CLI

Q: Do I still need the admin UI if I use the CLI?

Often yes. Some workflows such as environment creation are still documented primarily through the admin UI.

Q: What is the best first CLI command to run?

After installation, nona auth login --base-url https://nona.example.com is usually the best first command because it establishes the interactive session.

The nona CLI manages admin workflows from a terminal. Use it for:

login sessions
saved defaults
projects
config entries
API keys
users
Firebase Remote Config migration

The CLI is especially useful because Nona is self-hosted and operator-friendly by design, so many teams use it for repeatable administration even if they also use the admin UI.

Install

npm install -g nona-cli

Windows options:

choco install nona-cli

Release archives are also published for Windows, Linux, and macOS.

When to use the CLI

Use the CLI when you want repeatable admin operations, terminal-based workflows, automation or scripting, a clean migration path from Firebase Remote Config, or access to history, rollback, and share-link workflows without relying only on the UI.

Authenticate

For a brand-new Nona instance, use init when you want the shortest path to a readable flag:

nona init \
  --yes \
  --base-url https://nona.example.com \
  --email admin@example.com \
  --password secret \
  --project mobile-app \
  --print-key

init registers the first admin when needed, logs in on existing instances, creates or reuses the project and environment, seeds a starter flag, creates or reuses a scoped API key, and prints app-ready environment variables.

nona auth register --base-url https://nona.example.com --email admin@example.com --password secret
nona auth login --base-url https://nona.example.com
nona auth whoami

auth register is the lower-level non-interactive first-admin command. It creates the initial admin account when the Nona instance has no users yet and saves the returned session token, so automation can continue with project, API key, and config commands without opening the admin UI.

auth login opens a browser and stores a session token, which makes interactive use easier than pasting a bearer token into every command.

Bootstrap a first flag

The default init output is directly appendable to an app .env file:

# Nona - project "mobile-app", env "production"
VITE_NONA_BASE_URL=https://nona.example.com
VITE_NONA_ENV_ID=production
VITE_NONA_API_KEY=****158D
# API key masked; re-run with --print-key to emit a working value.
# Verify: curl -H "X-Api-Key: $VITE_NONA_API_KEY" https://nona.example.com/api/production/Features%3AExample

Useful options:

--yes makes the command non-interactive: it never prompts and fails fast if a required value is missing.
--env production chooses the environment to create or reuse.
--seed-flag Features:Example=true changes the starter flag.
--no-seed-flag skips starter flag creation.
--scope client|server|all controls the API key and starter flag scope.
--format dotenv|json|env-export changes the output format.
--password - reads the password from stdin.
--print-key prints the full API key instead of masking it.

Create a project

nona projects create --name mobile-app
nona projects list

Use nona init for the first project and environment in a fresh setup. For later manual administration, create the project from the CLI, then create additional environments in the admin UI.

Save defaults

nona config set base-url https://nona.example.com
nona config set project mobile-app
nona config show

After defaults are saved, commands can omit --base-url and --project, which is helpful when you are doing repeated work on the same Nona instance and project.

Manage config entries

nona entries list --project mobile-app --environment production
nona entries get --project mobile-app --environment production --key Features:Checkout
nona entries set --project mobile-app --environment production --key Features:Checkout --value true --scope client --content-type boolean
nona entries history --project mobile-app --environment production --key Features:Checkout
nona entries rollback --project mobile-app --environment production --key Features:Checkout --version 2
nona entries delete --project mobile-app --environment production --key Features:Checkout

If you already saved a default project with nona config set project mobile-app, the same commands can omit --project.

nona entries list --environment production
nona entries get --environment production --key Features:Checkout
nona entries set --environment production --key Features:Checkout --value true --scope client --content-type boolean
nona entries history --environment production --key Features:Checkout
nona entries rollback --environment production --key Features:Checkout --version 2
nona entries delete --environment production --key Features:Checkout

These workflows cover the day-to-day runtime model: inspect values, create or update entries, review history, and roll back changes.

nona entries share create --environment production --key Features:Checkout --expiration 1h
nona entries share create --environment production --key Features:Checkout --view-only
nona entries share list --environment production --key Features:Checkout
nona entries share revoke --environment production --key Features:Checkout --id 11

See Parameter share links for expiration options, permissions, and public endpoints.

Manage API keys

nona keys create --project mobile-app --name "Web app" --scope client --environment production
nona keys list --project mobile-app
nona keys delete --project mobile-app --id 42

nona keys show --project mobile-app also works. show is an alias for list.

Use client-scoped API keys for frontend/mobile apps and server-scoped keys for backend-only reads whenever possible.

Invite a user

nona users create --name "Jane Doe" --user-email jane@example.com --role editor

The CLI returns the invitation result so you can hand the invite link or token to the teammate who needs access.

Migrate from Firebase Remote Config

nona migrate firebase --config ./nona.migration.json --dry-run
nona migrate firebase --config ./nona.migration.json

Use --dry-run before applying a migration.

See Firebase migration for configuration, environment mapping, and conflict behavior.

Why the CLI matters for migration

Migration is usually an operator workflow, not a day-to-day end-user workflow. The CLI fits that well because it handles repeatable execution, dry runs, configuration files, credentials and environment variables, and output you can review before production cutover.

Environment variables

The CLI reads these values when flags are omitted:

Variable	Used for
`NONA_CLI_BASE_URL`	Nona base URL
`NONA_CLI_PROJECT_NAME`	project name
`NONA_CLI_BEARER_TOKEN`	admin bearer token
`NONA_CLI_EMAIL`	migration/login email
`NONA_CLI_PASSWORD`	migration/login password
`NONA_INIT_EMAIL`	`nona init` admin email
`NONA_INIT_PASSWORD`	`nona init` admin password

FAQ

When should I use the CLI instead of the admin UI?

Use the CLI for repeatable operations, scripting, migration work, history and rollback workflows, and terminal-first administration.

Do I still need the admin UI if I use the CLI?

Often yes.

Some workflows such as adding extra environments are still documented primarily through the admin UI. nona init creates or reuses the first environment for bootstrap automation.

What is the best first CLI command to run?

For a fresh self-hosted instance, nona init --yes --base-url https://nona.example.com --email admin@example.com --password secret --project mobile-app is the best first command because it reaches a real flag read path without browser interaction.

For an existing instance where you want an interactive admin session, use nona auth login --base-url https://nona.example.com.

Why is the CLI especially important for Firebase migration?

Because migration is an operator workflow that benefits from dry runs, config files, and repeatable execution from a terminal.

CLI