The basemodo CLI

Every command of basemodo, the program that deploys and shares your Apps from a terminal, a script or an agent, with how it signs in and how it prints.

Install and check

basemodo is a single program with nothing else to install. Check it works:

basemodo --version

Every command explains itself with --help (basemodo deploy --help), with examples; this page and the page of each command say the same, because they are written from the same source.

Signing in

basemodo login

Opens your browser to approve this computer, and keeps the sign-in for 30 days. Over SSH, or with --device, it shows a short code to enter at basemodo.com/device from any device instead. The sign-in is kept in credentials.json, readable only by you, in $BASEMODO_CONFIG_DIR, else $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/basemodo, else ~/.config/basemodo (%APPDATA%\basemodo on Windows). The local MCP uses the same sign-in. You can see and revoke it on the Devices page of basemodo.com.

Which App

Commands that act on an App take --app NAME. Without it they use the App named after the folder you are in, the way basemodo deploy names it (the folder's name, or name in basemodo.toml). So inside the App's folder you rarely type its name.

Output, for people and for programs

Without --json, a command prints text for people on stdout, and messages along the way (progress, a build log) on stderr.
With --json, stdout holds exactly one JSON document, the result; each command's page says its shape. A command that takes a while also writes its progress to stderr as one JSON object per line: {"event": "progress", "stage": "build", "message": "..."}.
An error exits with a non-zero code. With --json it is {"error": {"code", "message", "fix", "docs"}} on stdout; without, the message on stderr with its fix: (the exact command or basemodo.toml line to change) and docs: (the page explaining it). Every code is explained on the errors page.
basemodo run exits with the exit code of the command it ran.

Scripts and agents should always pass --json, and act on error.code and error.fix.

Global options

Every command takes these, before or after its own arguments.

--json: Print the result as JSON on stdout, for agents and scripts.
--api-url <API_URL>: The Basemodo API to talk to. Also read from BASEMODO_API_URL. Default: https://api.basemodo.com.

Commands

Command	What it does	From an agent
`basemodo backup`	Take a Backup of an App's data now: its database and every file on its volume	tool `backup`
`basemodo backups`	List an App's Backups, newest first, to choose one to restore	tool `backups`
`basemodo db`	Run SQL against an App's SQLite database (/data/app.db) and print the rows	tool `db`
`basemodo deploy`	Deploy a folder and print its URL once it is live	tool `deploy`
`basemodo docs`	Read the documentation of basemodo.com/docs: every page, or one topic	tool `docs`
`basemodo domains add`	Claim a hostname of yours for the App, and print the DNS records to add	tool `domains_add`
`basemodo domains verify`	Look for a custom domain's DNS records now; once found, the App answers there	tool `domains_verify`
`basemodo domains list`	List the App's custom domains, each with its status and DNS records	tool `domains_list`
`basemodo domains remove`	Stop the App answering at a custom domain, and forget its certificate	tool `domains_remove`
`basemodo egress`	Give an App an outgoing address of its own (dedicated), give it back (shared), or say where its traffic leaves from	tool `egress`
`basemodo env set`	Set Secrets: NAME=value ..., or one NAME alone to read its value from stdin. The App gets them the next time it starts: basemodo restart	tool `env_set`
`basemodo env list`	List the App's Secrets by name, with who set each and when. Never values	tool `env_list`
`basemodo env unset`	Remove Secrets by name (all or none). The App loses them the next time it starts: basemodo restart	tool `env_unset`
`basemodo indexing`	Let search engines index a Public App (on), keep them out (off), or say which	tool `indexing`
`basemodo logs`	Follow an App's Logs live, or print its last lines with --lines	tool `logs`
`basemodo login`	Sign this CLI in from your browser	terminal only
`basemodo rename`	Rename an App; its old address redirects to the new one for 30 days	tool `rename`
`basemodo mcp`	Serve the local MCP over stdio, for an agent on this machine	terminal only
`basemodo restore`	Put an App's data back as a Backup holds it	tool `restore`
`basemodo open`	Open an App's URL in your browser	tool `open`
`basemodo restart`	Restart an App: its Machine starts again on its live Deploy	tool `restart`
`basemodo rollback`	Make an earlier Deploy live again, as a new Deploy	tool `rollback`
`basemodo run`	Run a one-off command inside an App's Machine (a migration, a script)	tool `run`
`basemodo share`	Share an App: invite Members and Editors by email, remove them, answer Access Requests, or change its Visibility	tool `share`
`basemodo status`	Say whether an App is awake, asleep, starting or paused, and its latest Deploy	tool `status`
`basemodo toolbar`	Turn off the Toolbar on an App's pages (off), turn it back on (on), or say which	tool `toolbar`
`basemodo version`	Print the version of this CLI	terminal only
`basemodo whoami`	Print who this CLI is signed in as	tool `whoami`