docs/docs/en/api/cli/app/start.md
Start the NocoBase app for a selected env. When applicable, the CLI first synchronizes the commercial plugins allowed by the current license. Then npm/Git installations automatically complete install or upgrade preparation before running local app commands; Docker installations recreate the saved app container from saved env config.
nb app start [flags]
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
--env, -e | string | CLI env name to start; uses the current env if omitted |
--yes, -y | boolean | When an explicitly passed --env targets a different env than the current env, skip the interactive confirmation prompt |
--verbose | boolean | Show underlying local or Docker command output |
nb app start
nb app start --env local
nb app start --env local --verbose
nb app start --env local-docker
If you explicitly pass --env and it differs from the current env, the CLI asks for confirmation first. In non-interactive terminals or AI agent sessions, add --yes yourself or run nb env use <name> first and try again.
By default, when applicable, the CLI first runs nb license plugins sync --skip-if-no-license to synchronize the commercial plugins allowed by the current license. Then local envs automatically complete any required install or upgrade preparation before starting, and Docker envs recreate the app container from saved env config. Whenever the CLI needs to wait for readiness, it checks __health_check: it prints one waiting line first, then one progress line every 10 seconds until the app becomes available or times out.
If the current env saved a hook with nb init --hook-script, nb app start runs afterAppStart(context) after the app actually starts and passes __health_check. Installed envs use context.phase = 'app-start' and context.command = 'app:start'. If the app is already running, this command does not run the hook.
For prepared envs created with --prepare-only, the first nb app start runs beforeAppInstall(context), completes the first install and startup, then runs afterAppStart(context). Both hooks receive context.phase = 'init' and context.command = 'app:start'.