CLI Options Reference

Complete reference for all Bruno CLI commands, options, and flags.

Global Options

These options are available for all commands:

--help

boolean

Show help information.Aliases: -h

bru --help
bru run --help

--version

boolean

Show version number.

bru --version

Run Command

Execute API requests and tests from your collection.

bru run [paths...] [options]

Paths

paths

string[]

One or more request files or folders to run. If omitted, runs all requests in the current directory recursively.

bru run                          # Run all requests
bru run request.bru              # Run single request
bru run folder                   # Run folder
bru run auth users -r            # Run multiple paths recursively

Execution Options

-r

boolean

default:false

Run requests recursively in subdirectories.

bru run tests -r

--tests-only

boolean

default:false

Only run requests that have tests or active assertions.

bru run --tests-only

--bail

boolean

default:false

Stop execution immediately after a failure of a request, test, or assertion.

bru run --bail

--delay

number

Add delay between each request in milliseconds.

bru run --delay 1000  # 1 second delay
bru run --delay 500   # 500ms delay

--verbose

boolean

default:false

Enable verbose output for debugging purposes.

bru run --verbose

Environment Options

--env

string

Specify environment to run with. Loads from environments/<name>.bru or environments/<name>.yml.

bru run --env production
bru run --env local

--env-file

string

Path to environment file (.bru, .json, or .yml) - absolute or relative.

bru run --env-file custom-env.bru
bru run --env-file /path/to/env.json

--env-var

string

Override a single environment variable. Can be used multiple times.

bru run --env-var apiKey=secret123
bru run --env-var baseUrl=https://api.test.com --env-var token=xyz

--global-env

string

Global environment name (requires collection to be in a workspace).

bru run --global-env production
bru run --global-env staging --workspace-path /path/to/workspace

--workspace-path

string

Path to workspace directory (auto-detected if not provided).

bru run --global-env production --workspace-path ~/my-workspace

Output and Reporting

--output

string

Path to write file results to. Use with --format to specify format.Aliases: -o

bru run --output results.json
bru run --output results.xml --format junit
bru run -o report.html --format html

--format

string

default:"json"

Format of the file results.Aliases: -fOptions: json, junit, html

bru run --output results.xml --format junit

--reporter-json

string

Path to generate a JSON report.

bru run --reporter-json results.json

--reporter-junit

string

Path to generate a JUnit XML report.

bru run --reporter-junit results.xml

--reporter-html

string

Path to generate an HTML report.

bru run --reporter-html report.html

Reporter Customization

--reporter-skip-all-headers

boolean

default:false

Omit all headers from the reporter output.

bru run --reporter-skip-all-headers

--reporter-skip-headers

array

default:[]

Skip specific headers from the reporter output.

bru run --reporter-skip-headers Authorization Cookie
bru run --reporter-skip-headers "X-Api-Key"

--reporter-skip-request-body

boolean

default:false

Omit request body from the reporter output.

bru run --reporter-skip-request-body

--reporter-skip-response-body

boolean

default:false

Omit response body from the reporter output.

bru run --reporter-skip-response-body

--reporter-skip-body

boolean

default:false

Omit both request and response bodies from the reporter output.

bru run --reporter-skip-body

Security and Certificates

--cacert

string

CA certificate to verify peer against. By default, uses system truststore + custom cert.

bru run --cacert myCustomCA.pem
bru run --cacert corporate-ca.crt

--ignore-truststore

boolean

default:false

Use only the specified custom CA certificate (—cacert) and ignore the default truststore.

bru run --cacert myCustomCA.pem --ignore-truststore

--insecure

boolean

default:false

Allow insecure server connections (skip SSL certificate verification).

Only use in development/testing environments.

bru run --insecure

--client-cert-config

string

Path to client certificate configuration JSON file.

bru run --client-cert-config client-certs.json

Config format:

{
  "enabled": true,
  "certs": [
    {
      "domain": "https://api.example.com",
      "certFilePath": "/path/to/cert.pem",
      "keyFilePath": "/path/to/key.pem",
      "passphrase": "optional"
    }
  ]
}

Network Options

--noproxy

boolean

default:false

Disable all proxy settings (both collection-defined and system proxies).

bru run --noproxy

--disable-cookies

boolean

default:false

Disable automatic cookie saving and sending with requests.

bru run --disable-cookies

Advanced Options

--sandbox

string

default:"safe"

JavaScript sandbox runtime to use.Options:

safe - Uses QuickJS (secure, limited features)
developer - Uses Node.js VM (more features, less secure)

bru run --sandbox developer

--tags

string

Comma-separated list of tags to include in the run.

bru run --tags=smoke,critical
bru run --tags=api

--exclude-tags

string

Comma-separated list of tags to exclude from the run.

bru run --exclude-tags=skip,wip
bru run --tags=api --exclude-tags=slow

Import Command

Import collections from other formats.

bru import <type> [options]

Import Types

type

string

required

Type of collection to import.Options: openapi, wsdl

bru import openapi --source api.yml --output ./collection
bru import wsdl --source service.wsdl --output ./soap

Import Options

--source

string

required

Path to the source file or URL.Aliases: -s

bru import openapi --source api.yml
bru import openapi -s https://api.example.com/openapi.json

--output

string

Path to the output directory. Conflicts with --output-file.Aliases: -o

bru import openapi -s api.yml -o ~/Desktop/my-collection

--output-file

string

Path to the output JSON file. Conflicts with --output.Aliases: -f

bru import openapi -s api.yml -f ~/Desktop/collection.json

--collection-name

string

Name for the imported collection.Aliases: -n

bru import openapi -s api.yml -o ./collection -n "My API"

