Install and configure the CLI

Pipelab publishes its standalone command-line package as @pipelab/cli on npm. The package provides both pipelab and plab executable names. A release job builds a bundled package, checks that its manifest and UI/assets are present, and publishes it with public access.

npm install --global @pipelab/cli
pipelab --help

The release workflow uses Node.js 24.15.0 to build the package. The published manifest does not declare a minimum Node.js version, so this repository does not establish a separate end-user version requirement. The CLI is a Node package, rather than a platform-specific executable.

User data

By default, the CLI stores configuration, projects, cache, and history under a Pipelab user-data directory:

Platform	Base path
Windows	%APPDATA%\@pipelab\app (or ~/AppData/Roaming/@pipelab/app if APPDATA is unset)
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/@pipelab/app
Linux and other platforms	$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/@pipelab/app, or ~/.config/@pipelab/app if XDG_CONFIG_HOME is unset

Beta builds use app-beta in place of app; development runs use app-dev. Commands that accept --user-data <path> use that path instead. The desktop app has its own channel-specific startup configuration; this table describes the CLI default.

Cloud configuration

When Supabase configuration is unavailable, startup prints:

Warning: Authentication is currently disabled (Cloud services not configured).

The CLI can still run local commands. Authentication and cloud features depend on the Supabase values included in the build. The artifact client also reads PIPELAB_CLOUD_WORKER_URL, but the current Release editor does not expose an upload path. See Cloud artifacts for current availability and limits. POSTHOG_API_KEY, when included in a production build, enables command telemetry.

Use pipelab --help for the command list and pipelab <command> --help for a command's options. See the CLI reference for command behavior and the distinction between graph pipeline runs and Release workflow runs.

Development install

To work on the CLI from a source checkout, use the repository's pinned Node.js 24 and pnpm 10.33.0 versions, then install workspace dependencies with pnpm install. Start the server with pnpm --filter @pipelab/cli dev; it runs the CLI in development mode and loads the root .env when present. See Develop Pipelab for environment values and workspace commands.