---
createdAt: 2025-12-30
updatedAt: 2025-12-30
title: Initialize Intlayer
description: Learn how to initialize Intlayer in your project.
keywords:
- Initialize
- CLI
- Intlayer
- AI
slugs:
- doc
- concept
- cli
- init
history:
- version: 7.5.9
date: 2025-12-30
changes: Add init command
---
# Initialize Intlayer
```bash
npx intlayer init
```
The `init` command automatically sets up Intlayer in your project by configuring necessary files and settings. It's the recommended way to get started with Intlayer.
## Aliases:
- `npx intlayer init`
## Arguments:
- `--project-root [projectRoot]` - Optional. Specify the project root directory. If not provided, the command will search for the project root starting from the current working directory.
## What it does:
The `init` command performs the following setup tasks:
1. **Validates project structure** - Ensures you're in a valid project directory with a `package.json` file
2. **Updates `.gitignore`** - Adds `.intlayer` to your `.gitignore` file to exclude generated files from version control
3. **Configures TypeScript** - Updates all `tsconfig.json` files to include Intlayer type definitions (`.intlayer/**/*.ts`)
4. **Creates configuration file** - Generates an `intlayer.config.ts` (for TypeScript projects) or `intlayer.config.mjs` (for JavaScript projects) with default settings
5. **Updates Vite config** - If a Vite configuration file is detected, adds the `vite-intlayer` plugin import
6. **Updates Next.js config** - If a Next.js configuration file is detected, adds the `next-intlayer` plugin import
## Examples:
### Basic initialization:
```bash
npx intlayer init
```
This will initialize Intlayer in the current directory, automatically detecting the project root.
### Initialize with custom project root:
```bash
npx intlayer init --project-root ./my-project
```
This will initialize Intlayer in the specified directory.
## Example output:
```bash
npx intlayer init
Checking Intlayer configuration...
✓ Added .intlayer to .gitignore
✓ Updated tsconfig.json to include intlayer types
Created intlayer.config.ts
✓ Injected import into vite.config.ts
✓ Intlayer init setup complete.
```
## Notes:
- The command is idempotent - you can run it multiple times safely. It will skip steps that are already configured.
- If a configuration file already exists, it won't be overwritten.
- TypeScript config files without an `include` array (e.g., solution-style configs with references) are skipped.
- The command will exit with an error if no `package.json` is found in the project root.
