CLI Reference

Complete reference for all seite CLI commands, flags, and options.

Tip

Run seite <command> --help for quick inline help on any command.

Overview

seite has eleven subcommands:

Command	Description
`init`	Create a new site
`build`	Build the site
`serve`	Development server with live reload
`new`	Create content files
`agent`	AI assistant with site context
`theme`	Manage themes
`deploy`	Deploy to hosting platforms
`workspace`	Manage multi-site workspaces
`mcp`	MCP server for AI tool integration
`upgrade`	Update project config to match current binary
`self-update`	Update the seite binary to the latest release

Global Flags

These flags work with any command:

Flag	Description
`--site <name>`	Target a specific site in a workspace
`--config <path>`	Path to config file
`--dir <path>`	Project directory
`--verbose`	Enable verbose logging
`--json`	Output results as JSON

seite init

Create a new site directory with scaffolded structure.

seite init <name> [options]

Flag	Description
`--title`	Site title
`--description`	Site description
`--deploy-target`	`github-pages`, `cloudflare`, or `netlify`
`--collections`	Comma-separated list: `posts,docs,pages,changelog,roadmap`

If flags are omitted, seite init prompts interactively.

# Non-interactive
seite init mysite --title "My Blog" --deploy-target github-pages --collections posts,pages

# Interactive
seite init mysite

seite build

Build the site from seite.toml in the current directory.

seite build [options]

Flag	Description
`--drafts`	Include draft content in the build
`--strict`	Treat broken internal links as build errors

The build pipeline runs 12 steps: clean output, load templates, process collections, render pages, generate RSS, sitemap, discovery files, markdown output, search index, copy static files, process images, and post-process HTML. Per-step timing is shown in the output.

After building, seite build validates all internal links in the generated HTML. Broken links (e.g., links pointing to /posts/missing-slug) are reported as warnings by default. Use --strict to fail the build when broken links are found — useful in CI pipelines.

seite serve

Start a development server with live reload.

seite serve [options]

Flag	Description
`--port`	Starting port (default: 3000, auto-increments if taken)
`--drafts`	Include drafts

The server injects a live-reload script that polls for changes. An interactive REPL accepts commands:

new <collection> "Title" — create content
agent [prompt] — launch AI agent
theme apply <name> — apply theme and rebuild
build — rebuild the site
status — show server info
stop — stop the server

seite new

Create a new content file with frontmatter.

seite new <collection> "Title" [options]

Flag	Description
`--tags`	Comma-separated tags
`--lang`	Language code for translations (e.g., `es`, `fr`)

seite new post "My Post" --tags rust,web
seite new doc "API Guide"
seite new page "About"
seite new post "Mi Post" --lang es    # Spanish translation
seite new changelog "v1.0.0" --tags new,improvement
seite new roadmap "Dark Mode" --tags planned

seite agent

Launch an AI assistant with full site context.

seite agent [prompt]

Two modes:

Interactive: seite agent — opens a Claude Code session
One-shot: seite agent "write a blog post about Rust" — runs and exits

The agent receives your site config, content inventory, template list, and available CLI commands. It can read, write, and edit files. Requires Claude Code: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code.

seite collection

Manage site collections — add presets to an existing site or list current collections.

seite collection <subcommand>

Subcommand	Description
`add <preset>`	Add a collection preset to the current site (updates `seite.toml`, creates content directory)
`list`	List all collections in the current site with their configuration

Available presets: posts, docs, pages, changelog, roadmap, trust.

seite collection add changelog    # Add changelog collection
seite collection add roadmap      # Add roadmap collection
seite collection list             # Show all configured collections

seite theme

Manage site themes — list, apply, install, export, and generate.

seite theme <subcommand>

Subcommand	Description
`list`	Show all available themes (bundled + installed)
`apply <name>`	Apply a bundled or installed theme
`create "<description>"`	Generate a custom theme with AI
`install <url>`	Download and install a theme from a URL
`export <name>`	Export the current theme as a shareable `.tera` file

seite theme list
seite theme apply dark
seite theme create "brutalist with neon green accents"
seite theme install https://example.com/themes/aurora.tera
seite theme install https://example.com/themes/aurora.tera --name my-aurora
seite theme export my-theme --description "My custom dark theme"

