Commands

Detailed documentation for all CLI commands

build

Compile a Constela program to JavaScript.

bash

constela build app.json --output dist/app.js --minify

Options

Option	Description
`--output, -o`	Output file path
`--minify, -m`	Minify output
`--sourcemap, -s`	Generate source map
`--target, -t`	Module format (esm, cjs, iife)
`--json`	Output result as JSON (for AI tool integration)
`--watch, -w`	Watch for changes and rebuild automatically
`--verbose, -v`	Show detailed progress (timing for each pass)
`--debug`	Show internal debug information

dev

Start the development server with hot reload.

bash

constela dev app.json --port 3000

Options

Option	Description
`--port, -p`	Dev server port (default: 3000)
`--open, -o`	Open browser automatically

validate

Validate a program without building. Error messages include "Did you mean?" suggestions for typos.

bash

constela validate app.json
constela validate --all src/

Options

Option	Description
`--all`	Validate all JSON files in the specified directory
`--json`	Output errors as structured JSON
`--verbose, -v`	Show detailed validation info

Example Output

text

Error [UNDEFINED_STATE] at /view/children/0/value/name

  Undefined state reference: 'count'

  Did you mean 'counter'?

inspect

Visualize program structure including state fields, actions, components, and dependencies.

bash

constela inspect app.json
constela inspect --state --json app.json

Options

Option	Description
`--json`	Output as JSON
`--state`	Show only state section
`--actions`	Show only actions section
`--verbose, -v`	Show all details

init

Initialize a new Constela project.

bash

constela init my-app

Creates a new directory with a basic project structure:

text

my-app/
├── src/
│   └── app.json
├── package.json
└── README.md

suggest

Analyze DSL files using AI and get improvement suggestions.

bash

constela suggest app.json --aspect accessibility

Arguments

Argument	Description
`<input>`	DSL file to analyze

Options

Option	Description
`--aspect <type>`	Analysis aspect: accessibility, performance, security, ux (default: accessibility)
`--provider <name>`	AI provider: anthropic, openai (default: anthropic)
`--json`	Output as JSON

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Required when using Anthropic provider
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	Required when using OpenAI provider

Examples

bash

# Analyze for accessibility issues
constela suggest app.json --aspect accessibility

# Analyze for security (using OpenAI)
constela suggest app.json --aspect security --provider openai

# JSON output for tooling
constela suggest app.json --aspect ux --json

Example Output

text

=== Suggestions for app.json (accessibility) ===

[HIGH] Missing aria-label on button
   Recommendation: Add aria-label="Submit form" to the button element
   Location: view.children[0].props

[MED] Low color contrast in text
   Recommendation: Increase contrast ratio to meet WCAG AA standards
   Location: view.children[2].props.style

Total: 2 suggestion(s)