Hono CLI is a CLI for Humans and AI who use Hono.
npm install @hono/cliHono CLI is a CLI for Humans and AI who use Hono.
It's not a create-* command, not only for dev, build, and deploy, but also not a Vite wrapper. Built on an entirely new concept.
Hono CLI will give you the hono command. For Humans, you can use sub-commands specialized for Hono for simple usages. For AI, providing sub-commands to build your Hono application efficiently with AI coding.
``bash`
npm install -g @hono/cli
`bashShow help
hono --help
Commands
-
- Display Hono documentation
- search - Search Hono documentation
- request [file] - Send request to Hono app using app.request()
- - Start server for Hono app
- optimize [entry] - Generate an optimized Hono app$3
Display Hono documentation content directly in your terminal.
`bash
hono docs [path]
`Arguments:
-
- Documentation path (optional)Examples:
`bash
Display main documentation summary (llms.txt)
hono docsDisplay specific documentation pages
hono docs /docs/concepts/motivation
hono docs /docs/guides/best-practices
hono docs /docs/api/contextDisplay examples and tutorials
hono docs /examples/stytch-auth
hono docs /examples/basic
`$3
Search through Hono documentation using fuzzy search powered by Algolia.
bash
hono search [options]
`Arguments:
-
- Search query (required)Options:
-
-l, --limit - Number of results to show (default: 5, max: 20)
- -p, --pretty - Display results in human-readable format (default: JSON output)Examples:
`bash
Search for middleware documentation (JSON output by default)
hono search middlewareSearch with pretty formatting for human-readable output
hono search middleware --prettySearch with custom result limit
hono search "getting started" --limit 10
`Output Format:
By default, the command outputs JSON for easy integration with other tools:
json
{
"query": "middleware",
"total": 5,
"results": [
{
"title": "Middleware ",
"category": "",
"url": "https://hono.dev/docs/guides/middleware#middleware",
"path": "/docs/guides/middleware"
},
{
"title": "Third-party Middleware - Hono",
"category": "Middleware",
"url": "https://hono.dev/docs/middleware/third-party#VPSidebarNav",
"path": "/docs/middleware/third-party"
}
]
}
`With the
flag, results are displayed in a human-readable format:`
1. Middleware
URL: https://hono.dev/docs/guides/middleware#middleware
Command: hono docs /docs/guides/middleware2. Third-party Middleware - Hono
Category: Middleware
URL: https://hono.dev/docs/middleware/third-party#VPSidebarNav
Command: hono docs /docs/middleware/third-party
$3
Send HTTP requests to your Hono application using the built-in
method. This is particularly useful for testing and development.`bash
hono request [file] [options]
`Arguments:
-
- Path to the Hono app file (TypeScript/JSX supported, optional)Options:
-
-P, --path - Request path (default: "/")
- -X, --method - HTTP method (default: GET)
- -d, --data - Request body data
- -H, --header - Custom headers (can be used multiple times)
- -w, --watch - Watch for changes and resend request
- -J, --json - Output response as JSON
- -o, --output - Write to file instead of stdout
- -O, --remote-name - Write output to file named as remote file
- -i, --include - Include protocol and headers in the output
- -I, --head - Show only protocol and headers in the output
- -e, --external - Mark package as external (can be used multiple times)Examples:
`bash
GET request to default app root (uses src/index.ts or src/index.tsx)
hono requestGET request to specific path
hono request -P /users/123POST request with data
hono request -P /api/users -X POST -d '{"name":"Alice"}'Request to specific file
hono request -P /api src/your-app.tsRequest with custom headers
hono request -P /api/protected \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer token' \
-H 'User-Agent: MyApp' \
src/your-app.tsRequest with external packages (useful for Node.js native modules)
hono request -e pg -e dotenv src/your-app.ts
`Response Format:
The command returns a JSON object with the following structure:
json
{
"status": 200,
"body": "{\"message\":\"Hello World\"}",
"headers": {
"content-type": "application/json",
"x-custom-header": "value"
}
}
`$3
Start a server for your Hono application. This is a simple server specialized for Hono applications with built-in TypeScript and JSX support.
bash
hono serve [entry] [options]
`Arguments:
-
- Entry file for your Hono app (TypeScript/JSX supported, optional)Options:
-
-p, --port - Port number (default: 7070)
- --show-routes - Show registered routes
- --use - Use middleware (can be used multiple times)
- -e, --external - Mark package as external (can be used multiple times)Examples:
`bash
Start server with default empty app (no entry file needed)
hono serveStart server on specific port
hono serve -p 3000 src/app.tsStart server with specific entry file
hono serve src/app.tsStart server and show routes
hono serve --show-routes src/app.tsStart server with middleware
hono serve --use 'cors()' src/app.tsStart server with multiple middleware
hono serve --use 'cors()' --use 'logger()' src/app.tsStart server with authentication and static file serving
hono serve \
--use 'basicAuth({ username: "foo", password: "bar" })' \
--use "serveStatic({ root: './' })"Start server with external packages (useful for Node.js native modules)
hono serve -e pg -e prisma src/app.ts
`$3
Generate an optimized Hono class and export bundled file.
This command automatically applies the following optimizations to reduce bundle size:
- Request body API removal: Removes request body APIs (
, c.req.formData(), etc.) when your application only uses GET, HEAD, or OPTIONS methods
- Context response API removal: Removes unused response utility APIs (c.body(), c.json(), c.text(), c.html(), c.redirect()) from Context object
- Hono API removal: Removes unused Hono methods (route, mount, fire) that are only used during application initialization`bash
hono optimize [entry] [options]
`Arguments:
-
- Entry file for your Hono app (TypeScript/JSX supported, optional)Options:
-
-o, --outfile - Output file
- -m, --minify - minify output file
- -t, --target [target] - environment target
- --no-request-body-api-removal - Disable request body API removal optimization
- --no-context-response-api-removal - Disable response utility API removal from Context object
- --no-hono-api-removal - Disable Hono API removal optimizationExamples:
`bash
Generate an optimized Hono class and export bundled file to dist/index.js
hono optimizeSpecify entry file and output file
hono optimize -o dist/app.js src/app.tsExport bundled file with minification
hono optimize -mSpecify environment target
hono optimize -t es2024Disable specific optimizations
hono optimize -m --no-request-body-api-removal
hono optimize -m --no-context-response-api-removal
hono optimize -m --no-hono-api-removal
`Tips
$3
When working with AI code agents like Claude Code, you can configure them to use the
CLI for efficient documentation access and testing. Add the following to your project's CLAUDE.md or similar configuration:``markdown
Hono Development
Use the
hono CLI for efficient development. View all commands with hono --help.$3
-
hono docs [path] - Browse Hono documentation
- hono search - Search documentation
- hono request [file] - Test app requests without starting a server$3
`bash
Search for topics
hono search middleware
hono search "getting started"View documentation
hono docs /docs/api/context
hono docs /docs/guides/middlewareTest your app
hono request -P /api/users src/index.ts
hono request -P /api/users -X POST -d '{"name":"Alice"}' src/index.ts
`$3
1. Search documentation:
2. Read relevant docs:
3. Test implementation:
$3
The
command outputs JSON by default, making it easy to pipe results to other commands:`bash
Search and view documentation in one command
hono search "middleware" | jq '.results[0].path' | hono docs
``- Yusuke Wada https://github.com/yusukebe
- Taku Amano https://github.com/usualoma
MIT