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# Command Line Interface
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Full-featured CLI for CSS generation with extensive configuration options including watch mode, custom output paths, and transformer support.
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## Capabilities
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### Start CLI
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Initializes and starts the CLI application with command-line argument parsing and option handling.
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```typescript { .api }
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/**
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 * Initializes and starts the CLI application with command parsing
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 * @param cwd - Working directory (defaults to process.cwd())
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 * @param argv - Command line arguments (defaults to process.argv)
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 * @param options - Default CLI options to merge with command arguments
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 * @returns Promise that resolves when CLI processing completes
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 */
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function startCli(
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  cwd?: string,
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  argv?: string[],
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  options?: CliOptions
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): Promise<void>;
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```
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**Usage Examples:**
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```typescript
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// Note: startCli may not be directly exported from main package entry
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// Check package build outputs for correct import path
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import { startCli } from "@unocss/cli";
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// Start with default process arguments
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await startCli();
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// Start with custom working directory
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await startCli("/path/to/project");
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// Start with custom arguments
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await startCli(
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  process.cwd(),
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  ["", "", "src/**/*.html", "-o", "dist/styles.css", "--watch"]
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);
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// Start with default options
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await startCli(process.cwd(), process.argv, {
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  outFile: "uno.css",
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  preflights: true,
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});
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```
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## CLI Command Format
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The CLI accepts glob patterns and various options:
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```bash
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unocss [...patterns] [options]
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```
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### Command Arguments
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- `[...patterns]` - One or more glob patterns for files to process
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### Command Options
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- `-o, --out-file <file>` - Output CSS file path (defaults to "uno.css" in current directory)
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- `--stdout` - Output CSS to STDOUT instead of file
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- `-c, --config [file]` - Path to UnoCSS configuration file
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- `-w, --watch` - Enable watch mode for automatic rebuilding
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- `--write-transformed` - Update source files with transformed utilities
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- `--preflights` - Enable CSS preflights (default: true)
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- `-m, --minify` - Minify generated CSS output
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### CLI Examples
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```bash
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# Basic CSS generation
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unocss "src/**/*.html"
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# Custom output file
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unocss "src/**/*.html" --out-file dist/styles.css
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# Multiple file patterns
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unocss "src/**/*.html" "src/**/*.js" --out-file build/uno.css
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# Watch mode for development
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unocss "src/**/*.{html,js,ts}" --watch --out-file dist/uno.css
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# Output to stdout for piping
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unocss "src/**/*.html" --stdout > styles.css
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# Use custom configuration
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unocss "src/**/*.html" --config uno.config.ts
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# Minified output
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unocss "src/**/*.html" --minify --out-file dist/uno.min.css
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# Transform source files in place
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unocss "src/**/*.html" --write-transformed
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# Disable preflights
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unocss "src/**/*.html" --no-preflights
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```
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### Configuration File Integration
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The CLI integrates with UnoCSS configuration files and supports multi-entry configurations:
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```javascript
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// uno.config.js
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import { defineConfig } from 'unocss'
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export default defineConfig({
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  cli: {
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    entry: [
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      {
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        patterns: ['src/pages/**/*.html'],
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        outFile: 'dist/pages.css',
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      },
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      {
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        patterns: ['src/components/**/*.js'],
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        outFile: 'dist/components.css',
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      },
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    ],
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  },
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  // ... other UnoCSS configuration
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})
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```
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When using configuration files, the CLI will process multiple entry points automatically:
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```bash
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# Processes all entries defined in config
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unocss --config uno.config.js
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```