CLI Commands

The helpbase CLI provides four commands for managing your help center content.

generate

Generate help center articles from a source URL:

npx helpbase generate --url https://your-product.com

Flag	Description	Default
`--url <url>`	Source URL to scrape	required
`--output <dir>`	Output directory	`content/`
`--screenshots <dir>`	Screenshot folder for visual articles	-
`--title <title>`	Article title (with `--screenshots`)	-

Tip

Combine --url and --screenshots to generate visual how-to articles that include both scraped context and annotated screenshots.

audit

Validate all content in your help center:

npx helpbase audit

Checks for:

Valid frontmatter (title, description, schemaVersion)
Category metadata (_category.json in each category folder)
Empty categories (categories with no articles)
Missing content directory

Flag	Description
`--format json`	Output as JSON for CI integration

Note

Run helpbase audit in your CI pipeline to catch content issues before they ship. Exit code 1 means validation failed.

new

Scaffold a new article from a template:

npx helpbase new getting-started/quickstart --template how-to

Available templates:

how-to (default) — Step-by-step guide with Steps component
troubleshooting — Problem/solution format with Callout and Accordion
reference — API or component reference with tables

The command creates the MDX file with frontmatter and the appropriate MDX components pre-filled.

deploy

Deploy your help center to helpbase cloud:

Warning

The hosted deploy feature is in beta. Magic link authentication and content sync work, but image upload and ISR revalidation are still being finalized.

npx helpbase deploy

Authenticate

First run prompts for your email. A magic link is sent via Supabase Auth. After clicking the link, your session is cached at ~/.helpbase/auth.json.

Choose a subdomain

Pick your subdomain slug (e.g., my-product). The CLI checks availability and reserves it.

Upload content

All MDX articles and category metadata are validated and uploaded to Supabase. Your help center goes live at my-product.helpbase.dev.

Subsequent deploys skip authentication (cached) and subdomain selection (already reserved). Just run helpbase deploy to push content updates.