Six bundled themes: default, minimal, dark, docs, brutalist, bento. Installed themes are stored in templates/themes/ and listed alongside bundled themes. See the Theme Gallery for visual previews.

seite deploy

Deploy the built site.

seite deploy [options]

Flag	Description
`--target`	Override deploy target (`github-pages`, `cloudflare`, `netlify`)
`--dry-run`	Preview what would be deployed without deploying
`--domain`	Set up a custom domain (prints DNS records, updates config, attaches to platform)
`--setup`	Run guided deploy setup
`--skip-checks`	Skip pre-flight checks
`--base-url`	Override base URL for this deploy
`--no-commit`	Skip auto-commit and push (overrides `deploy.auto_commit`)

seite deploy                          # Commit, push, build, and deploy
seite deploy --no-commit              # Deploy without auto-commit/push
seite deploy --dry-run                # Preview changes
seite deploy --target netlify         # Override target
seite deploy --target cloudflare --dry-run
seite deploy --domain example.com     # Set up custom domain
seite deploy --setup                  # Guided setup wizard

seite workspace

Manage multi-site workspaces. See the Workspaces guide for full details.

seite workspace <subcommand>

Subcommand	Description
`init [name]`	Initialize a new workspace in the current directory
`list`	List all sites in the workspace
`add <name>`	Add a new site to the workspace
`status`	Show detailed workspace status

workspace add flags

Flag	Description
`--path`	Site directory path (default: `sites/<name>`)
`--title`	Site title
`--collections`	Comma-separated collections (default: `posts,pages`)

seite workspace init my-workspace
seite workspace add blog --collections posts,pages --title "Blog"
seite workspace add docs --collections docs --path sites/documentation
seite workspace list
seite workspace status

When inside a workspace, build, serve, and deploy operate on all sites by default. Use --site to target one:

seite build --site blog               # Build only the blog
seite serve --site docs               # Serve only the docs
seite deploy --site blog --dry-run    # Preview blog deploy

seite mcp

Start the MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for AI tool integration. Communicates over stdio using JSON-RPC.

seite mcp

This command is designed to be spawned automatically by Claude Code (or other MCP clients) as a subprocess. It is configured in .claude/settings.json during seite init and requires no manual invocation.

The server exposes resources (documentation, site config, content, themes) and tools (build, create content, search, apply theme, lookup docs). See the MCP Server guide for full details.

Info

You don't need to run this command manually. Claude Code starts it automatically when you open a page project. Use seite upgrade to add the MCP configuration to existing projects.

seite upgrade

Update project configuration files to match the current binary version. When you upgrade the seite binary, your existing project may lack new config entries (e.g., MCP server settings). This command detects what's outdated and applies additive, non-destructive changes.

seite upgrade [options]

Flag	Description
`--force`	Apply all upgrades without confirmation
`--check`	Check for needed upgrades without applying (exits with code 1 if outdated)

seite upgrade                # Interactive: shows changes, asks for confirmation
seite upgrade --force        # Apply all changes without prompting
seite upgrade --check        # CI mode: exit 1 if upgrades needed, 0 if current

Upgrade is additive and non-destructive:

Merges into .claude/settings.json — adds new entries, never removes yours
Appends to CLAUDE.md — adds new sections, never modifies existing content
Creates .seite/config.json if missing — tracks the project's config version
Each upgrade step is version-gated, so running it on a current project is a fast no-op

Tip

seite build will nudge you with a one-liner when your project config is outdated: "Run seite upgrade for new features." The build still succeeds — the nudge is informational only.

seite self-update

Update the seite binary itself to the latest release (or a specific version).

seite self-update [options]

Flag	Description
`--check`	Check for updates without installing
`--target-version`	Update to a specific version (e.g., `0.2.0` or `v0.2.0`)

seite self-update                          # Update to latest release
seite self-update --check                  # Just check, don't install
seite self-update --target-version 0.2.0   # Pin a specific version

The command downloads the appropriate binary for your platform from GitHub Releases, verifies the SHA256 checksum, and replaces the running binary atomically.

Info

After updating the binary, run seite upgrade in each of your projects to bring their config files up to date.