--collection-format

string

default:"opencollection"

Format of the imported collection.Options: bru, opencollection

bru import openapi -s api.yml -o ./collection --collection-format bru

--insecure

boolean

default:false

Skip SSL certificate verification when fetching from URLs.

bru import openapi -s https://self-signed.com/api.json --insecure

--group-by

string

default:"tags"

How to group imported requests (OpenAPI only).Aliases: -gOptions: tags, path

bru import openapi -s api.yml -o ./collection --group-by path
bru import openapi -s api.yml -o ./collection -g tags

Exit Codes

Bruno CLI returns specific exit codes for scripting and automation:

Exit Code	Constant	Description
`0`	-	Execution successful
`1`	`ERROR_FAILED_COLLECTION`	An assertion, test, or request failed
`2`	`ERROR_MISSING_OUTPUT_DIR`	The specified output directory does not exist
`3`	`ERROR_INFINITE_LOOP`	The request chain loops endlessly
`4`	`ERROR_NOT_IN_COLLECTION`	Bru was called outside of a collection root
`5`	`ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND`	The specified input file does not exist
`6`	`ERROR_ENV_NOT_FOUND`	The specified environment does not exist
`7`	`ERROR_MALFORMED_ENV_OVERRIDE`	Environment override not presented as string or object
`8`	`ERROR_INCORRECT_ENV_OVERRIDE`	Environment override format incorrect
`9`	`ERROR_INCORRECT_OUTPUT_FORMAT`	Invalid output format requested
`10`	`ERROR_INVALID_FILE`	Invalid file format
`11`	`ERROR_WORKSPACE_NOT_FOUND`	The specified workspace was not found
`12`	`ERROR_GLOBAL_ENV_REQUIRES_WORKSPACE`	Global environment requires a workspace
`13`	`ERROR_GLOBAL_ENV_NOT_FOUND`	The specified global environment was not found
`255`	`ERROR_GENERIC`	Another error occurred

Using Exit Codes in Scripts

#!/bin/bash

bru run --env production
EXIT_CODE=$?

if [ $EXIT_CODE -eq 0 ]; then
  echo "All tests passed!"
elif [ $EXIT_CODE -eq 1 ]; then
  echo "Some tests failed"
  exit 1
elif [ $EXIT_CODE -eq 6 ]; then
  echo "Environment not found"
  exit 1
else
  echo "Error occurred: $EXIT_CODE"
  exit 1
fi

Environment Variables

Bruno CLI respects the following environment variables:

HTTP_PROXY

string

HTTP proxy server URL.

export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080
bru run

HTTPS_PROXY

string

HTTPS proxy server URL.

export HTTPS_PROXY=https://proxy.example.com:8443
bru run

NO_PROXY

string

Comma-separated list of hosts to exclude from proxying.

export NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1,.example.com
bru run

Complete Examples

Production Test Suite

bru run \
  --env production \
  --env-var apiKey=$PROD_API_KEY \
  --reporter-junit results.xml \
  --reporter-html report.html \
  --reporter-skip-headers Authorization \
  --bail \
  --cacert corporate-ca.pem

Development Testing

bru run \
  --env local \
  --env-var baseUrl=http://localhost:3000 \
  --tests-only \
  --verbose \
  --insecure

CI/CD Integration

bru run \
  --env staging \
  --reporter-junit test-results.xml \
  --reporter-json test-results.json \
  --bail \
  --tags=smoke,regression \
  --exclude-tags=manual

Import and Test

# Import collection
bru import openapi \
  --source https://api.example.com/openapi.json \
  --output ./my-api \
  --collection-name "Example API" \
  --group-by path

# Run tests
cd my-api
bru run --env production --reporter-html results.html

Next Steps

CLI Overview

Learn about Bruno CLI fundamentals

Running Tests

Practical guide to running API tests

Importing Collections

Import from OpenAPI and other formats

Installation

Install Bruno CLI in your environment

Get Started

Core Concepts

Desktop App

CLI

Advanced

Integrations

CLI Options Reference

CLI Options Reference

Global Options

Run Command

Paths

Execution Options

Environment Options

Output and Reporting

Reporter Customization

Security and Certificates

Network Options

Advanced Options

Import Command

Import Types

Import Options

Exit Codes

Using Exit Codes in Scripts

Environment Variables

Complete Examples

Production Test Suite

Development Testing

CI/CD Integration

Import and Test

Next Steps

CLI Overview

Running Tests

Importing Collections

Installation

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Concepts

Desktop App

CLI

Advanced

Integrations

​CLI Options Reference

​Global Options

​Run Command

​Paths

​Execution Options

​Environment Options

​Output and Reporting

​Reporter Customization

​Security and Certificates

​Network Options

​Advanced Options

​Import Command

​Import Types

​Import Options

​Exit Codes

​Using Exit Codes in Scripts

​Environment Variables

​Complete Examples

​Production Test Suite

​Development Testing

​CI/CD Integration

​Import and Test

​Next Steps

CLI Overview

Running Tests

Importing Collections

Installation

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

CLI Options Reference

Global Options

Run Command

Paths

Execution Options

Environment Options

Output and Reporting

Reporter Customization

Security and Certificates

Network Options

Advanced Options

Import Command

Import Types

Import Options

Exit Codes

Using Exit Codes in Scripts

Environment Variables

Complete Examples

Production Test Suite

Development Testing

CI/CD Integration

Import and Test

Next Steps