Appwrite Command Line SDK

This SDK targets Appwrite server version 2.5.x as shipped on Appwrite Cloud. Self-hosted releases can lag behind Cloud — if you run an older self-hosted build, use a matching older SDK from previous releases when APIs differ.

The Appwrite CLI manages your Appwrite projects from the terminal. Create and link projects, deploy functions and sites, sync tables, buckets, teams and other resources through appwrite.config.json, and call any Appwrite API. For full API documentation and tutorials go to https://appwrite.io/docs

Installation

The Appwrite CLI is a command line tool to help you interact with the Appwrite API. You can install it with Homebrew, npm, Scoop or our install scripts, or download a native binary for your operating system and architecture.

macOS and Linux

Homebrew

brew install appwrite/appwrite/appwrite

Homebrew pulls the formula from the appwrite/homebrew-appwrite tap and downloads the native binary for your platform.

npm

npm install -g appwrite-cli

Install script

wget -q https://appwrite.io/cli/install.sh -O - | /bin/bash

Windows

PowerShell

iwr -useb https://appwrite.io/cli/install.ps1 | iex

Scoop

scoop install https://raw.githubusercontent.com/appwrite/sdk-for-cli/master/scoop/appwrite.config.json

The npm package also works on Windows:

npm install -g appwrite-cli

Verify the installation

appwrite -v

This prints the installed version, for example 28.7.0.

Shell completion

Install completion for your current shell:

appwrite completion install

You can also install completion for a specific shell:

appwrite completion install zsh
appwrite completion install bash
appwrite completion install fish

For zsh, ensure ~/.zfunc is in your fpath and compinit is loaded from your shell config.

Getting started

Sign in to Appwrite Cloud:

appwrite login

The CLI opens your browser and prints a one-time code to confirm there:

To sign in, confirm the code below in your browser:

  Code: <CODE>
  URL:  <VERIFICATION_URL>

Signed in as you@example.com on https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1

If the browser does not open, visit the URL yourself. Then create a project, or link the current directory to an existing one:

appwrite init project

This writes appwrite.config.json, which records the project and every resource the CLI manages for it. Commit it to version control. To skip the prompts, pass --organization-id, --project-id and --project-name. Use appwrite list-organizations and appwrite list-projects to look up IDs.

Add resources, then push them:

appwrite init function
appwrite push function

Self-hosted instances

Point login at your instance's API endpoint. Self-hosted instances sign in with email and password:

appwrite login --endpoint https://appwrite.example.com/v1

The CLI prompts for Enter your email and Enter your password, or takes them from --email and --password. If the account has multi-factor authentication, it then asks for a factor and a code. Pass them up front with --mfa (email, phone, totp or recoveryCode) and --code:

appwrite login --endpoint https://appwrite.example.com/v1 --email you@example.com --password "$PASSWORD" --mfa totp --code 123456

Requests to an instance with a self-signed certificate are rejected by default. If you trust the instance, allow its certificate for the active account:

appwrite client --self-signed true

Managing accounts

The CLI can keep several signed-in accounts, on Cloud and on self-hosted instances, and uses one at a time.

# Show the active account
appwrite whoami

# List every stored session and which one is active
appwrite sessions

# Sign in to another account without signing out of the current one
appwrite login --new

# Switch the active account, picking from a list
appwrite login --switch

# Switch without a prompt
appwrite login --switch --endpoint https://appwrite.example.com/v1 --email you@example.com

# Sign out of the active account
appwrite logout

logout revokes the session on the server before removing it locally.

Working with your project

init creates a resource in appwrite.config.json, pull copies resources from your project into it, and push applies it to your project.

Resource	init	pull	push
function	✓	✓	✓
site	✓	✓	✓
table	✓	✓	✓
bucket	✓	✓	✓
team	✓	✓	✓
topic	✓	✓	✓
webhook		✓	✓
settings		✓	✓
collection (legacy)	✓	✓	✓

Resource names also accept the plural, so appwrite push functions and appwrite push function are the same command.

Functions

appwrite init function

The CLI asks for a name, ID and runtime, copies the starter code for that runtime from appwrite/templates into functions/<name>, and adds the function to appwrite.config.json. Fetching the template needs git. Pass --name, --function-id and --runtime to skip the prompts, --source github to connect a GitHub repository instead of deploying local code, and --deploy to create and deploy the function straight away.

appwrite push function

push function asks which functions to deploy, creates or updates them, uploads the code and streams the build logs. Pass --function-id <ID> for one function or --all for every function, --with-variables to replace the function's variables with those in its .env file, --no-logs to skip the build logs, and --async to return without waiting for the deployment.

Sites

appwrite init site
appwrite push site

init site asks for a framework and can download its starter template. push site builds and deploys like push function; in a terminal it also prints a preview of the deployed page.

Everything at once

appwrite pull all
appwrite push all

push all pushes settings, buckets, teams, webhooks, topics, analytics, functions, sites and tables, in that order. It skips legacy collections.

Local development

Run a function locally in the same runtime container Appwrite uses. This needs Docker.

appwrite run function

The function is served at http://localhost:<port>/ and restarts when you edit its code. Useful flags:

Flag	Description
--function-id	Function to run, instead of choosing from a list
--port	Local port
--user-id	ID of a user to impersonate
--with-variables	Load the function's variables from your project
--no-reload	Don't restart when files change

Generating code

Generate a type-safe TypeScript SDK for the databases and tables in appwrite.config.json:

appwrite generate

Files are written to generated/ by default. Change it with --output.

