init

The init command is used to initialize a project with BAML. It sets up the necessary directory structure and configuration files to get you started with BAML.

Usage

baml-cli init [OPTIONS]

Options

OptionDescriptionDefault
--dest <PATH>Specifies where to initialize the BAML projectCurrent directory (.)
--client-type <TYPE>Type of BAML client to generateGuesses based on where the CLI was installed from (python/pydantic for pip, typescript for npm, etc.)
--openapi-client-type <TYPE>The OpenAPI client generator to run, if --client-type=openapiNone

Description

The init command performs the following actions:

  1. Creates a new BAML project structure in ${DEST}/baml_src.
  2. Creates a generators.baml file in the baml_src directory with initial configuration.
  3. Includes some additional examples files in baml_src to get you started.

Client Types

The --client-type option allows you to specify the type of BAML client to generate. Available options include:

  • python/pydantic: For Python clients using Pydantic
  • typescript: For TypeScript clients
  • ruby/sorbet: For Ruby clients using Sorbet
  • rest/openapi: For REST clients using OpenAPI

If not specified, it uses the default from the runtime CLI configuration.

OpenAPI Client Types

When using --client-type=rest/openai, you can specify the OpenAPI client generator using the --openapi-client-type option. Some examples include:

  • go
  • java
  • php
  • ruby
  • rust
  • csharp

For a full list of supported OpenAPI client types, refer to the OpenAPI Generator documentation.

Examples

  1. Initialize a BAML project in the current directory with default settings:

    baml init

  2. Initialize a BAML project in a specific directory:

    baml init --dest /path/to/my/project

  3. Initialize a BAML project for Python with Pydantic:

    baml init --client-type python/pydantic

  4. Initialize a BAML project for OpenAPI with a Go client:

    baml init --client-type openapi --openapi-client-type go

Notes

  • If the destination directory already contains a baml_src directory, the command will fail to prevent overwriting existing projects.
  • The command attempts to infer the OpenAPI generator command based on what’s available in your system PATH. It checks for openapi-generator, openapi-generator-cli, or falls back to using npx @openapitools/openapi-generator-cli.
  • After initialization, follow the instructions provided in the console output for language-specific setup steps.

For more information on getting started with BAML, visit the BAML documentation.