openui-cli

@openuidev/cli

Command-line tool for OpenUI — scaffold AI-powered generative UI chat apps and generate LLM system prompts from your React component libraries.

It currently supports two workflows:

• scaffolding a new OpenUI Chat app
• generating a system prompt or JSON Schema from a createLibrary() export

Install

Run the CLI with your package manager of choice:

npx @openuidev/cli --help
pnpm dlx @openuidev/cli --help
bunx @openuidev/cli --help

Quick Start

Create a new chat app:

npx @openuidev/cli@latest create

Generate a prompt from a library file:

npx @openuidev/cli generate ./src/library.ts

Generate JSON Schema instead:

npx @openuidev/cli generate ./src/library.ts --json-schema

Commands

openui create

Scaffolds a new Next.js app with OpenUI Chat.

openui create [options]

Options:

• -n, --name <string>: Project name
• --no-interactive: Fail instead of prompting for missing required input

What it does:

• prompts for the project name if you do not pass --name
• copies the bundled openui-chat template into a new directory
• rewrites workspace:* dependencies in the generated package.json to latest
• installs dependencies automatically using the detected package manager

Examples:

openui create
openui create
openui create --no-interactive

openui generate

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

openui generate [options] [entry]

Arguments:

• entry: Path to a .ts, .tsx, .js, or .jsx file that exports a library

Options:

• -o, --out <file>: Write output to a file instead of stdout
• --json-schema: Output JSON Schema instead of the system prompt
• --export <name>: Use a specific export name instead of auto-detecting the library export
• --prompt-options <name>: Use a specific PromptOptions export name (auto-detected by default)
• --no-interactive: Fail instead of prompting for a missing entry

What it does:

• prompts for the entry file path if you do not pass one
• bundles the entry with esbuild before evaluating it in Node
• supports both TypeScript and JavaScript entry files
• stubs common asset imports such as CSS, SVG, images, and fonts during bundling
• auto-detects the exported library by checking library, default, and then all exports
• auto-detects a PromptOptions export (with examples, additionalRules, or preamble) and passes it to library.prompt()

Examples:

openui generate ./src/library.ts
openui generate ./src/library.ts --json-schema
openui generate ./src/library.ts --export library
openui generate ./src/library.ts --out ./artifacts/system-prompt.txt
openui generate ./src/library.ts --prompt-options myPromptOptions
openui generate --no-interactive ./src/library.ts

How generate resolves exports

openui generate expects the target module to export a library object with both prompt() and toJSONSchema() methods.

If --export is not provided, it looks for exports in this order:

1. library
2. default
3. any other export that matches the expected library shape

PromptOptions auto-detection

If --prompt-options is not provided, the CLI looks for a PromptOptions export in this order:

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

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

Local Development

Build the CLI locally:

pnpm run build

Run the built CLI:

node dist/index.js --help
node dist/index.js create --help
node dist/index.js generate --help

Notes

• interactive prompts can be cancelled without creating output
• create requires the template files to be present in the built package
• generate exits with a non-zero code if the file is missing or no valid library export is found

Documentation

Full documentation and guides are available at openui.com.

License

MIT