Pug CLI

1.0.0-alpha6 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript

Command-line interface for Pug (formerly Jade) template engine, version 1.0.0-alpha6. Allows compiling .pug files to HTML or client-side JavaScript. Supports watching, pretty-printing, custom output directories, and options via JSON/JS files. Primarily used for build tooling and static site generation. Maintained as part of the Pug project, though the CLI is in alpha with infrequent releases. Alternatives include gulp-pug or webpack loaders for integrated workflows.

Common errors

error pug: command not found ↓

cause pug-cli is not installed globally

fix

npm install -g pug-cli

error Cannot find module 'pug' ↓

cause pug package is not installed locally or globally

fix

npm install pug

error ENOENT: no such file or directory ↓

cause Output directory does not exist

fix

Create output directory: mkdir -p <outdir>

error SyntaxError: Unexpected token } in JSON ↓

cause Invalid JSON string passed to -O

fix

Use valid JSON with double quotes: pug -O '{"key": "value"}' file.pug

Warnings

gotcha When using --client, the output is a JavaScript function, not HTML. You need to include the Pug runtime. ↓

fix Use --client only for client-side compilation, and include pug-runtime in your project.

deprecated The --name-after-file option may be removed in future versions. ↓

fix Use --name explicitly instead.

gotcha Output directory is not created automatically if it doesn't exist; pug-cli will error. ↓

fix Ensure output directory exists before running, or use mkdirp.

gotcha The -O option with JSON string must be a valid JSON object, not a JavaScript object literal with single quotes. ↓

fix Use double quotes for JSON: pug -O '{"key": "value"}' file.pug

gotcha When using watch mode, only changes to files with .pug extension trigger re-render. Other file changes are ignored. ↓

fix Ensure all template files have .pug extension.

Install

npm install pug-cli

yarn add pug-cli

pnpm add pug-cli

Imports

pug command
wrong
```
pug -c file.pug (without --client, outputs HTML)
```
correct
```
pug file.pug
```
CLI tool, not a module. Use npx pug or install globally.
require('pug')
wrong
```
require('pug-cli')
```
correct
```
require('pug')
```
pug-cli is a CLI, not a module. Use require('pug') for API.

pug.compile()

wrong

pug.compile() directly (missing require)

correct

const pug = require('pug'); pug.compile('...')

Import pug module, not pug-cli.

Quickstart

Install pug-cli globally, create a .pug file, compile with JSON options from stdin, output HTML.

npm install -g pug-cli
# Create a Pug template
echo 'h1 Hello #{name}' > template.pug
# Compile with variable
echo '{"name": "World"}' | pug -O /dev/stdin template.pug
cat template.html