Anybuild CLI

The Anybuild CLI syncs your application’s source files between your local machine and your Anybuild instance. The workflow is git-like: clone an application, edit files locally, check status, and push changes back.

Installation

npm install -g @anybuild-ai/ab

Requires Node.js 20+. Use the anybuild command - the package also installs ab as a shim, but on most systems that name is already taken by ApacheBench.

Updating

npm install -g @anybuild-ai/ab@latest
anybuild --version

Quick start

anybuild login https://your-host.example.com
anybuild clone https://your-host.example.com/my-app-id
cd my-app-id
# edit tracked files, then:
anybuild status
anybuild push

Sign out when finished, especially on shared machines:

anybuild logout https://your-host.example.com

Commands

Command	Description
`anybuild login <host-url>`	Sign in - prompts for username and password
`anybuild logout <host-url>`	Sign out and remove the local session for that host
`anybuild clone <host-url>/<application_id> [directory]`	Download an application into `./<application_id>/` (or `[directory]`; use `.` for cwd). Options: `--force`, `--debug`
`anybuild pull`	Download the latest remote changes. Options: `--force`, `--debug`
`anybuild status`	List local added, modified, and deleted files
`anybuild push [paths…]`	Upload local changes. Optionally pass specific file paths. Option: `--debug`

Also: anybuild help, anybuild -v / --version.

Clone examples

The last segment of the URL is the application_id - find it in the Designer under application settings. It is not the display name or the system ID.

anybuild clone https://your-host.example.com/my-app-id
# → ./my-app-id/

anybuild clone https://your-host.example.com/my-app-id .
# → current directory

anybuild clone https://your-host.example.com/my-app-id ./other-folder --force

Push conflicts

If a push fails due to a conflict with remote changes, pull first and then push again:

anybuild pull
anybuild push

Pushing specific files

Pass file paths after push to upload only those files:

anybuild push ui/lit/components/my_widget.js
anybuild push be/node/my_handler.js be/plv8/my_function.js

Tracked files

The CLI syncs three folders only:

Folder	Contains
`ui/lit/components`	Portal pages and components
`be/node`	Server functions (Node.js)
`be/plv8`	Database workflow code (PLV8)

Do not manually edit files outside these three folders - other folders in the cloned tree are managed by the platform and will not be tracked or pushed.

You can create your own folders at the project root for anything that does not get pushed - for example, a folder with design references, screenshots, or instructions you want to feed into an AI tool alongside your code.

AI instructions

When you clone an application, the project includes ready-made instruction files for working with AI coding tools. A root AGENTS.md file is picked up automatically by AI agents and references more specific instruction sets for different types of work - UI, PLV8, and Node.js. You do not need to configure or point the agent at anything; the instructions are structured so the agent finds the right context for the task at hand. See AI Code Assistant for more on working with external tools.

Configuration

Location	Purpose
`~/.ab/config.json`	Your login sessions - credentials for each host
`.ab/` in the project	Project settings and sync state (no passwords)

Run project commands (pull, push, status) from inside a cloned application directory.

Security

Sessions are stored in ~/.ab/ with restrictive file permissions on Unix. Do not share or commit that directory.
Use HTTPS host URLs in all environments.
On shared machines, run anybuild logout <host-url> when done.
Avoid --debug in shared or CI logs - it can output request and response details.