bun init

Scaffold an empty Bun project with the interactive `bun init` command

Scaffold a new Bun 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 infers settings 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 or jsconfig.json file, depending on whether the entry point is a TypeScript file
  • 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 bun init detects Claude CLI (disable with CLAUDE_CODE_AGENT_RULE_DISABLED env var)
  • a .cursor/rules/*.mdc file when bun init detects Cursor (disable with CURSOR_AGENT_RULE_DISABLED env var); the file tells Cursor AI to use Bun instead of Node.js and npm

Pass -y or --yes to accept the defaults without prompting.

At the end, it runs bun install to install @types/bun.

CLI Usage#

terminal
bun init <folder?>

Initialization Options#

--yesboolean

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

--minimalboolean

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

Project Templates#

--reactstring|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. Exact files vary by template.

Help#

--helpboolean

Print this help menu. Alias: -h

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