Using the Streamlit CLI

The Streamlit CLI is the primary tool for running Streamlit applications and managing configuration. This skill covers all essential commands and configuration options.

Running Streamlit apps

Basic syntax

streamlit run [<entrypoint>] [-- config options] [script args]

Entrypoint options

Examples

# Run default app in current directory
streamlit run

# Run a specific file
streamlit run app.py

# Run from a URL
streamlit run https://raw.githubusercontent.com/streamlit/demo-uber-nyc-pickups/master/streamlit_app.py

# Alternative: run as Python module (useful for IDE configuration)
python -m streamlit run app.py

Running with uv (recommended)

Use uv run to run Streamlit in a virtual environment with automatic dependency management:

# Run with uv (automatically uses/creates virtual environment)
uv run streamlit run app.py

# With configuration options
uv run streamlit run app.py --server.headless=true

# With script arguments
uv run streamlit run app.py -- arg1 arg2

Using uv run is the recommended approach because it:

• Automatically manages virtual environments
• Resolves and installs dependencies from pyproject.toml
• Ensures reproducible environments across machines
• Avoids manual activation/deactivation of virtual environments

Setting configuration with streamlit run

Configuration options follow the pattern --<section>.<option>=<value> and must come after the script name.

Recommendation: For persistent configuration, use .streamlit/config.toml in your project directory instead of command-line flags. This keeps your run command simple and makes configuration easier to manage and share with your team.

Examples

streamlit run app.py --server.port=8080
streamlit run app.py --server.headless=true
streamlit run app.py --server.runOnSave=true
streamlit run app.py --server.address=0.0.0.0
streamlit run app.py --client.showErrorDetails=false
streamlit run app.py --theme.primaryColor=blue

Combining multiple options

streamlit run app.py \
    --server.port=8080 \
    --server.headless=true \
    --theme.primaryColor=blue \
    --client.showErrorDetails=false

Passing arguments to your script

Script arguments come after configuration options. Use sys.argv to access them:

streamlit run app.py -- arg1 arg2 "arg with spaces"

In your script:

import sys

# sys.argv[0] = script path
# sys.argv[1:] = your arguments
args = sys.argv[1:]

Other CLI commands

View configuration

# Show all current configuration settings
streamlit config show

Cache management

# Clear all cached data from disk
streamlit cache clear

Diagnostics and help

# Show installed version
streamlit version

# List all available commands
streamlit help

# Open documentation in browser
streamlit docs

Project scaffolding

# Create starter files for a new project
streamlit init

Demo app

# Launch the Streamlit demo application
streamlit hello

Configuration precedence

Configuration can be set in multiple places. Order of precedence (highest to lowest):

1. Command-line flags (--server.port=8080)
2. Environment variables (STREAMLIT_SERVER_PORT=8080)
3. Script-level config (.streamlit/config.toml next to your main script)
4. Project-level config (.streamlit/config.toml in the current working directory)
5. Global config (~/.streamlit/config.toml)

Script-level and project-level configs are the same path when you run streamlit run app.py from the script's directory. They differ when you run from elsewhere, e.g. streamlit run path/to/app.py — in that case, the config next to app.py takes precedence over the one in your cwd.

References

• Run your app - Concepts and methods for running Streamlit apps
• config.toml - Complete configuration options reference
• CLI reference - Full CLI command documentation