generated: '2026-09-04'
method: searched
source: >-
  https://docs.budibase.com/docs/budibase-cli-reference,
  https://docs.budibase.com/docs/budibase-cli-setup,
  https://registry.npmjs.org/@budibase/cli
description: >-
  budi is Budibase's first-party command-line toolkit. Its scope is worth stating plainly:
  it manages a SELF-HOSTED Budibase installation and builds plugins. It is not a client for
  the Public API — no budi command calls /api/public/v1, and there is no CLI equivalent of
  creating a row or publishing an app through the API.
name: budi
package: '@budibase/cli'
registry: npm
version: 3.44.0
published: '2026-08-31'
official: true
docs: https://docs.budibase.com/docs/budibase-cli-reference
setup_docs: https://docs.budibase.com/docs/budibase-cli-setup
install:
  - method: npm
    command: npm install -g @budibase/cli
    note: Documented at https://docs.budibase.com/recipes/budibase-cli-setup-npm
prerequisites:
  - Docker (the hosting commands drive a docker compose setup)
commands:
  - name: budi hosting
    description: >-
      Initialise and manage a self-hosted Budibase installation. Currently supports docker
      compose setups only. Must be run from the directory where --init was run.
    flags:
      - flag: --init
        purpose: >-
          Initialise a self-hosted docker compose Budibase setup in the current directory;
          pulls the images and everything required to start the server.
      - flag: --start
        purpose: Start the Budibase services.
      - flag: --status
        purpose: Check the current status of all running Budibase services.
      - flag: --stop
        purpose: Stop all currently running Budibase services.
      - flag: --update
        purpose: Pull the latest image versions required by the Budibase services.
  - name: budi plugins
    description: >-
      Create, develop and manage custom coded components and datasources.
    flags:
      - flag: --init
        purpose: >-
          Pull down the Budibase project skeleton for a datasource or component and
          initialise it in the current directory. Takes an argument: datasource or component.
      - flag: --build
        purpose: Build the datasource or component in the current directory using rollup.
      - flag: --watch
        purpose: Watch the component/datasource and automatically rebuild on change.
    related_docs: https://docs.budibase.com/docs/custom-datasource
  - name: budi backups
    description: >-
      Completely back up and restore a self-hosted Budibase installation as a .tar.gz that
      can be imported into a different installation.
    flags:
      - flag: --export
        purpose: Export the installation, apps and configuration to a .tar.gz file.
      - flag: --import
        purpose: Import a .tar.gz into an existing installation.
      - flag: --env
        purpose: >-
          Path to an .env file supplying the credentials for --import/--export. Without it
          the CLI prompts interactively.
    required_env:
      - name: COUCH_DB_URL
        description: Full URL for the running CouchDB service, including credentials.
      - name: MINIO_ACCESS_KEY
        description: MinIO / S3-compatible object store access key.
      - name: MINIO_SECRET_KEY
        description: MinIO / S3-compatible object store secret key.
      - name: MINIO_URL
        description: URL the object store runs on.
      - name: MAIN_PORT
        description: Port the Budibase instance is hosted on. Defaults to 10000.
    related_docs: https://docs.budibase.com/docs/backups-1
    note: >-
      This is the only whole-installation rollback mechanism Budibase ships, and it is
      operator-facing rather than API-facing — see the reversibility block in
      conventions/budibase-conventions.yml.
  - name: budi analytics
    description: Opt in or out of Budibase CLI analytics.
    flags:
      - flag: --optIn
        purpose: Opt in to Budibase CLI analytics.
      - flag: --optOut
        purpose: Opt out of Budibase CLI analytics.
key_flows:
  - name: Stand up a self-hosted install
    steps:
      - npm install -g @budibase/cli
      - budi hosting --init
      - budi hosting --start
      - budi hosting --status
  - name: Move an installation between hosts
    steps:
      - budi backups --export --env /path/to/env/file
      - budi backups --import mybackup.tar.gz --env /path/to/env/file
    docs: https://docs.budibase.com/docs/server-migration
  - name: Build a custom datasource plugin
    steps:
      - budi plugins --init datasource
      - budi plugins --watch
      - budi plugins --build
gaps:
  - >-
    No authentication, no API-key handling and no Public API surface. A developer who wants
    to script against Budibase data uses curl or @budibase/sdk, not budi.
  - >-
    No machine-readable command manifest (no --json, no completion spec published), so the
    command surface above is transcribed from the docs page rather than introspected.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com