CLI Reference

pranor build

Compile a .pnr file to a native binary.

pranor build <file.pnr> [-o <output>]

Examples:

pranor build app.pnr                    # → service.exe
pranor build app.pnr -o myapp.exe       # Custom output name

pranor run

Compile and run immediately.

pranor run <file.pnr> [--watch]

Options:

--watch — Watch for file changes and hot-reload

pranor test

Run tests defined in a .pnr file.

pranor test <file.pnr>            # Run tests
pranor test --cover <file.pnr>    # Run tests with coverage report

Runs all test "name" { ... } blocks and reports results.

With --cover: Shows statement coverage percentage and saves a coverage profile to .build/<hash>/coverage.out.

pranor lint

Check syntax and perform static analysis without building.

pranor lint <file.pnr>

Analysis includes:

Parse error detection with "did you mean?" suggestions
Unused variable warnings
Missing return detection for typed functions
Type mismatch errors (wrong argument types/count)

Exit codes:

0 — No errors (may have warnings)
1 — Has parse errors or type errors

Example output:

  warning: variable 'unused' is declared but never used
   7 |     let unused = 42
            ^

  error: argument 1 of 'add' expects type 'int', got 'string'
   6 |     let result = add("hello", true)
                           ^

2 error(s), 1 warning(s)

serv fmt

Format a .pnr file (4-space indent, consistent style).

serv fmt <file.pnr>            # Format in place
serv fmt --check <file.pnr>    # Check only (exit 1 if unformatted)

serv repl

Interactive Serv shell.

serv repl

Commands inside REPL:

Type any expression to evaluate: 1 + 2, "hello".toUpper()
let x = 42 — declare variables (persisted across lines)
state — show all declarations
clear — reset state
exit — quit

serv add

Generate a .pnr.d declaration file for a Go package.

serv add <go-package-path>

Examples:

serv add github.com/google/uuid
serv add encoding/json
serv add net/url

Downloads the package (if needed) and generates type declarations in declarations/.

serv packages

List installed package declarations.

serv packages

serv remove

Remove a package declaration.

serv remove <package-name>

serv install

Install a community package from Pranor Hub and resolve its transitive dependencies.

serv install <package-name>

Examples:

serv install jwt
serv install retry
serv install pagination@1.2.0

Downloads the package tarball from the configured registry, extracts it to packages/<name>/, then reads its serv.toml [dependencies] section and recursively installs any missing transitive dependencies.

Environment variables:

PRANOR_REGISTRY — Override the registry URL (default: https://registry.pranor.org)

Output example:

Downloading package from https://registry.pranor.org/packages/jwt.tar.gz...
✓ Package 'jwt' installed to packages/jwt/
  Resolving 2 dependencies...
  ↳ Installing dependency: crypto
  ✓ Package 'crypto' installed to packages/crypto/
  ↳ Installing dependency: base64
  • base64 (already installed)

serv publish

Publish a package directory to Pranor Hub.

serv publish <directory>

Creates a .tar.gz archive of the directory (which should contain a serv.toml) and uploads it to the configured registry. Requires PRANOR_JWT_SECRET environment variable for authentication.

serv dockerize

Generate a Dockerfile for deployment.

serv dockerize <file.pnr>

serv migrate

Apply declarative table schema migrations to the database.

serv migrate [file-or-dir] [--db <connection-string>]

Options:

--db — Database connection string. Falls back to $DATABASE_URL then sqlite://serv.db

Supported connection strings:

Format	Example
SQLite	`sqlite://app.db`
PostgreSQL	`postgres://user:pass@localhost/mydb`
MySQL	`mysql://user:pass@localhost/mydb`

What it does:

Scans .pnr files for table declarations
Connects to the database
Creates tables that don't exist (CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS)
Adds new columns to existing tables (ALTER TABLE ADD COLUMN)
Skips anything already up to date

Example output:

Found 3 table declaration(s):
  • users (5 columns)
  • posts (6 columns)
  • tags (2 columns)

  ✓ users: schema applied
  ✓ posts: schema applied
  - tags: already up to date

Migration complete: 2 table(s) created/updated.

serv create

AI-scaffold a new .pnr file from a natural language description.

serv create "<prompt describing your service>"

Examples:

serv create "a REST API for managing blog posts with SQLite"
serv create "a webhook receiver that processes Stripe payment events"

Requires PRANOR_AI_KEY environment variable (OpenAI or Gemini API key).

pranor dev

Start the full development environment with hot-reload and infrastructure services.

pranor dev [file.pnr] [--services all]

Starts Pranor Pool, Pranor Cache, Pranor Pulse, and Pranor Mesh locally, then watches .pnr files for changes and reloads the compiled service automatically.

Runtime Flags

Compiled Serv binaries accept these flags:

./myservice.exe --port 9090     # Override server port
./myservice.exe --mcp           # Start as MCP tool server

Environment variables:

PORT — Override server port
LOG_FORMAT=json — JSON log output
LOG_LEVEL=debug — Set log level
OTEL_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4318 — Enable OpenTelemetry
OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=my-service — Service name for traces
DATABASE_URL — Default database connection string
PRANOR_MESH_ADDR — Pranor Mesh registry address (default: http://localhost:8089)
PRANOR_SELF_ADDR — This service's advertised address for mesh registration

Pranor Platform Documentation