CLI reference · source audited

CLI commands.

Nift has a deliberately compact command surface. Start with the complete map below, then use the grouped tables to compare modes and options without hunting through separate descriptions.

Complete command map

# Build
nift build [names...] [-p]
nift build --all [-p]
nift build --auto
nift build --repair [-p]

# Inspect
nift status [-p]
nift info [names...]
nift info --all
nift info --names
nift info --tracking
nift info --watching

# Track and manage pages
nift track name [title] [template]
nift untrack name...
nift rm name...
nift cp source destination
nift mv source destination
nift watch directory [content-ext] [template] [output-ext]
nift unwatch directory

# Create a project
nift init [--target=platform] [--ext=.ext] [--handover]

# Minify files, with or without a Nift project
nift minify [-i|--in-place] file...

# General
nift about
nift version
nift commands

Build

These are four mutually exclusive build modes. Positional names, --all, --auto and --repair cannot be combined in one invocation.

Command	Use it when	What it does
`nift build`	Normal development	Checks every tracked page and rebuilds only pages affected by the current dependency state.
`nift build name...`	You explicitly want particular pages	Builds the named tracked pages, whether or not the ordinary incremental check considers them current.
`nift build --all`	You need a full rebuild	Builds every tracked page regardless of incremental state.
`nift build --auto`	You want continuous rebuilding	Runs the incremental check every 200 ms. Press `q` to stop in an interactive terminal.
`nift build --repair`	A build was interrupted or derived state is suspect	Reconstructs derived build state and clears a stale `.unfinished` condition. It refuses to take over a build owned by a live process.

nift build
nift build about docs/getting-started
nift build --all
nift build --repair
nift build --auto

-p can be added to ordinary, named, --all and --repair builds for full per-page detail instead of compact summaries. It is also accepted by status.

build --auto keeps the terminal quiet.

The latest meaningful build output is stored in .nift/build-auto.log without terminal colour codes. The file is rewritten only when that output changes. In non-interactive use, stop the process from the surrounding shell or service.

Inspect project state

Command	Result
`nift status [-p]`	Dry-runs the incremental analysis and reports which pages need rebuilding and why, without changing output or page metadata.
`nift info`	Shows resolved metadata for all tracked entries.
`nift info name...`	Shows resolved metadata for the requested tracked names.
`nift info --all`	Explicit spelling of the default all-entry metadata view.
`nift info --names`	Lists tracked names.
`nift info --tracking`	Shows tracking state, including the tracking file and resolved paths.
`nift info --watching`	Shows watched directories and their content-extension, template and output-extension rules.

The info commands are script-friendly.

Interactive terminals receive headings and syntax colouring. Redirected or piped output is plain valid JSON suitable for tools such as jq.

Track and manage pages

Command	What it changes
`nift track name [title] [template]`	Adds a tracked item. The title defaults to the final name component and the template defaults to `default-template`.
`nift untrack name...`	Stops tracking items without deleting their content files.
`nift rm name...`	Removes tracking plus the corresponding content and generated output.
`nift cp source destination`	Copies a tracked item.
`nift mv source destination`	Moves a tracked item.

Tracked and destination names cannot escape through a .. path component. del, copy and move are accepted aliases for rm, cp and mv.

Watch directories

Command	What it does
`nift watch directory [content-ext] [template] [output-ext]`	Adds a watched directory, using supplied rules or project defaults.
`nift unwatch directory`	Removes one watched directory.

Initialise a project

nift init [--target=platform] [--ext=.ext] [--handover] creates a project. With no options, it creates the standard HTML starter. Compatible named options are order-independent.

Option	Effect
`--ext=.ext`	Changes the default content/output extension, for example `--ext=.php` or `--ext=.txt`.
`--target=platform`	Creates the small provider-specific files needed by a supported static-hosting target.
`--handover`	Writes the canonical `HANDOVER.md` in the project root for human- and AI-directed development.

nift init
nift init --ext=.php
nift init --target=vercel
nift init --target=cloudflare --ext=.htm
nift init --handover

Supported targets are vercel, netlify, amplify, azure, firebase, render, cloudflare, github-pages and supabase. Target presets accept .html and .htm; runtime extensions such as .php are rejected. Supabase keeps the ordinary public/ output because it provides backend services rather than a special frontend artifact.

The target list is not a hosting allow-list. For another platform, initialise a normal project and configure the provider manually. The removed positional form nift init .html is not accepted; use --ext=.html. See Platform targets for generated files and output layouts.

Minify arbitrary files

nift minify [-i|--in-place] file... works inside or outside a Nift project. By default it leaves each source untouched and writes a sibling name.min.ext file.

nift minify public/index.html
# public/index.html -> public/index.min.html

nift minify assets/app.js assets/site.css
# assets/app.min.js + assets/site.min.css

nift minify --in-place generated/app.js
nift minify -i generated/site.css

Option	Effect
none	Writes the safe sibling output `name.min.ext`.
`-i`, `--in-place`	Explicitly overwrites each source file.

Supported extensions are HTML/HTM, CSS, JS/MJS/CJS, JSX, JSON, XML and SVG. At least one file is required. Unsupported, missing, malformed or unwritable files produce a non-zero status; other valid arguments in the invocation are still processed. Minification details →

General and aliases

Canonical command	Purpose	Aliases
`nift about`	Shows a short project description, installed version, license and website.	—
`nift version`	Prints the installed version.	`--version`, `-v`
`nift commands`	Prints the executable's built-in command map.	`cmds`, `--help`, `-h`
`nift rm`	Removes tracked items and their owned files.	`del`
`nift cp`	Copies a tracked item.	`copy`
`nift mv`	Moves a tracked item.	`move`

Removed spellings

build-all, build-updated, build-names, build-auto, info-all, info-watching, info-tracking and info-names are not aliases. They fail with a non-zero status and point to the unified replacement, such as nift build --all.

Commands reject unexpected arguments and unknown options instead of silently ignoring them. Run nift commands for the executable's concise built-in reminder.

RelatedIncremental builds →