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Bench is the command-line interface for managing Frappe Framework sites and applications. This page covers the core bench commands for general operations.

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Version information

Display version information for all installed apps. 
bench version
Options:
  • -f, --format - Output format: plain, table, json, or legacy (default: plain)
Example output: 
$ bench version --format table
┌─────────┬─────────┬────────┬─────────┐
│ App     │ Version │ Branch │ Commit  │
├─────────┼─────────┼────────┼─────────┤
│ frappe  │ 15.0.0  │ main   │ a1b2c3d │
│ erpnext │ 15.0.0  │ main   │ e4f5g6h │
└─────────┴─────────┴────────┴─────────┘

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List sites

List all sites in the current bench. 
bench list-sites
Options:
  • --json - Output in JSON format
Example output: 
$ bench list-sites
Available sites:
* mysite.local
  testsite.local
The asterisk (*) indicates the default site.

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Console access

Start an interactive IPython console for a site. 
bench --site [sitename] console
Options:
  • --autoreload - Automatically reload code changes
Example: 
$ bench --site mysite.local console
Apps in this namespace:
frappe, erpnext

In [1]: frappe.db.get_value('User', 'Administrator', 'email')
Out[1]: 'admin@example.com'

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Jupyter notebook

Start a Jupyter notebook server for interactive development. 
bench --site [sitename] jupyter
This creates a jupyter_notebooks folder in your site directory and starts the Jupyter server. Example initialization code: 
import frappe
frappe.init('mysite.local', sites_path='/path/to/sites')
frappe.connect()
frappe.local.lang = frappe.get_system_settings('language')
frappe.db.connect()

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Execute Python methods

Execute a Python method from the command line. 
bench --site [sitename] execute [method]
Options:
  • --args - JSON string of positional arguments
  • --kwargs - JSON string of keyword arguments
  • --profile - Profile the execution
Example: 
$ bench --site mysite.local execute frappe.utils.get_datetime_str
2026-03-01 12:30:45

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Make requests

Run HTTP requests as an admin user. 
bench --site [sitename] request --args "?cmd=test&key=value"
Options:
  • --args - Arguments like ?cmd=test&key=value or /api/request/method?..
  • --path - Path to request JSON file
Example: 
$ bench --site mysite.local request --args "/api/method/frappe.auth.get_logged_user"

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Configuration management

Insert or update values in site_config.json. 
bench --site [sitename] set-config [key] [value]
Options:
  • -g, --global - Set value in bench config instead of site config
  • -p, --parse - Evaluate value as a Python object
Examples: 
# Set a string value
$ bench --site mysite.local set-config db_name "_mysite"

# Set a boolean value
$ bench --site mysite.local set-config -p developer_mode True

# Set a global configuration
$ bench set-config -g http_port 8001

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View configuration

Display site configuration. 
bench --site [sitename] show-config
Options:
  • -f, --format - Output format: text or json (default: text)
Example output: 
$ bench --site mysite.local show-config
┌──────────────────┬─────────────────────────┐
│ Config           │ Value                   │
├──────────────────┼─────────────────────────┤
│ db_name          │ _mysite                 │
│ db_type          │ mariadb                 │
│ developer_mode   │ 1                       │
└──────────────────┴─────────────────────────┘

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Build assets

Compile JavaScript and CSS source files. 
bench build
Options:
  • --app - Build assets for a specific app
  • --apps - Build assets for multiple apps (comma-separated)
  • --hard-link - Copy files instead of symlinking
  • --production - Build in production mode (minified)
  • --verbose - Verbose output
  • --force - Force build instead of downloading pre-built assets
  • --save-metafiles - Save esbuild metafiles for bundle analysis
Examples: 
# Build all assets
$ bench build

# Build for specific app
$ bench build --app erpnext

# Production build
$ bench build --production

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Watch assets

Watch and compile files as they change (development mode). 
bench watch
Options:
  • --apps - Watch specific apps (comma-separated)

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Clear cache

Clear cache, doctype cache, and defaults. 
bench --site [sitename] clear-cache
Clears both server-side and website cache.

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Clear website cache

Clear only the website cache. 
bench --site [sitename] clear-website-cache

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Serve development server

Start the Frappe development web server. 
bench --site [sitename] serve
Options:
  • --port - Port number (default: 8000)
  • --profile - Enable profiling
  • --proxy - Run behind a proxy (e.g., ngrok)
  • --noreload - Disable auto-reload
  • --nothreading - Disable threading
  • --with-coverage - Enable code coverage
Example: 
$ bench --site mysite.local serve --port 8080
Listening on http://localhost:8080

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Create boilerplate app

Create a new Frappe app with boilerplate code. 
bench make-app [destination] [app_name]
Options:
  • --no-git - Don’t initialize git repository
Example: 
$ bench make-app ../apps custom_app

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Create patch

Create a new patch file interactively. 
bench create-patch
This command walks you through creating a migration patch file.

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Setup Chrome/Chromium

Install and configure Chromium for PDF generation. 
bench setup-chrome