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Version: 2.74.3

Watt CLI Commands

Watt provides two main CLI tools for different purposes:

  • wattpm - Primary command for creating, managing, and running Watt applications
  • platformatic - Legacy command with additional utilities and backwards compatibility

Installation​

Install Watt globally for the best development experience:

npm install -g wattpm

Or install as a project dependency:

npm install wattpm
# then run with npx
npx wattpm --help

Core Watt Commands (wattpm)​

These are the primary commands for working with Watt applications:

wattpm create or wattpm init​

Creates a new Watt application with interactive setup.

wattpm create my-app
wattpm init  # creates in current directory

Options:

  • -c, --config <name> - Configuration file name (default: watt.json)
  • -s, --skip-dependencies - Don't install dependencies after creating files
  • -m, --marketplace <url> - Platformatic Marketplace host (default: https://marketplace.platformatic.dev)
  • -P, --package-manager <manager> - Use specific package manager (npm, yarn, pnpm)
  • -M, --module <name> - Additional service generator modules (can be used multiple times)

Example:

wattpm create my-api --marketplace https://custom-marketplace.com
wattpm init --skip-dependencies --package-manager pnpm

wattpm dev​

Starts your Watt application in development mode with hot reloading.

wattpm dev [directory]

Options:

  • -c, --config <path> - Path to configuration file (auto-detected by default)

Example:

wattpm dev
wattpm dev ./my-app --config custom-watt.json

wattpm start​

Starts your Watt application in production mode.

wattpm start [directory]

Options:

  • -c, --config <path> - Path to configuration file (auto-detected by default)
  • -i, --inspect - Start Node.js inspector for debugging

Example:

wattpm start
wattpm start ./dist --inspect

wattpm build​

Builds all services in your Watt application for production.

wattpm build [directory]

Options:

  • -c, --config <path> - Path to configuration file (auto-detected by default)

Example:

wattpm build
wattpm build ./src --config watt.production.json

wattpm install​

Installs dependencies for the application and all its services.

wattpm install [directory]

Options:

  • -c, --config <path> - Path to configuration file
  • -p, --production - Install only production dependencies
  • -P, --package-manager <manager> - Use specific package manager

Example:

wattpm install --production
wattpm install --package-manager yarn

wattpm update​

Updates all Platformatic packages to their latest compatible versions.

wattpm update [directory]

Options:

  • -c, --config <path> - Path to configuration file
  • -f, --force - Force updates even if they violate package.json version ranges

Example:

wattpm update
wattpm update --force

Application Management Commands​

These commands help you manage running Watt applications:

wattpm ps​

Lists all currently running Watt applications.

wattpm ps

wattpm stop​

Stops a running Watt application.

wattpm stop [id]

Arguments:

  • id - Process ID or application name (optional if only one app is running)

wattpm restart​

Restarts all services in a running application (picks up service changes, not main config).

wattpm restart [id]

Arguments:

  • id - Process ID or application name (optional if only one app is running)

wattpm reload​

Reloads a running application completely (picks up all changes including main config).

wattpm reload [id]

Arguments:

  • id - Process ID or application name (optional if only one app is running)

Service Management Commands​

wattpm services​

Lists all services in a running application.

wattpm services [id]

Arguments:

  • id - Process ID or application name (optional if only one app is running)

wattpm import​

Imports an external service into your Watt application.

wattpm import [directory] [url]

Arguments:

  • directory - Application directory (default: current directory)
  • url - URL or GitHub repository to import (format: user/repo for GitHub)

Options:

  • -c, --config <path> - Configuration file path
  • -i, --id <name> - Service ID (default: repository basename)
  • -p, --path <path> - Local path for the service (default: service ID)
  • -H, --http - Use HTTP instead of SSH for GitHub URLs
  • -b, --branch <name> - Branch to clone (default: main)
  • -s, --skip-dependencies - Don't install service dependencies
  • -P, --package-manager <manager> - Package manager to use

Examples:

wattpm import platformatic/hello-world
wattpm import https://github.com/user/my-service.git --id my-service
wattpm import --http --branch develop user/repo

wattpm resolve​

Downloads and resolves all external services defined in your configuration.

wattpm resolve [directory]

Options:

  • -c, --config <path> - Configuration file path
  • -u, --username <name> - Username for private repositories
  • -p, --password <token> - Password/token for private repositories
  • -s, --skip-dependencies - Don't install service dependencies
  • -P, --package-manager <manager> - Package manager to use

