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The Dioxus CLI (dx) is the official command-line tool for building, developing, and deploying Dioxus applications. It provides a complete development workflow with hot-reload, asset management, multi-platform builds, and production bundling.

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What is the Dioxus CLI?

The Dioxus CLI handles the complex build orchestration required for cross-platform Rust applications:
  • Development server with hot-reload and hot-patching
  • Asset management including Tailwind CSS integration
  • Multi-platform builds for web (WASM), desktop, mobile (iOS/Android)
  • Production bundling with optimization and code splitting
  • Project scaffolding and code formatting
Inspired by tools like wasm-pack and webpack, the CLI abstracts away platform-specific build complexity.

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Installation

Install the latest stable release from crates.io: 
cargo install dioxus-cli
Verify installation: 
dx --version

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Development Build

For the latest features and bug fixes, install from the git repository: 
cargo install --git https://github.com/DioxusLabs/dioxus dioxus-cli
Development builds may contain unstable features and untested changes.

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From Local Source

If you’re contributing to the CLI or testing local modifications: 
cd packages/cli
cargo install --path .

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Quick Start

Create a new Dioxus project: 
dx new my-app
cd my-app
Start the development server: 
dx serve
This launches your app with:
  • Live hot-reload for instant UI updates
  • Development server at http://localhost:8080
  • Automatic browser opening
  • File watching for changes

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Core Features

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Hot-Reload System

Dioxus CLI provides two complementary hot-reload mechanisms: RSX Template Hot-Reload: Instant UI updates when changing RSX templates without full recompilation. Changes to literal values, attributes, and component children are applied in milliseconds. Subsecond Hot-Patching: Full Rust code hot-reload through jump table indirection. Modified functions are recompiled and patched into the running application without restart.

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Multi-Platform Support

Build for any platform from a single codebase: 
# Web (WASM)
dx build --platform web

# Desktop
dx build --platform desktop

# Mobile
dx build --platform ios
dx build --platform android

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Asset Management

Automatic handling of assets through the asset!() macro:
  • Compile-time asset resolution
  • Hash-based cache busting
  • Platform-specific asset bundling
  • Tailwind CSS integration with auto-installation

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Development Tools

  • dx serve - Development server with hot-reload
  • dx build - Production builds with optimization
  • dx bundle - Platform-specific app bundles
  • dx check - Lint and check your code
  • dx fmt - Format RSX macros
  • dx doctor - Diagnose installation and configuration

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Architecture

The CLI orchestrates multiple build tools:
  1. Cargo - Rust compilation
  2. wasm-bindgen - WASM JavaScript bindings (auto-managed)
  3. wasm-opt - WASM optimization (auto-installed)
  4. Tailwind CSS - Styling (auto-installed when detected)
  5. Platform bundlers - iOS, Android, desktop packaging
All external tools are automatically managed by the CLI - you don’t need to install them separately.

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Configuration

Projects are configured through Dioxus.toml: 
[application]
name = "my-app"
out_dir = "dist"
public_dir = "public"

[web.app]
title = "My Dioxus App"

[web.watcher]
watch_path = ["src", "public"]
See Configuration for complete details.

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Workspace Support

The CLI supports Cargo workspaces with package selection: 
dx serve --package my-workspace-app
For fullstack applications with separate client/server packages: 
dx serve \
  client --package frontend \
  server --package backend

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Getting Help

Every command has detailed help: 
dx --help
dx serve --help
dx build --help
Common keyboard shortcuts in dx serve:
  • r - Trigger rebuild
  • p - Toggle automatic rebuilds
  • v - Toggle verbose logging
  • / - Show all commands
  • Ctrl+C - Exit

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Next Steps

Commands

Explore all available CLI commands

Configuration

Configure Dioxus.toml for your project

Hot-Reload

Learn about the hot-reload system

Bundling

Package apps for production

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

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