WaterUI CLI Reference

The water CLI is your primary tool for managing WaterUI projects. It handles scaffolding, running, and packaging your applications across different platforms.

Installation

Ensure you have the CLI installed (see Setup):

cargo install --path cli --locked

Project Modes

WaterUI supports two project modes:

1. Playground Mode (Recommended for Learning)

water create "My Experiment" --playground

• Best for: Prototyping, learning, and simple apps.
• Structure: Hides native projects in .water/.
• Experience: Zero-config. Just run water run and go.

2. Full Project

water create "My App" --bundle-id com.example.app --platform ios,android

• Best for: Production apps needing custom native code (Info.plist, AndroidManifest.xml).
• Structure: Generates explicit apple/ and android/ folders.
• Experience: Full control over the native build process.

Commands

create

Scaffolds a new project.

# Playground
water create "Demo" --playground

# Production
water create "Production App" --bundle-id com.org.app --platform ios

run

Builds and runs the application on a connected device or simulator.

# Auto-detect device
water run

# Target specific platform
water run --platform ios
water run --platform android

# Target specific device
water run --device "iPhone 15"

Hot Reload is enabled by default. Save your .rs files to see changes instantly.

package

Produces distributable artifacts (IPA, APK/AAB).

water package --platform ios --release
water package --platform android --release --arch arm64

doctor

Checks your development environment for missing dependencies.

water doctor
# Attempt to fix issues automatically
water doctor --fix

devices

Lists all detected simulators and physical devices.

water devices