CLI Reference

Bazelle provides a command-line interface for generating and managing Bazel BUILD files.

Commands

update

Generate and update BUILD files for your project. Learn more →

fix

Fix BUILD files, potentially making breaking changes. Learn more →

init

Initialize a new Bazel project with Gazelle support. Learn more →

watch

Watch for file changes and auto-update BUILD files. Learn more →

daemon

Manage the background daemon for improved performance. Learn more →

Global Options

These flags are available for all commands:

-v, --verbosity int    Verbosity level (default 1)
                       0 = error only
                       1 = warnings
                       2 = info
                       3 = debug
                       4 = trace

    --log-format       Log format: text (default) or json

Usage

bazelle [command] [flags] [path...]

Examples

# Update BUILD files in current directory
bazelle update

# Update specific directory
bazelle update ./src

# Check if BUILD files are up to date (CI)
bazelle update --check

# Initialize a new project
bazelle init

# Watch for changes during development
bazelle watch

# Start daemon for improved performance
bazelle daemon start

# Check daemon status
bazelle daemon status

# Show version
bazelle version

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Error or changes needed (with `--check`)

Passing Gazelle Flags

Unknown flags are passed through to the underlying Gazelle binary:

# Pass Gazelle-specific flags
bazelle update -go_prefix=github.com/org/repo

# Run in bzlmod mode (passed to gazelle)
bazelle update -bzlmod

Getting Help

# Show help
bazelle --help
bazelle help

# Command-specific help
bazelle update --help
bazelle fix --help