CLI

The CLI is available as simple or simple-engine.

simple init [directory]

Initialize a new Simple Engine project.

simple init                    # Initialize in current directory
simple init my-site            # Initialize in new directory
simple init my-site -t default # Use a specific template

Options

• -t, --template <name> — Template to use (default: default)

simple dev

Start the development server with hot reload.

simple dev           # Start on port 3000
simple dev -p 8080   # Start on custom port
simple dev -o        # Open browser automatically
simple dev --drafts  # Include draft pages

Options

• -p, --port <port> — Port to run server on (default: 3000)
• -o, --open — Open browser automatically
• --drafts — Include pages with draft: true

simple build

Build your site for production.

simple build              # Build to ./dist
simple build -o ./public  # Build to custom directory

Options

• -o, --output <dir> — Output directory (default: from config, usually dist)

simple new <type> <title>

Create a new page or blog post.

simple new page "About"
simple new post "My First Post"
simple new post "Hello" -d 2026-01-15

Options

• -d, --date <date> — Custom date (ISO format)