0
# Core Commands
1

2
Essential daily-use commands for developing and building Storybook projects. These commands from the core `storybook` package provide the fundamental development workflow operations.
3

4
## Capabilities
5

6
### Development Server
7

8
Start Storybook development server with hot reloading and interactive features.
9

10
```bash { .api }
11
storybook dev [options]
12

13
Options:
14
  -p, --port <number>              Port to run Storybook (default: auto-detected)
15
  -h, --host <string>              Host to run Storybook
16
  -c, --config-dir <dir-name>      Directory where to load Storybook configurations from
17
  --https                          Serve Storybook over HTTPS
18
  --ssl-ca <ca>                    Provide SSL certificate authority (array)
19
  --ssl-cert <cert>                Provide SSL certificate (required with --https)
20
  --ssl-key <key>                  Provide SSL key (required with --https)
21
  --smoke-test                     Exit after successful start
22
  --ci                            CI mode (skip interactive prompts, don't open browser)
23
  --no-open                       Do not open Storybook automatically in the browser
24
  --quiet                         Suppress verbose build output
25
  --no-version-updates            Suppress update check
26
  --debug-webpack                 Display final webpack configurations for debugging
27
  --webpack-stats-json [directory] Write Webpack stats JSON to disk
28
  --stats-json [directory]        Write stats JSON to disk
29
  --preview-url <string>          Disables default storybook preview, use your own
30
  --force-build-preview           Build preview iframe even with --preview-url
31
  --docs                          Build a documentation-only site using addon-docs
32
  --exact-port                    Exit early if desired port is not available
33
  --initial-path [path]           URL path to append when visiting Storybook initially
34
  --preview-only                  Use the preview without the manager UI
35
```
36

37
**Usage Examples:**
38

39
```bash
40
# Start development server on default port
41
storybook dev
42

43
# Start on specific port and host
44
storybook dev --port 8080 --host 0.0.0.0
45

46
# Start with HTTPS
47
storybook dev --https --ssl-cert ./cert.pem --ssl-key ./key.pem
48

49
# Start in CI mode (no browser, non-interactive)
50
storybook dev --ci --smoke-test
51

52
# Start with docs-only mode
53
storybook dev --docs
54

55
# Start with custom config directory
56
storybook dev --config-dir ./custom-storybook
57

58
# Debug webpack configuration
59
storybook dev --debug-webpack --webpack-stats-json
60
```
61

62
### Production Build
63

64
Build Storybook for production deployment as static files.
65

66
```bash { .api }
67
storybook build [options]
68

69
Options:
70
  -o, --output-dir <dir-name>      Directory where to store built files
71
  -c, --config-dir <dir-name>      Directory where to load Storybook configurations from
72
  --quiet                          Suppress verbose build output
73
  --debug-webpack                  Display final webpack configurations for debugging
74
  --webpack-stats-json [directory] Write Webpack stats JSON to disk
75
  --stats-json [directory]         Write stats JSON to disk
76
  --preview-url <string>           Disables default storybook preview, use your own
77
  --force-build-preview            Build preview iframe even with --preview-url
78
  --docs                           Build a documentation-only site using addon-docs
79
  --test                           Build stories optimized for testing purposes
80
  --preview-only                   Use the preview without the manager UI
81
```
82

83
**Usage Examples:**
84

85
```bash
86
# Build to default output directory (storybook-static)
87
storybook build
88

89
# Build to custom output directory
90
storybook build --output-dir ./dist/storybook
91

92
# Build docs-only site
93
storybook build --docs
94

95
# Build for testing (optimized for test runners)
96
storybook build --test
97

98
# Build with custom config directory
99
storybook build --config-dir ./custom-storybook
100

101
# Build with webpack stats for analysis
102
storybook build --webpack-stats-json ./webpack-stats
103

104
# Quiet build (minimal output)
105
storybook build --quiet
106
```
107

108
### Index Generation
109

110
Generate story index for external tools and integrations.
111

112
```bash { .api }
113
storybook index [options]
114

115
Options:
116
  -o, --output-file <file-name>    JSON file to output index
117
  -c, --config-dir <dir-name>      Directory where to load Storybook configurations from
118
  --quiet                          Suppress verbose build output
119
```
120

121
**Usage Examples:**
122

123
```bash
124
# Generate index to default file
125
storybook index
126

127
# Generate index to custom file
128
storybook index --output-file ./stories-index.json
129

130
# Generate index with custom config directory
131
storybook index --config-dir ./custom-storybook --output-file ./index.json
132
```
133

