Helidon CLI

The Helidon command-line interface (CLI) helps you create and manage Helidon projects. You can use it to generate a new project, get project details, and build your application.

The Helidon CLI also includes a development loop feature that automatically recompiles and restarts your application, so you can iterate quickly while you edit your code.

Prerequisites

Install the Helidon CLI

The Helidon CLI is a standalone executable for Linux, macOS, and Windows systems. Download the executable and install it in a location that is accessible from your PATH.

java --version
mvn --version

curl -L -O https://helidon.io/cli/latest/linux/helidon
chmod +x ./helidon
sudo mv ./helidon /usr/local/bin/

curl -L -O https://helidon.io/cli/latest/darwin/helidon
chmod +x ./helidon
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine helidon
sudo mv ./helidon /usr/local/bin/

PowerShell -Command Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Uri "https://helidon.io/cli/latest/windows/helidon.exe" `
    -OutFile "C:\Windows\system32\helidon.exe"

helidon version

Usage

After you install the Helidon CLI, you can use it to manage your Helidon projects. Some examples are provided below.

Get a list of the available commands:

helidon help

Create a New Project

You can use the Helidon CLI to quickly create a new Helidon project. The command is interactive by default and will prompt for various choices.

helidon init

It will create a new project folder in your current directory.

Development Loop

You can use the Helidon CLI development loop feature to test changes to your application as you make them.

When the development loop is active, the Helidon CLI will automatically recompile and restart your application so you can see the effects of your changes immediately.

cd myproject
helidon dev

To stop the development loop, enter Ctrl+C.

Demo

Watch the following demo to see some of the functionality of the Helidon CLI.