CLI Commands

The Lito CLI provides powerful commands to develop, build, and manage your documentation site. All commands support detailed options for customization.

init

Initialize a new documentation project with interactive prompts or options.

# Interactive mode
lito init

# With options
lito init --output ./my-docs --name "My Project" --template default

Options

Example

lito init -o ./docs -n "My API Docs" -t default

This creates:

• docs-config.json with your project settings
• Sample introduction.mdx and quickstart.mdx pages
• _assets/ and _images/ folders for static files

build

Builds your documentation site for production deployment.

# With global installation
lito build --input ./my-docs --output ./dist [options]

# With npx
npx @litodocs/cli build --input ./my-docs --output ./dist [options]

Options

Example

lito build -i ./docs -o ./build \
  --provider cloudflare \
  --rendering server \
  --name "My Documentation" \
  --description "Complete reference" \
  --primary-color "#0066CC" \
  --search

dev

Starts a local development server with hot module reloading. Perfect for editing and previewing changes in real-time.

# With global installation
lito dev --input ./my-docs [options]

# With npx
npx @litodocs/cli dev --input ./my-docs [options]

Options

Example

lito dev -i ./docs -p 5000 \
  --name "Development Docs" \
  --primary-color "#3B82F6"

eject

Exports the complete Astro project source code. Use this when you need full control over the project and want to customize beyond what Lito configuration allows.

# With global installation
lito eject --input ./my-docs --output ./astro-docs-project [options]

# With npx
npx @litodocs/cli eject --input ./my-docs --output ./astro-docs-project [options]

Options

Example

lito eject -i ./docs -o ./my-astro-project \
  --name "Customizable Docs" \
  --primary-color "#10B981" \
  --refresh

Once ejected, you have a full Astro project and can use all standard Astro commands:

cd my-astro-project
npm install
npm run dev
npm run build

preview

Preview a production build locally. Optionally builds first if no output exists.

# Preview existing build
lito preview --output ./dist

# Build and preview
lito preview --input ./my-docs

Options

Example

# Quick preview of existing build
lito preview -o ./dist -p 3000

# Full build and preview workflow
lito preview -i ./docs -o ./dist

validate

Validate your docs-config.json configuration against the schema.

lito validate --input ./my-docs

Options

Example

# Interactive validation with details
lito validate -i ./docs

# CI-friendly (exit code 0 = valid, 1 = invalid)
lito validate -i ./docs --quiet && echo "Config is valid"

What It Checks

• Required fields (metadata.name)
• Type validation (objects, arrays)
• Sidebar structure (label + items required)
• Config portability (core vs extension keys)

doctor

Diagnose common issues with your documentation project.

lito doctor --input ./my-docs

Options

Checks Performed

Example Output

┌  Lito - Doctor
│
│  Checking: /path/to/docs
│
│  Diagnostic Results:
│
│    ✓ Directory exists
│    ✓ docs-config.json exists
│    ✓ Config is valid JSON
│    ✓ Config passes validation
│    ✓ Content files exist (34 files)
│    ✓ No common issues
│    ✓ Template cache (1 cached)
│    ✓ Node.js version (v22.0.0)
│
└  Your project looks healthy! 🎉

info

Display project information and statistics.

lito info --input ./my-docs

Options

Information Displayed

• Project: Name, description
• Content: Markdown/MDX file counts, subdirectories
• Navigation: Sidebar groups, navbar links
• Features: Search, i18n, versioning, dark mode status
• Branding: Logo, favicon, colors
• Configuration: Core vs extension keys, portability
• Environment: Node.js version, cached templates

Example

lito info -i ./docs

template list

Lists all available Lito templates.

lito template list
# or
npx @litodocs/cli template list

template cache

Manages the template cache.

lito template cache [options]
# or
npx @litodocs/cli template cache [options]

Options

Example

lito template cache --clear

upgrade

Checks for updates and upgrades Lito to the latest version.

lito upgrade
# or
npx @litodocs/cli upgrade

This command will:

1. Check the npm registry for the latest version
2. Compare it with your installed version
3. Prompt you to confirm the upgrade
4. Automatically detect your package manager (pnpm, yarn, or npm)
5. Run the appropriate install command

Example Output

🔍 Checking for updates...

  Current version: 0.5.1
  Latest version:  0.5.2

? Upgrade from 0.5.1 to 0.5.2? (Y/n)