$  elide install --with npm

Flag	Description
`—slim`	Slim installation mode.
`—with`	Additional ecosystems to install for.

`project`

Manage Elide projects defined by elide.pkl or other manifests.

shell

$  elide project

Licensing Commands

`pro`

Manage Elide Pro licensing.

Subcommands:

Command	Description
`pro activate`	Activate Elide Pro with a license token.
`pro use	FILE>`	Install an offline license key or file.
`pro whoami`	Display current license information.
`pro yeet`	Remove the current license.

shell

$  elide pro activate elide_pro_1234567890abcdef
$  elide pro use /path/to/license.key
$  elide pro whoami
$  elide pro yeet

Lifecycle Commands

`upgrade`

Self-update the Elide binary using TUF (The Update Framework) for verified, secure updates.

shell

$  elide upgrade
$  elide upgrade --check
$  elide upgrade --channel preview

Flag	Default	Description
`—check`	`false`	Check for updates without applying.
`—force`	`false`	Force update even if on latest version.
`—channel`	`release`	Release channel (`release`, `preview`, `nightly`).

`info`

Show information about the current Elide installation.

shell

$  elide info
$  elide info --cargo-lockfile   # print embedded Cargo.lock

Flag	Description
`—cargo-lockfile`	Print the embedded Cargo.lock and exit.

JVM Toolchain Commands

These commands expose embedded JVM tools. All accept tool-specific flags after --.

Command	Description
`javac`	Java compiler (up to JDK 25).
`kotlinc`	Kotlin compiler.
`jar`	Build and manage Java Archives.
`javadoc`	Generate Java documentation.
`javap`	Java class file disassembler.
`native-image`	GraalVM Native Image compiler.
`jib`	Container image builder for JVM/native apps.
`javaformat`	Java code formatter.
`ktfmt`	Kotlin code formatter.
`mvn`	Embedded Maven build tool.

shell

$  elide javac -- [JAVAC_OPTIONS] [SOURCES...]
$  elide kotlinc -- [KOTLINC_OPTIONS] [SOURCES...]
$  elide jar -- [TOOL_OPTIONS] [FILES...]
$  elide native-image [OPTIONS]

Developer Tools

`lsp`

Run an LSP (Language Server Protocol) instance for an Elide project.

shell

$  elide lsp

`mcp`

Run an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for an Elide project.

shell

$  elide mcp
$  elide mcp --mode stdio
$  elide mcp --mode http --host localhost --port 8123

Flag	Default	Description
`—mode`	none	Operating mode: `stdio` or `http`.
`—host`	`localhost`	Bind host (HTTP mode).
`—port`	`8123`	Bind port (HTTP mode).

`help`

Show the documentation you are reading right now in the terminal.

shell

$  elide help
$  elide help "something to search"

To show documentation in languages other than your own:

shell

$  elide help --lang fr
$  elide help -luk

To show all supported languages:

shell

$  elide help --languages

Global Options

All commands support these global options:

Option	Description
`-h, --help`	Show help text for any command.
`-V, --version`	Print version information and exit. On Linux x86_64, `--version` is intercepted before runtime init for instant response.
`-v, --verbose`	Enable verbose output (debug logging). Sets `ELIDE_LOG=debug`.
`--debug`	Activate debugging features and trace-level logging. Sets `ELIDE_LOG=trace`.
`-q, --quiet`	Squelch most output.
`-p, --project <PATH>`	Path to a specific project directory.
`--color`	Force color mode.
`--no-color`	Force no-color mode.
`--timeout <DURATION>`	Timeout to apply when exiting (human-readable, e.g. `30s`, `5m`).
`--locale <LOCALE>`	Override the display locale.
`--use-version <VERSION>`	Delegate to a specific installed Elide version.
`--ignore-version`	Ignore `.elideversion` and `--use-version`; run the current binary.
`--no-telemetry`	Disallow telemetry. Has no effect on unlicensed EAP builds.
`--no-sidecar`	Disable sidecar process; forces UDP fallback for telemetry on Linux.
`--cloud`	Enable cloud connection (overrides default for subcommand).
`--no-cloud`	Disable cloud connection.
`--no-native`	Disallow native access.
`--debugger[=MODE]`	Enable debugger (`auto`, `cdp`, `dap`).
`--profiler[=MODE]`	Enable profiler (`cputracing`, `cpusampling`).
`--coverage[=MODE]`	Enable code coverage.
`-X, --vm <KEY=VALUE>`	Set a VM/engine property (can be repeated).
`--insights <FILES>`	Activate insight scripts.
`--crash`	Immediately crash (for testing).
`--`	Separator between Elide options and positional parameters / script arguments.

Tip: Argfiles

Elide supports argument files (argfiles). Prefix a filename with @ to read options from that file, one per line. Arguments after -- are never expanded.

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	Successful execution or `--help` / `--version`.
`1`	Generic failure: invalid arguments, server error, configuration error, license gate block, EAP expired, initialization failure.
`2`	Exception in user code (guest language runtime error).

On Linux x86_64, --version exits via a raw syscall(exit_group, 0) before the Rust runtime initializes, so the exit code is always 0.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
`ELIDE_LOG`	Log level (`trace`, `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`). Overridden by `--verbose` and `--debug`.

CLI Reference

Usage Syntax

Server Commands

`serve`

`dev`

Runner Commands

`run`

`test`

Project Commands

`init`

`build`

`install`

`project`

Licensing Commands

`pro`

Lifecycle Commands

`upgrade`

`info`

JVM Toolchain Commands

Developer Tools

`lsp`

`mcp`

`help`

Global Options

Exit Codes

Environment Variables

See Also

Getting Started