CLI commands
These commands are the terminal equivalent of Glance Dev Studio, for people who prefer the command line. Each one points at an app folder and does a single job: scaffold it, preview it, check it, or render it. This page walks through the ones you'll reach for day to day, then lists every command and flag at the end.
gdn new
Scaffold a new app folder, both manifest.yaml and app.star, from a working template,
so you never start from a blank file.
gdn new apps/my-app
gdn studio
Open Glance Dev Studio: an editor and a live preview in one browser window, so you edit code on the left and watch the panel update on the right.
gdn studio apps/my-app
gdn preview
Open a browser preview that re-renders every time you save, with a form for your inputs. Use it next to your own editor when you don't want the full Studio.
gdn preview apps/my-app
gdn validate
Check that an app renders and passes the safety check, the same check publishing runs.
Add --all to validate every app in the repo before you open a pull request.
gdn validate apps/my-app
gdn validate --all
gdn build
Render every page to a PNG plus the panel's .bin file. Pass input values with
--input key=value.
gdn build apps/local-aqi --input zip=10001
gdn render
Render a single page straight to a PNG, handy for a thumbnail or a quick spot check.
gdn render apps/world-clock --page 2 --input zip=90210 --out clock.png
gdn check
Run a quick one-shot check: validate the app and render its pages, so common mistakes
(uppercase-only text, an unguarded http.get, a missing asset) surface in seconds.
gdn check apps/my-app
Full command reference
Every command in one place. Run gdn <command> --help for details on any of them.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
gdn new <dir> | Scaffold a new app folder (both files) from the template. |
gdn preview [dir] | Live browser preview of an app, with an inputs form. |
gdn studio [dir] | Editor and live preview in one window. |
gdn build [dir] --input k=v | Render every page to PNG plus the panel's .bin. |
gdn render [dir] --page N --input k=v | Render one page to a PNG. |
gdn validate [dir] [--all] | Check that an app (or every app) renders and passes the safety check. |
gdn fonts | List the 37 bundled bitmap fonts. |
gdn version | Print the version. |
The [dir] is optional and defaults to the current folder. gdn studio on its own
opens your apps with a picker, so from the project folder you never have to name one. Or
just double-click the launcher for your system in the project folder: studio.bat
(Windows), studio.command (macOS), or studio.sh (Linux).
Examples
# open Studio (opens your apps with a picker, no app name needed)
gdn studio
# start a new app and preview it
gdn new apps/my-app
gdn preview apps/my-app
# build with specific input values
gdn build apps/local-aqi --input zip=10001
# render just page 2 to a file
gdn render apps/world-clock --page 2 --input zip=90210 --out clock.png
# validate everything before a PR
gdn validate --all