CLI Reference

kiln [options] [-- bun-build-flags...]

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Options

-p, --project <dir>

• Default: .
• Description: Path to the project root directory containing the build output.
• Example: kiln -p ./apps/web

-o, --out <path>

• Default: ./server (or .\server.exe on Windows)
• Description: Path and filename for the compiled executable binary.
• Example: kiln -o ./bin/app

-f, --framework <name>

• Default: (auto-detected)
• Description: Explicitly set framework adapter (e.g. next, astro).
• Example: kiln -f next

-b, --backend <name>

• Default: bun
• Description: Select the compiler backend. Bun is stable; ScriptC is experimental and currently limited to native compiler probing while Kiln’s generated runtime is being made portable.
• Example: kiln --backend bun

-e, --engine <engine>

• Default: default
• Description: Select the runtime HTTP server: default for the framework server or bun-serve for the in-memory static accelerator.
• Example: kiln --engine bun-serve

-t, --target <target>

• Default: (host platform)
• Description: Target cross-compilation platform.
• Example: kiln -t bun-linux-x64

The target is translated for the selected backend. Bun receives a --target flag. ScriptC receives SCRIPTC_TARGET and requires SCRIPTC_CC=zigcc for cross-compilation. Kiln currently rejects wasm32-wasi because its generated HTTP runtime does not yet have a portable WASI host.

--list-adapters

• Description: Lists all available registered framework adapters.

--list-backends

• Description: Lists all available registered compiler backends.

-h, --help

• Description: Displays CLI help and usage examples.