Install our CLI

StaticBackend CLI v1.7.1

The StaticBackend CLI is the main tool for local development and terminal-based backend management.

It can:

• Run the local development server
• Create a local .backend.yml file for development
• Manage database documents, users, forms, and server-side functions
• Manage account and billing commands for hosted environments
• Proxy local requests to a hosted backend when you want to test against production

Installation

Via NPM

Install the CLI globally with npm:

npm install -g @staticbackend/cli

Check that it installed correctly:

backend --version
backend --help

The npm package downloads the matching binary from the GitHub release page during installation.

Manual installation

You may also download the CLI binary directly from the GitHub release page.

Release assets follow this naming pattern:

linux-amd64-backend
linux-arm64-backend
linux-386-backend
linux-arm-backend
darwin-amd64-backend
darwin-arm64-backend
windows-amd64-backend.exe
windows-386-backend.exe
freebsd-amd64-backend

For example, on Linux amd64:

curl -L -o backend \
https://github.com/staticbackendhq/cli/releases/download/v1.7.1/linux-amd64-backend
chmod +x backend
./backend --help

To make backend available from any directory, move it to a directory in your PATH:

sudo mv backend /usr/local/bin/backend

For macOS, replace linux with darwin. For Windows, download the windows-*-backend.exe asset.

Local development

Start the local StaticBackend server:

backend server

The development server runs at http://localhost:8099 by default.

In another terminal, create a local development config file:

backend login --dev

This writes .backend.yml in the current directory with the local development credentials:

pubKey: dev_memory_pk
region: dev
rootToken: safe-to-use-in-dev-root-token
email: admin@dev.com
password: devpw1234
authToken: generated-auth-token

Keep .backend.yml out of version control. It can contain root tokens for local, hosted, or self-hosted backends.

Common commands

Run backend --help to see the top-level command list.

backend --help

Useful command groups:

backend server --help
backend login --help
backend db --help
backend users --help
backend function --help
backend form --help
backend proxy --help
backend account --help

Create and list local database documents after backend server and backend login --dev are running:

backend db create tasks '{"name":"task 1","done":false}'
backend db list tasks

Create an application user:

backend users add user@example.com a-password

Configuration file

The CLI reads .backend.yml from the current directory by default. You can pass a different file with --config:

backend --config ./path/to/.backend.yml db list tasks

For hosted or self-hosted backends, run:

backend login

The command prompts for:

• Public key
• Host URL or region
• Root token
• Email
• Password

The resulting .backend.yml has the same shape as the local development file.

Hosted account commands

Create a hosted account when you are ready to use managed hosting:

backend account create your-email@example.com

The command returns a billing setup link. Your account unlocks after you add a payment method.

Production proxy

If your app is configured for the local development URL but you want requests to reach a hosted backend, use the proxy command:

backend proxy

The proxy listens on http://localhost:8099 by default and forwards requests to the region configured in .backend.yml.

More local development

See Local Development Server for the full local memory BaaS workflow.