134
### Programmatic Usage
135

136
For programmatic usage, import functions from the core server package:
137

138
```typescript { .api }
139
import { 
140
  buildDevStandalone, 
141
  buildStaticStandalone, 
142
  buildIndex,
143
  buildIndexStandalone 
144
} from "storybook/internal/core-server";
145

146
/**
147
 * Start development server programmatically
148
 * @param options - Development server configuration options
149
 * @returns Promise with server connection details
150
 */
151
function buildDevStandalone(
152
  options: CLIOptions & LoadOptions & BuilderOptions & {
153
    storybookVersion?: string;
154
    previewConfigPath?: string;
155
  }
156
): Promise<{ port: number; address: string; networkAddress: string }>;
157

158
/**
159
 * Build Storybook for production programmatically
160
 * @param options - Build configuration options
161
 * @returns Promise that resolves when build is complete
162
 */
163
function buildStaticStandalone(options: BuildStaticStandaloneOptions): Promise<void>;
164

165
/**
166
 * Generate story index programmatically
167
 * @param options - Index generation options
168
 * @returns Promise with the generated story index
169
 */
170
function buildIndex(options: BuildIndexOptions): Promise<StoryIndex>;
171

172
/**
173
 * Generate and write story index to file programmatically
174
 * @param options - Index generation and output options
175
 * @returns Promise that resolves when index is written
176
 */
177
function buildIndexStandalone(
178
  options: BuildIndexOptions & { outputFile: string }
179
): Promise<void>;
180
```
181

182
**Usage Examples:**
183

184
```typescript
185
import { 
186
  buildDevStandalone, 
187
  buildStaticStandalone, 
188
  buildIndex,
189
  buildIndexStandalone 
190
} from "storybook/internal/core-server";
191

192
// Start development server
193
const result = await buildDevStandalone({
194
  configDir: './.storybook',
195
  port: 6006,
196
  host: 'localhost',
197
  packageJson: require('./package.json')
198
});
199
console.log(`Storybook started on port ${result.port}`);
200

201
// Build for production
202
await buildStaticStandalone({
203
  configDir: './.storybook',
204
  outputDir: './storybook-static',
205
  quiet: false,
206
  packageJson: require('./package.json')
207
});
208

209
// Generate story index
210
const index = await buildIndex({
211
  configDir: './.storybook',
212
  packageJson: require('./package.json')
213
});
214

215
// Generate and write story index to file
216
await buildIndexStandalone({
217
  configDir: './.storybook', 
218
  outputFile: './stories.json',
219
  packageJson: require('./package.json')
220
});
221
```
222

223
## Types
224

225
```typescript { .api }
226
interface CLIOptions extends CLIBaseOptions {
227
  port?: number;
228
  ignorePreview?: boolean;
229
  previewUrl?: string;
230
  forceBuildPreview?: boolean;
231
  host?: string;
232
  initialPath?: string;
233
  exactPort?: boolean;
234
  https?: boolean;
235
  sslCa?: string[];
236
  sslCert?: string;
237
  sslKey?: string;
238
  smokeTest?: boolean;
239
  managerCache?: boolean;
240
  open?: boolean;
241
  ci?: boolean;
242
  versionUpdates?: boolean;
243
  docs?: boolean;
244
  test?: boolean;
245
  debugWebpack?: boolean;
246
  webpackStatsJson?: string | boolean;
247
  statsJson?: string | boolean;
248
  outputDir?: string;
249
  previewOnly?: boolean;
250
}
251

252
interface CLIBaseOptions {
253
  disableTelemetry?: boolean;
254
  enableCrashReports?: boolean;
255
  configDir?: string;
256
  loglevel?: string;
257
  quiet?: boolean;
258
}
259

260
interface LoadOptions {
261
  packageJson?: PackageJson;
262
  outputDir?: string;
263
  configDir?: string;
264
  cacheKey?: string;
265
  ignorePreview?: boolean;
266
  extendServer?: (server: HttpServer) => void;
267
}
268

269
interface BuilderOptions {
270
  configType?: "DEVELOPMENT" | "PRODUCTION";
271
  ignorePreview?: boolean;
272
  cache?: FileSystemCache;
273
  configDir: string;
274
  docsMode?: boolean;
275
  features?: StorybookConfigRaw["features"];
276
  versionCheck?: VersionCheck;
277
  disableWebpackDefaults?: boolean;
278
  serverChannelUrl?: string;
279
}
280

281
type BuildStaticStandaloneOptions = CLIOptions & LoadOptions & BuilderOptions & { 
282
  outputDir: string;
283
};
284

285
type BuildIndexOptions = CLIOptions & LoadOptions & BuilderOptions;
286

287
interface CLIIndexOptions extends CLIBaseOptions {
288
  configDir?: string;
289
  outputFile?: string;
290
}
291

292
interface StoryIndex {
293
  v: number;
294
  entries: Record<string, StoryIndexEntry>;
295
}
296

297
interface StoryIndexEntry {
298
  id: string;
299
  title: string;
300
  name: string;
301
  importPath: string;
302
  type: "docs" | "story";
303
  tags?: string[];
304
}
305
```
306

307
## Environment Variables
308

309
All commands support environment variable configuration:
310

311
```bash
312
# Port configuration
313
SBCONFIG_PORT=8080 storybook dev
314

315
# Host configuration  
316
SBCONFIG_HOSTNAME=0.0.0.0 storybook dev
317

318
# Config directory
319
SBCONFIG_CONFIG_DIR=./custom-storybook storybook dev
320

321
# Output directory
322
SBCONFIG_OUTPUT_DIR=./dist storybook build
323

324
# CI mode
325
CI=true storybook dev
326

327
# Output file for index
328
SBCONFIG_OUTPUT_FILE=./stories.json storybook index
329
```