dft init

Bootstrap a Dataface project, plus its AI and editor integrations.

dft init [OPTIONS]
dft init [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]

Without a subcommand, dft init runs the interactive bootstrap wizard. With a subcommand, it targets a specific integration.

Subcommands

Command	Purpose
dft init mcp	Wire Dataface into an AI assistant via MCP (Cursor, Claude Code, ChatGPT, etc.)
dft init code	Install the Dataface extension into VS Code
dft init vscode	Alias for dft init code
dft init cursor	Install the Dataface extension into Cursor

Top-level options

Flag	Description
--project-dir PATH	Project directory. Default: current directory.
--force, -f	Overwrite existing scaffold files.
--yes, -y	Accept all defaults without prompting.
--agents-md / --no-agents-md	Write/append AGENTS.md.
--claude-md / --no-claude-md	Create CLAUDE.md pointer.
--mcp / --no-mcp	Set up MCP server for AI assistants.
--chat-extra / --no-chat-extra	Install the dataface[chat] extra (enables dft chat).
--vscode / --no-vscode	Install Dataface extension into VS Code.
--cursor / --no-cursor	Install Dataface extension into Cursor.

Examples

# Interactive wizard
dft init

# Accept all defaults
dft init --yes

# Skip MCP setup
dft init --no-mcp

# Only configure AI scaffolding, no editor extensions
dft init --no-vscode --no-cursor

dft init mcp

Add Dataface to your AI client's MCP configuration. Configures the MCP server and installs the agent skills that teach AI assistants how to build effective Dataface dashboards.

dft init mcp [OPTIONS] [CLIENT]

Arguments

Argument	Description
CLIENT	One of: cursor, vscode, claude, claude-code, codex, copilot, print, or auto (detect).

Options

Flag	Description
--all	Write MCP config files for every supported client.
--force, -f	Overwrite existing Dataface config.
--no-skills	Skip installing agent skills (only configure MCP server).
--project-dir PATH	Path to the Dataface or dbt project the MCP server should target. Embedded into the generated server entry.

Project root resolution

dft init mcp walks up from the current directory looking for dataface.yml, dataface.yaml, or dbt_project.yml. Pass --project-dir to override. When the project root diverges from the AI client's workspace (e.g. a project nested under a larger repo), the generated server entry includes --project-dir <abs-path> so the server still starts in the right place.

Examples

dft init mcp                              # Auto-detect clients + project
dft init mcp cursor                       # Configure Cursor only
dft init mcp claude-code                  # Configure Claude Code
dft init mcp --all                        # Write every supported config file
dft init mcp --project-dir ./analytics    # Target a specific project dir
dft init mcp print                        # Print config JSON (for manual setup)

dft init code / dft init vscode

Install the Dataface extension into VS Code. Adds YAML schema, completion, and live-preview integration.

dft init code
dft init vscode    # alias

dft init cursor

Install the Dataface extension into Cursor.

dft init cursor

Related

• dft mcp serve — start the MCP server directly
• dft skills — view the packaged skills that get installed
• dft chat — terminal agent (requires --chat-extra)