Using the CLI

JITX can be driven entirely from the command line through the jitx command. The CLI interface allows you to perform all the standard interactions:

• installing and updating the JITX runtime

• scaffolding a new project

• managing project dependencies

• discovering and building designs

• collecting diagnostics and filing support tickets

Additionally, you can use the CLI to open the interactive board and schematic editors, where you can place and route components by hand. This makes the CLI a good fit for terminal-centric workflows, headless and CI environments, and designing circuit boards in collaboration with coding agents like Claude Code.

The VSCode extension invokes the CLI internally. This means you can manage the same project either from the CLI or via VSCode. You can also share the same project between collaborators using either or both workflows.

Warning

Collaborators on a shared project should be on the same JITX runtime version. The runtime is installed separately from the project’s Python dependencies, so mismatched versions can produce different build results. Check what’s currently installed with jitx runtime introspect.

Tip

The cleanest way to keep everyone in step is to pin your jitx version in pyproject.toml. The 4.4.0 scaffold ships jitx>=4.4.0,<5; tighten it to jitx==4.4.0 for reproducible builds, or jitx>=4.4.0,<4.5 for updates within the 4.4 series. Align the standard library dependency too. With jitx pinned, running jitx runtime install from inside the project installs the matching runtime for every collaborator — no --version needed.

Using the CLI

• Installation
  • Requirements
  • Install the CLI
    • With uv (recommended)
    • With pip
• Creating a New Project
  • Scaffold the project
  • Create a virtual environment
  • Pin the JITX version
  • Install the project’s dependencies
  • List your designs
  • Install the runtime
    • Supported platforms
  • Sign in
• Building and Editing a Design
  • Start the runtime
  • Build a design
  • Open the board and schematic editors
• Getting Support
  • Build a diagnostics bundle
  • Inspect the bundle before sharing
  • Upload a bundle to JITX
  • File a support ticket
• CLI command reference
  • Project commands
    • jitx project
    • jitx project layout
    • jitx project layout init
    • jitx project layout vscode
    • jitx project layout gitignore
    • jitx project layout settings
    • jitx project layout pyproject
    • jitx project dependencies
    • jitx project dependencies check
    • jitx project dependencies upgrade
  • Runtime commands
    • jitx runtime
    • jitx runtime introspect
    • jitx runtime install
    • jitx runtime update
    • jitx runtime start
    • jitx runtime stop
    • jitx runtime status
    • jitx runtime cleanup
  • Authentication commands
    • jitx auth
    • jitx auth login
    • jitx auth install-token
    • jitx auth logout
    • jitx auth machine-id
    • jitx auth show
    • jitx auth refresh
    • jitx auth plans
    • jitx auth plans pick
    • jitx auth backend
    • jitx auth backend set
  • Design commands
    • jitx design
    • jitx design find
    • jitx design build
    • jitx design session
    • jitx design exec
    • jitx design issues
  • Export commands
    • jitx design export
    • jitx design export legacy-kicad
    • jitx design export legacy-edx
    • jitx design export legacy-odb++
    • jitx design export legacy-step
    • jitx design export legacy-xml
  • Support commands
    • jitx support
    • jitx support bundle
    • jitx support request
  • Interactive editor commands
    • jitx ui
    • jitx ui open
  • jitx

The command reference covers all public JITX 4.4.0 commands and options, including authentication, support, exports, and runtime maintenance. Older scripts may use jitx find, jitx build, or jitx build-all; these remain compatibility aliases for jitx design find, jitx design build, and jitx design build --all.