Example:

wattpm resolve --username myuser --password $GITHUB_TOKEN

Debugging and Inspection Commands​

wattpm logs​

Streams logs from a running application or specific service.

wattpm logs [id] [service]

Arguments:

  • id - Process ID or application name (optional if only one app is running)
  • service - Specific service name (optional, streams from all services if omitted)

Example:

wattpm logs
wattpm logs my-app api-service

wattpm inject​

Injects HTTP requests into a running application for testing.

wattpm inject [id] [service]

Arguments:

  • id - Process ID or application name (optional if only one app is running)
  • service - Service name (optional, uses entrypoint if omitted)

Options:

  • -m, --method <verb> - HTTP method (default: GET)
  • -p, --path <path> - Request path (default: /)
  • -H, --header <header> - Request headers (can be used multiple times)
  • -d, --data <body> - Request body data
  • -D, --data-file <file> - Read request body from file
  • -o, --output <file> - Write response to file
  • -f, --full-output - Include response headers in output

Examples:

wattpm inject --path /api/health
wattpm inject --method POST --header "Content-Type: application/json" --data '{"name": "test"}'
wattpm inject my-app api-service --path /users --output response.json

wattpm env​

Displays environment variables for a running application or service.

wattpm env [id] [service]

Arguments:

  • id - Process ID or application name (optional if only one app is running)
  • service - Service name (optional, shows app-level env if omitted)

Options:

  • -t, --table - Display variables in table format

Example:

wattpm env --table
wattpm env my-app database-service

wattpm config​

Displays configuration for a running application or service.

wattpm config [id] [service]

Arguments:

  • id - Process ID or application name (optional if only one app is running)
  • service - Service name (optional, shows app config if omitted)

Example:

wattpm config
wattpm config my-app api-service

Advanced Commands​

wattpm patch-config​

Applies configuration patches using JavaScript files.

wattpm patch-config [directory] <patch-file>

Arguments:

  • directory - Application directory (default: current directory)
  • patch-file - JavaScript file that exports a patch function

Options:

  • -c, --config <path> - Configuration file path

Patch file format:

// patch.js
module.exports = function(runtime, services) {
  return {
    runtime: [/* JSON Patch operations for runtime config */],
    services: [/* JSON Patch operations for service configs */]
  }
}

Example:

wattpm patch-config ./patches/production.js

wattpm admin​

Starts the Watt administration web interface.

wattpm admin [latest]

Arguments:

  • latest - Use the latest version of watt-admin

Options:

  • -P, --package-manager <manager> - Package manager for installing watt-admin

Example:

wattpm admin latest

Utility Commands​

wattpm help​

Displays help information.

wattpm help [command]

Arguments:

  • command - Show help for a specific command

Example:

wattpm help
wattpm help create

wattpm version​

Displays the current Watt version.

wattpm version

Legacy Platformatic Commands​

For backwards compatibility, these commands are available via platformatic or npx platformatic:

Service-Specific Commands​

  • platformatic db <command> - Database service commands (create, start, migrations, seed, etc.)
  • platformatic service <command> - HTTP service commands (create, start, compile, etc.)
  • platformatic composer <command> - API gateway commands (create, start, schema fetch, etc.)
  • platformatic runtime <command> - Runtime commands (start, compile, etc.)

Client Generation​

  • platformatic client <url> - Generate API clients from OpenAPI/GraphQL schemas
  • platformatic frontend <url> <language> - Generate frontend code for consuming APIs

Management Commands​

  • platformatic ctl <command> - Control running applications (ps, stop, restart, etc.)
  • platformatic start - Generic start command
  • platformatic upgrade - Upgrade configuration schemas

For detailed information about these legacy commands, see the complete CLI reference.

Configuration Files​

Watt automatically detects configuration files in this order:

  1. watt.json / watt.json5
  2. platformatic.json / platformatic.json5
  3. platformatic.yml / platformatic.yaml
  4. platformatic.tml / platformatic.toml

For more details, see Configuration File Formats.

Common Workflows​

Creating a New Application​

# Create a new Watt app
wattpm create my-app
cd my-app

# Start in development mode
wattpm dev

# In another terminal, test it
wattpm inject --path /api/health

Adding an External Service​

# Import a service from GitHub
wattpm import platformatic/example-service

# Resolve all external services
wattpm resolve

# Restart to pick up changes
wattpm restart

Production Deployment​

# Build the application
wattpm build

# Start in production mode
wattpm start

# Monitor logs
wattpm logs

Issues

If you run into a bug or have a suggestion for improvement, please raise an issue on GitHub or join our Discord feedback channel.