CLI Reference

Complete reference for all FrontMCP CLI commands

The frontmcp CLI provides commands for development, process management, and package management. Install it globally or use via npx.

frontmcp <command> [options]

Development Commands

Commands for building, testing, and debugging your FrontMCP server.

Command	Description
dev	Start in development mode (tsx —watch + async type-check)
build	Compile entry with TypeScript (tsc)
build --exec	Build distributable executable bundle (esbuild)
test	Run E2E tests with auto-injected Jest configuration
init	Create or fix a tsconfig.json suitable for FrontMCP
doctor	Check Node/npm versions and tsconfig requirements
inspector	Launch MCP Inspector (npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector)
create [name]	Scaffold a new FrontMCP project (interactive if name omitted)
template <type>	Scaffold a template by type (e.g., 3rd-party-integration)
socket <entry>	Start Unix socket daemon for local MCP server

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Process Manager Commands

Manage long-running MCP servers with automatic supervision, restart policies, and logging.

Command	Description
start <name>	Start a named MCP server with supervisor
stop <name>	Stop a managed server (graceful by default)
restart <name>	Restart a managed server
status [name]	Show process status (detail if name given, table if omitted)
list	List all managed processes
logs <name>	Tail log output for a managed server
service <action>	Install/uninstall systemd/launchd service

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Package Manager Commands

Install, configure, and manage MCP apps from npm, local paths, or git repositories.

Command	Description
install <source>	Install an MCP app from npm, local path, or git
uninstall <name>	Remove an installed MCP app
configure <name>	Re-run setup questionnaire for an installed app

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Options Reference

General Options

Option	Description
-h, --help	Show help message
-o, --out-dir <dir>	Output directory (default: ./dist)
-e, --entry <path>	Manually specify entry file path

Build Options

Option	Description
--exec	Build distributable executable bundle
-a, --adapter <name>	Deployment adapter: node, vercel, lambda, cloudflare

Start Options

Option	Description
-e, --entry <path>	Entry file for the server
-p, --port <N>	Port number for the server
-s, --socket <path>	Unix socket path
--db <path>	SQLite database path
--max-restarts <N>	Maximum auto-restart attempts (default: 5)

Stop Options

Option	Description
-f, --force	Force kill (SIGKILL instead of SIGTERM)

Logs Options

Option	Description
-F, --follow	Follow log output (like tail -f)
-n, --lines <N>	Number of lines to show (default: 50)

Install Options

Option	Description
--registry <url>	npm registry URL for private packages
-y, --yes	Silent mode (use defaults, skip questionnaire)
-p, --port <N>	Override default port

Create Options

Option	Description
-y, --yes	Use defaults (non-interactive mode)
--target <target>	Deployment target: node, vercel, lambda, cloudflare
--redis <setup>	Redis setup: docker, existing, none (node target only)
--pm <pm>	Package manager: npm, yarn, pnpm
--cicd	Enable GitHub Actions CI/CD
--no-cicd	Disable GitHub Actions CI/CD
--nx	Scaffold an Nx monorepo workspace

Socket Options

Option	Description
-s, --socket <path>	Unix socket path (default: ~/.frontmcp/sockets/{app}.sock)
--db <path>	SQLite database path for persistence
-b, --background	Run as background daemon (detached process)

Test Options

Option	Description
-i, --runInBand	Run tests sequentially (recommended for E2E)
-w, --watch	Run tests in watch mode
-v, --verbose	Show verbose test output
-t, --timeout <ms>	Set test timeout (default: 60000ms)
-c, --coverage	Collect test coverage

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Examples

Development

# Start dev server with hot-reload
frontmcp dev

# Build to custom output directory
frontmcp build --out-dir build

# Build distributable executable
frontmcp build --exec

# Run E2E tests sequentially
frontmcp test --runInBand

# Initialize tsconfig
frontmcp init

# Check environment
frontmcp doctor

# Launch MCP Inspector
frontmcp inspector

Project Scaffolding

# Interactive mode
npx frontmcp create

# Use defaults (non-interactive)
npx frontmcp create my-mcp --yes

# Target Vercel deployment
npx frontmcp create my-mcp --target vercel

# Scaffold an Nx monorepo workspace
npx frontmcp create my-workspace --nx

# Scaffold a template
frontmcp template marketplace-3rd-tools

Unix Socket

# Start socket server
frontmcp socket ./src/main.ts --socket /tmp/my-app.sock

# Start with SQLite persistence
frontmcp socket ./src/main.ts --socket /tmp/my-app.sock --db ~/.frontmcp/data/app.sqlite

Process Management

# Start a named server
frontmcp start my-app --entry ./src/main.ts --port 3005

# Stop a server
frontmcp stop my-app

# Tail logs
frontmcp logs my-app --follow

# Install as system service
frontmcp service install my-app

Package Management

# Install from npm (private registry)
frontmcp install @company/my-mcp --registry https://npm.company.com

# Install from local path
frontmcp install ./my-local-app

# Install from GitHub
frontmcp install github:user/repo

# Re-configure an installed app
frontmcp configure my-app

# Uninstall
frontmcp uninstall my-app