Pendulum CLI

Command-line interface for managing Pendulum BaaS projects - from local development to AWS production deployment.

The Pendulum CLI automates your entire development workflow, from zero to production. With just a few commands, you can initialize projects, develop locally with hot reload, and deploy complete AWS infrastructure.

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- One-command setup - Get a full backend running locally in seconds
- Infrastructure automation - Deploy to AWS with zero configuration
- Development optimized - Hot reload and live logs during development
- Production ready - Auto-provisioned ECS, DocumentDB, and load balancers
- Clean teardown - Remove all AWS resources with a single command

Installation

Install globally via npm:
``bash
npm install -g @pendulum-baas/cli
`

Or use directly with npx:
`bash
npx @pendulum-baas/cli
`

Commands

`bash
npx pendulum init # Initialize a new Pendulum project in the current directory.
`

This will:

- Install @pendulum-baas/core and @pendulum-baas/sdk
- Add npm scripts for backend management
- Set up project structure

*

`bash
npx pendulum dev # Start the Pendulum backend for local development.
`

Starts:

- MongoDB container
- App service (port 3000)
- Events service (port 8080)
- Admin dashboard at http://localhost:3000/admin

*

`bash
npx pendulum deploy # Deploy your application to AWS using CDK.
`

Interactive prompts for:

- AWS account ID and region
- Project name
- Frontend build path
- Deployment confirmation

Creates:

- ECS Fargate cluster
- DocumentDB database
- Application Load Balancer
- CloudFront distribution
- VPC with security groups

*

`bash
npx pendulum destroy # Remove all AWS infrastructure and resources.
`

⚠️ Warning: This permanently deletes all data and infrastructure.

Prerequisites

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- Node.js 18+
- Docker and Docker Compose
- npm or yarn

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- AWS CLI configured (aws configure)
- Docker (for container building)
- Valid AWS credentials with appropriate permissions

AWS Permissions Setup

Important: You must configure AWS permissions before deploying. The CLI cannot automatically grant itself permissions.

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`bash
aws configure

Enter your admin credentials

`

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- AWSCloudFormationFullAccess - Stack management
- AmazonECS_FullAccess - Container orchestration
- AmazonDocDBFullAccess - Database hosting
- AmazonVPCFullAccess - Network infrastructure
- IAMFullAccess - Role creation
- AmazonS3FullAccess - CDK asset storage
- SecretsManagerReadWrite - Credential management

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`bash
aws sts get-caller-identity

Should show your account ID and user/role

`

Environment Configuration

See the Pendulum Core README for environment variable details. The CLI handles configuration automatically.

Docker Management

The CLI adds these scripts to your package.json:
`json
{
"scripts": {
"pendulum-backend:start": "cd node_modules/@pendulum-baas/core && docker compose start",
"pendulum-backend:stop": "cd node_modules/@pendulum-baas/core && docker compose stop"
}
}
`

Deployment Output

After successful AWS deployment, you'll receive:

- Frontend URL - CloudFront distribution
- API Endpoint - Load balancer DNS
- Admin Dashboard - Management interface
- Admin API Key - Dashboard access credentials

Troubleshooting

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`bash

Linux

sudo systemctl start docker

macOS/Windows

Start Docker Desktop application

`

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`bash
aws configure

Enter your Access Key ID, Secret, region, and output format

`

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- Check the build path when prompted during deployment
- Ensure your frontend is built (npm run build)
- Verify the build path contains index.html

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- Verify your AWS user has the required permissions listed above
- Check AWS CLI access: aws sts get-caller-identity



Dependencies Downloaded with npm install

- AWS CDK - Infrastructure as Code
- AWS CLI - AWS resource management
- Docker - Container orchestration
- Inquirer - Interactive prompts
- Chalk - Terminal colors
- Ora - Loading spinners

Examples

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`bash

Initialize project

mkdir my-app && cd my-app
npx pendulum init

Start development

npx pendulum dev

Deploy to production

npx pendulum deploy

Clean up resources

npx pendulum destroy
``