bun init

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 is a quick way to start a blank project with Bun. It guesses with sane defaults and is non-destructive when run multiple times.

Demo

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

terminal

$ bun init <folder?>

Initialization Options

--yes

boolean

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

--minimal

boolean

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

Project Templates

--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

(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

--cwd

string

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

Help

--help

boolean

Print this help menu. Alias: -h

Examples

Accept all defaults
```
$ bun init -y
```
React
```
$ bun init --react
```
React + Tailwind CSS
```
$ bun init --react=tailwind
```
React + @shadcn/ui
```
$ bun init --react=shadcn
```

CLI Usage

Initialization Options

Project Templates

Output & Files

Global Configuration & Context

Help

Examples

On this page