CLI Reference

This page provides a complete reference for all FlashORM CLI commands.

Global Options

• --config, -c: Specify config file path (default: ./flash.config.json)
• --force, -f: Skip confirmations
• --version, -v: Show CLI version
• --help, -h: Show help

Commands

flash init

Initialize a new FlashORM project.

flash init [flags]

Flags:

• --sqlite: Initialize for SQLite
• --postgresql: Initialize for PostgreSQL
• --mysql: Initialize for MySQL

Examples:

flash init --postgresql
flash init --sqlite
flash init --mysql

flash migrate

Create a new migration.

flash migrate [name] [flags]

Flags:

• --empty, -e: Create empty migration (no auto-generated SQL)
• --auto, -a: Auto-generate SQL from schema changes

Examples:

flash migrate "add user table"
flash migrate "update schema" --auto
flash migrate --empty "custom migration"

flash apply

Apply pending migrations to the database.

flash apply [flags]

Flags:

• --force, -f: Skip confirmations

Examples:

flash apply
flash apply --force

flash gen

Generate type-safe code from SQL queries.

flash gen

Generates code based on your flash.config.json configuration for Go, TypeScript/JavaScript, and Python.

flash studio

Launch FlashORM Studio web interface.

flash studio [subcommand] [flags]

Subcommands:

• sql (default): Launch SQL Studio for PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQLite
• mongodb: Launch MongoDB Studio
• redis: Launch Redis Studio

Flags:

• --port, -p: Port to run studio on (default: 5555)
• --browser, -b: Open browser automatically (default: true)
• --no-browser: Disable automatic browser opening
• --db: Database URL (overrides config)
• --url: Connection URL (for redis/mongodb subcommands)

Examples:

# SQL Studio (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite)
flash studio
flash studio --port 3000
flash studio --db "postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb"
flash studio sql --db "mysql://user:pass@localhost:3306/mydb"

# MongoDB Studio
flash studio mongodb --url "mongodb://localhost:27017/mydb"
flash studio mongodb --url "mongodb+srv://user:pass@cluster.mongodb.net/mydb"

# Redis Studio
flash studio redis --url "redis://localhost:6379"
flash studio redis --url "redis://:password@localhost:6379" --port 3000

flash pull

Pull schema from existing database.

flash pull [flags]

Flags:

• --db: Database URL to pull from
• --output, -o: Output directory for schema files

flash export

Export data from database.

flash export [flags]

Flags:

• --format, -f: Export format (json, csv, sqlite)
• --output, -o: Output file path
• --table, -t: Specific table to export
• --query, -q: Custom SQL query for export

Examples:

flash export --format json --output data.json
flash export --table users --format csv

flash branch

Manage database schema branches.

flash branch [command]

Subcommands:

• create <name>: Create new branch
• switch <name>: Switch to branch
• merge <source>: Merge branch
• list: List all branches
• delete <name>: Delete branch

flash status

Show current migration and branch status.

flash status

flash seed

Seed database with realistic fake data for development and testing.

flash seed [tables...] [flags]

Arguments:

• tables...: Optional list of tables with counts in format table:count (e.g., users:100 posts:500)

Flags:

• --count, -c: Number of rows to generate per table (default: 10)
• --table, -t: Specific table to seed (alternative to positional args)
• --truncate: Truncate tables before seeding
• --force, -f: Skip confirmation
• --relations: Include foreign key relationships

Examples:

# Seed all tables with default count (10)
flash seed

# Seed all tables with 100 rows each
flash seed --count 100

# Seed specific table
flash seed --table users --count 50

# Seed multiple tables with different counts
flash seed users:100 posts:500 comments:1000

# Truncate and reseed
flash seed --truncate --force

# Seed with relationship handling
flash seed --relations --count 50

Smart Data Generation: FlashORM automatically generates appropriate data based on column names:

• email → realistic emails
• name, first_name, last_name → human names
• phone → phone numbers
• url, website → URLs
• address, city, country → location data
• created_at, updated_at → timestamps
• password → hashed passwords
• price, amount → currency values

flash reset

Reset database to clean state (drops all tables).

flash reset [flags]

Flags:

• --force, -f: Skip confirmation

flash down

Rollback migrations.

flash down [count] [flags]

Parameters:

• count: Number of migrations to rollback (default: 1)

Flags:

• --force, -f: Skip confirmation

flash raw

Execute raw SQL commands.

flash raw [flags]

Flags:

• --file, -f: SQL file to execute
• --query, -q: Inline SQL query

flash plugins

Manage FlashORM plugins.

flash plugins [command]

Subcommands:

• list: List installed plugins
• add <name>: Install plugin
• remove <name>: Remove plugin

flash add-plug

Install a plugin.

flash add-plug <plugin-name>

Available plugins:

• core: ORM, migrations, code generation, seeding. Auto-installs on first use.
• studio: Web-based visual database editor. Optional, install when needed.

flash rm-plug

Remove a plugin.

flash rm-plug <plugin-name>

flash update

Update installed plugins and optionally the flash binary itself.

flash update [flags]

Flags:

• --self: Update all plugins and the flash binary
• --self-only: Update only the flash binary, leave plugins untouched

Examples:

# Update all installed plugins
flash update

# Update plugins and the flash binary
flash update --self

# Update only the flash binary
flash update --self-only

Configuration

FlashORM uses flash.config.json for configuration:

{
  "version": "2",
  "schema_dir": "db/schema",
  "queries": "db/queries/",
  "migrations_path": "db/migrations",
  "export_path": "db/export",
  "database": {
    "provider": "postgresql",
    "url_env": "DATABASE_URL"
  },
  "gen": {
    "go": {
      "enabled": true
    },
    "js": {
      "enabled": false,
      "out": "flash_gen"
    },
    "python": {
      "enabled": false,
      "out": "flash_gen",
      "async": true
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

• DATABASE_URL: Database connection string
• FLASH_CONFIG: Path to config file (alternative to --config)

Exit Codes

• 0: Success
• 1: Error
• 2: Plugin not found
• 3: Migration conflict