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Get started with Bun by scaffolding a new project with bun init.

terminal

bun init my-app

? Select a project template - Press return to submit.
❯ Blank
  React
  Library

✓ Select a project template: Blank

 + .gitignore
 + CLAUDE.md
 + .cursor/rules/use-bun-instead-of-node-vite-npm-pnpm.mdc -> CLAUDE.md
 + index.ts
 + tsconfig.json (for editor autocomplete)
 + README.md

Press enter to accept the default answer for each prompt, or pass the -y flag to auto-accept the defaults.

bun init scaffolds a new project with Bun. It infers settings with sane defaults and is non-destructive when run multiple times.

It creates:

• a package.json file with a name that defaults to the current directory name
• a tsconfig.json file or a jsconfig.json file, depending if the entry point is a TypeScript file or not
• an entry point which defaults to index.ts unless any of index.{tsx, jsx, js, mts, mjs} exist or the package.json specifies a module or main field
• a README.md file

AI Agent rules (disable with $BUN_AGENT_RULE_DISABLED=1):

• a CLAUDE.md file when Claude CLI is detected (disable with CLAUDE_CODE_AGENT_RULE_DISABLED env var)
• a .cursor/rules/*.mdc file to guide Cursor AI to use Bun instead of Node.js and npm when Cursor is detected

If you pass -y or --yes, it will assume you want to continue without asking questions. At the end, it runs bun install to install @types/bun.

[​

](#cli-usage)

CLI Usage

terminal

bun init <folder?>

[​

](#initialization-options)

Initialization Options

[​

](#param-yes)

--yes

boolean

Accept all default prompts without asking questions. Alias: -y

[​

](#param-minimal)

--minimal

boolean

Only initialize type definitions (skip app scaffolding). Alias: -m

[​

](#project-templates)

Project Templates

[​

](#param-react)

--react

string|boolean

Scaffold a React project. When used without a value, creates a baseline React app.
Accepts values for presets:

• tailwind – React app preconfigured with Tailwind CSS
• shadcn – React app with @shadcn/ui and Tailwind CSS

Examples:

bun init —react bun init —react=tailwind bun init —react=shadcn

[​

](#output-&-files)

Output & Files

[​

](#param-result)

(result)

info

Initializes project files and configuration for the chosen options (e.g., creating essential config files and a starter directory structure). Exact files vary by template.

[​

](#global-configuration-&-context)

Global Configuration & Context

[​

](#param-cwd)

--cwd

string

Run bun init as if started in a different working directory (useful in scripts).

[​

](#help)

Help

[​

](#param-help)

--help

boolean

Print this help menu. Alias: -h

[​

](#examples)

Examples

• Accept all defaults

  terminal

  bun init -y
  

• React

  terminal

  bun init --react
  

• React + Tailwind CSS

  terminal

  bun init --react=tailwind
  

• React + @shadcn/ui

  terminal

  bun init --react=shadcn
  

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