# Kaneo Commands for Development: Essential CLI Scripts Explained > Master essential Kaneo commands like pnpm dev, build, lint, test, and typecheck. Streamline your development workflow with these powerful CLI scripts from the usekaneo/kaneo repo. - Repository: [kaneo.app/kaneo](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo) - Tags: how-to-guide - Published: 2026-08-05 --- **The basic Kaneo commands are `pnpm dev`, `pnpm build`, `pnpm lint`, `pnpm test`, and `pnpm typecheck`, all defined in the root [`package.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json) and orchestrated by TurboRepo.** Kaneo is structured as a **pnpm monorepo** managed by **TurboRepo**. All development workflows—starting servers, building for production, running tests, and code quality checks—are exposed as npm scripts in the repository's top-level [`package.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json). These commands coordinate tasks across the `apps/` and `packages/` directories, enabling parallel execution with correct environment variable propagation. ## Essential Kaneo Development Commands These core commands handle day-to-day development tasks. Each invokes TurboRepo to run operations across the workspace efficiently. ### `pnpm dev` — Start Development Servers Starts **both** the API server (`@kaneo/api`) and the web client (`@kaneo/web`) in watch mode with hot reloading. This is the primary command for local development. ```bash pnpm dev ``` Defined in [[`package.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json)](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json#L5-L8), this script uses TurboRepo to parallelize the startup process. ### `pnpm build` — Production Build Runs a production build for every workspace package, generating optimized bundles for deployment. ```bash pnpm build ``` This command processes all packages in dependency order, ensuring shared libraries build before apps that depend on them. ### `pnpm lint` — Code Quality with Biome Executes **Biome** linting across the entire repository, automatically fixing style issues where possible. ```bash pnpm lint ``` Biome provides fast, unified formatting and linting without requiring separate Prettier and ESLint configurations. ### `pnpm test` — Unit Test Suite Runs **all unit tests** defined across packages (API, web, and shared libraries). ```bash pnpm test ``` ### `pnpm test:integration` — API Integration Tests Executes the integration test suite for the API. **Requires a running PostgreSQL instance**. ```bash pnpm test:integration ``` This command is defined in [[`package.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json)](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json#L15) and validates end-to-end API functionality. ### `pnpm typecheck` — TypeScript Validation Performs a full TypeScript type-check across the workspace to catch type errors before commits. ```bash pnpm typecheck ``` Found in [[`package.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json)](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json#L16), this ensures type safety without emitting compiled files. ## Internationalization Commands Kaneo includes dedicated scripts for managing translation files, located in [[`package.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json)](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json#L8-L12). - **`pnpm i18n:check`** — Validates translation files for missing keys or formatting problems - **`pnpm i18n:check:fix`** — Same validation with automatic fixes applied - **`pnpm i18n:report`** — Generates statistics and identifies unused translation keys - **`pnpm i18n:report:fix`** — Generates report with automatic cleanup - **`pnpm i18n:schema`** — Recreates the i18n schema and formats with Biome ```bash # Validate translations pnpm i18n:check # Fix translation issues automatically pnpm i18n:check:fix # Regenerate schema pnpm i18n:schema ``` ## Configuration Files Behind Kaneo Commands Understanding these files helps troubleshoot command behavior: | File | Purpose | |------|---------| | [[`package.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json)](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json) | Central script registry defining all available commands | | [[`turbo.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/turbo.json)](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/turbo.json) | TurboRepo pipeline configuration orchestrating task dependencies and caching | | [[`ENVIRONMENT_SETUP.md`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/ENVIRONMENT_SETUP.md)](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/ENVIRONMENT_SETUP.md) | Documents required environment variables (`KANEO_API_URL`, `KANEO_CLIENT_URL`, etc.) | | `apps/api/` | Hono/Node API implementation started by development commands | | `apps/web/` | React + Vite web client started by development commands | ## Common Kaneo Command Workflows ### Daily Development Cycle ```bash # 1. Start both servers pnpm dev # 2. In another terminal, run type checks pnpm typecheck # 3. Before committing, lint and test pnpm lint pnpm test ``` ### Pre-Deployment Verification ```bash # Full validation pipeline pnpm typecheck pnpm test pnpm test:integration # if PostgreSQL available pnpm build ``` ## Summary - **`pnpm dev`** starts the API and web client simultaneously with hot reloading - **`pnpm build`** creates production-ready bundles across all packages - **`pnpm lint`** runs Biome for unified formatting and linting - **`pnpm test`** and **`pnpm test:integration`** execute unit and integration tests - **`pnpm typecheck`** validates TypeScript types workspace-wide - **i18n commands** manage translation file validation and schema generation - All commands are defined in [`package.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/package.json) and orchestrated by TurboRepo via [`turbo.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/turbo.json) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What package manager does Kaneo require? Kaneo requires **pnpm**. The repository uses pnpm workspaces for monorepo management, and all documented commands assume pnpm is installed. ### Why does Kaneo use TurboRepo instead of running scripts directly? TurboRepo provides **intelligent task orchestration** with parallel execution, dependency-aware ordering, and aggressive caching. This means `pnpm build` automatically builds shared packages before apps that depend on them, and repeated builds skip unchanged packages entirely. ### Where are the actual API and web applications located? The API server code lives in `apps/api/` and the web client in `apps/web/`. When you run `pnpm dev`, TurboRepo starts both applications and manages their interdependencies, environment variables, and port allocations as configured in [`turbo.json`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/turbo.json). ### Do I need special environment variables for Kaneo commands to work? Yes. Commands that start servers or run integration tests require environment variables documented in [[`ENVIRONMENT_SETUP.md`](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/ENVIRONMENT_SETUP.md)](https://github.com/usekaneo/kaneo/blob/main/ENVIRONMENT_SETUP.md), including `KANEO_API_URL`, `KANEO_CLIENT_URL`, and PostgreSQL connection details for integration tests.