Generate model types for your tables and collections:

appwrite types ./types

The language is detected from your project. Set it with --language: ts, js, php, kotlin, swift, java, dart, cs or python. Pass --strict to convert field names to the language's naming conventions.

AI agent skills

Install Appwrite skills for AI coding agents into .agents or .claude:

appwrite init skill

Without a terminal, pass the selection as flags:

appwrite init skill --all --agent .claude --method copy

--skill installs a single skill and can be repeated. init project also installs skills that match your project.

Calling the API

Every Appwrite API is available as appwrite <service> <command> [flags]:

appwrite users list
appwrite users create --user-id "unique()" --email hello@appwrite.io --password very_strong_password
appwrite functions create-execution --function-id <FUNCTION_ID> --body '{"hello":"world"}'

Pass JSON arguments as a single-quoted string with double-quoted keys and values. Repeat a flag to pass an array:

appwrite tablesdb create-row \
    --database-id <DATABASE_ID> \
    --table-id <TABLE_ID> \
    --row-id "unique()" \
    --data '{"name": "Walter White"}' \
    --permissions 'read("any")' \
    --permissions 'read("team:abc")'

List commands accept --filter (for example --filter 'email=hello@appwrite.io'), --sort-asc, --sort-desc, --limit and --offset.

Results are printed as a table. Use --json for filtered JSON or --raw for the full response. Secrets in the output are redacted unless you pass --show-secrets.

appwrite users list --json

To discover services, commands and their flags:

appwrite --help
appwrite users --help
appwrite users list --help

To inspect or reset the CLI's configuration:

# Show the endpoint, project and masked credentials in use
appwrite client --debug

# Sign out of every session and clear the configuration
appwrite client --reset

CI/CD

In CI, authenticate with an API key instead of signing in. Give the key the scopes for the resources you push.

name: Deploy

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    env:
      APPWRITE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK: 1
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install the Appwrite CLI
        run: npm install -g appwrite-cli

      - name: Configure the Appwrite CLI
        run: appwrite client --endpoint https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1 --key ${{ secrets.APPWRITE_API_KEY }}

      - name: Deploy
        run: |
          appwrite push tables --all --force
          appwrite push functions --all --force
          appwrite push sites --all --force

Without an interactive terminal, the CLI never waits for input: a prompt fails with the flag that answers it. --all selects every resource of that type and --force accepts confirmations, including activating new deployments.

An API key works for project resources, not for console-only commands. push all and push settings need a signed-in account, so push resources one type at a time.

These environment variables override appwrite.config.json, so one job can deploy to several projects:

Variable	Overrides
APPWRITE_ENDPOINT	Project endpoint. Must match the endpoint configured with appwrite client
APPWRITE_PROJECT_ID	Project ID
APPWRITE_ORGANIZATION_ID	Organization ID
APPWRITE_CONFIG_FILE	Config file, like --config-file
APPWRITE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK	Set to any value to skip the daily update check

Updating

appwrite update

The CLI updates itself the way it was installed: through npm, Homebrew or by replacing the standalone binary. appwrite update --manual prints the commands instead of running them.

Project configuration

The CLI reads project resources from appwrite.config.json. Large resource arrays can be split into smaller JSON files with includes:

{
    "projectId": "my-project",
    "includes": {
        "functions": "./appwrite/functions.json",
        "sites": "./appwrite/sites.json",
        "databases": "./appwrite/databases.json",
        "collections": "./appwrite/collections.json",
        "tablesDB": "./appwrite/tables-db.json",
        "tables": "./appwrite/tables.json",
        "buckets": "./appwrite/buckets.json",
        "teams": "./appwrite/teams.json",
        "webhooks": "./appwrite/webhooks.json",
        "topics": "./appwrite/topics.json",
        "messages": "./appwrite/messages.json",
        "analytics": "./appwrite/analytics.json"
    }
}

Each included file contains only the array for that resource. Include paths are resolved relative to appwrite.config.json, and resource-local paths inside an included file are resolved relative to that included file:

[
    {
        "$id": "api",
        "name": "API",
        "runtime": "node-22",
        "path": "functions/api",
        "entrypoint": "src/main.ts"
    }
]

JSON pointer fragments such as ./resources.json#/functions are not supported.

Multiple environments

Pass --config-file (or set APPWRITE_CONFIG_FILE) to use a config other than the nearest appwrite.config.json, so one repository can target several projects:

appwrite init project --config-file appwrite.config.prod.json
appwrite push --config-file appwrite.config.prod.json

Includes and resource paths are resolved relative to the chosen file.

Contribution

This library is auto-generated by Appwrite custom SDK Generator. To learn more about how you can help us improve this SDK, please check the contribution guide before sending a pull request.

To build and test the CLI for development:

1. Clone the SDK Generator repository and change into it.

   git clone https://github.com/appwrite/sdk-generator
   cd sdk-generator

2. Make sure Docker is running, then install the Composer dependencies and generate the CLI.

   docker run --rm --interactive --tty --volume "$(pwd)":/app composer install --ignore-platform-reqs --optimize-autoloader --no-plugins --no-scripts --prefer-dist
   docker run --rm --volume "$(pwd)":/app --workdir /app php:8.5-cli php example.php cli

3. Build the generated CLI.

   cd examples/cli
   go mod tidy
   go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o appwrite .

4. Run the CLI.

   ./appwrite -v

License

Please see the BSD-3-Clause license file for more information.