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Justfile Command Reference

Baserow uses just as a command runner. Commands are organized in three justfiles:

Root (/justfile) - Docker Compose and orchestration commands
Backend (/backend/justfile) - Python/Django commands using uv
Frontend (/web-frontend/justfile) - Node/Nuxt commands using yarn

Discovering Commands

Use just built-in help to explore all available recipes:

# List all commands (grouped by category)
just --list

# Show getting started guide
just help

# List backend commands
just b --list
# or
cd backend && just --list

# List frontend commands
just f --list

Each recipe includes a description. Use just --list frequently to discover new commands.

Installation

# macOS
brew install just uv

# Linux
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://just.systems/install.sh | bash -s -- --to ~/.local/bin
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Essential Commands

First Time Setup

just init          # Install backend + frontend dependencies, create .env.local

Local Development

just dev up        # Start everything (db, redis, backend, celery, frontend)
just dev up -d     # Start in background
just dev stop      # Stop all services
just dev logs      # View logs
just dev ps        # Show the running processes + containers (db, redis)

Docker Development

just dc-dev up -d           # Start dev containers
just dcd logs -f            # Follow logs (dcd as alias of dc-dev)
just dcd exec backend bash  # Shell into container
just dcd down               # Stop containers
just dcd ps                 # SHow running containers

Running Commands

# Backend (from root)
just b test              # Run backend tests
just b lint              # Lint backend
just b shell             # Django shell
just b migrate           # Run migrations
just b manage <cmd>      # Any manage.py command

# Frontend (from root)
just f test              # Run frontend tests
just f lint              # Lint frontend

Code Quality

just lint         # Lint all (backend + frontend)
just fix          # Auto-fix style issues
just test         # Run all tests

Testing with Ramdisk Database

For faster tests, use an in-memory PostgreSQL:

just test-db up     # Start ramdisk db on port 5433
DATABASE_URL=postgres://baserow:baserow@localhost:5433/baserow just b test -n=auto
just test-db down   # Stop ramdisk db
just test-db ps     # Check status

Environment Files

File	Purpose
`.env`	Production setup (created from `.env.example`)
`.env.local`	Local development (created by `just init`)
`.env.docker-dev`	Docker development (created by `just dc-dev`)

Personal Recipes

Create local.just for your own shortcuts (gitignored):

cp local.just.example local.just

Your recipes will appear in just --list alongside standard recipes.