Angular CLI Commands

Complete reference for all Angular CLI commands with examples and options

Command Overview

Angular CLI provides a comprehensive set of commands for every stage of development. All commands follow the pattern:

ng <command> [options]

Use ng <command> --help to see detailed options for any command.

Essential Commands

ng new

Create a new Angular workspace and application.

ng new <project-name> [options]

Options

--routing · boolean · default: "false"

Generate a routing module for the application

--style · string · default: "css"

Stylesheet format: css, scss, sass, less, or stylus

--ssr · boolean · default: "false"

Enable Server-Side Rendering (SSR) support

--skip-git · boolean · default: "false"

Skip initializing a git repository

--skip-install · boolean · default: "false"

Skip installing npm packages

--package-manager · string

Package manager to use: npm, yarn, pnpm, or cnpm

--create-application · boolean · default: "true"

Create a new application in the workspace

Examples

Basic

ng new my-app

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ng serve

Start a development server with live reload.

ng serve [options]

Options

--port · number · default: "4200"

Port to listen on

--host · string · default: "localhost"

Host to listen on

--open · boolean · default: "false"

Automatically open browser (shorthand: -o)

--configuration · string

Build configuration to use (shorthand: -c)

--ssl · boolean · default: "false"

Serve using HTTPS

--proxy-config · string

Path to proxy configuration file

Examples

Basic

ng serve

The development server is available at http://localhost:4200 by default.

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ng build

Build the application for deployment.

ng build [options]

Options

--configuration · string

Build configuration (e.g., production, development)

--output-path · string

Output directory for build artifacts

--optimization · boolean

Enable optimization of the build output

--source-map · boolean

Generate source maps

--aot · boolean · default: "true"

Ahead-of-Time compilation

--progress · boolean · default: "true"

Show build progress

--watch · boolean · default: "false"

Run build when files change

Examples

Development Build

ng build

Build Output

Production builds include:

• AOT Compilation: Templates compiled ahead-of-time
• Tree Shaking: Unused code removed
• Minification: Code size reduced
• Bundle Optimization: Efficient chunking

Default output directory is dist/ (configurable in angular.json)

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ng generate

Generate Angular artifacts using schematics.

ng generate <schematic> <name> [options]
ng g <schematic> <name> [options]  # shorthand

Available Schematics

Component

ng generate component <name>

Options:

• --standalone: Create standalone component (default in v17+)
• --skip-tests: Skip test file generation
• --inline-template: Use inline template
• --inline-style: Use inline styles
• --flat: Don’t create a folder
• --export: Export from parent module

Example:

ng g component user-profile --standalone

Service

ng generate service <name>

Options:

• --skip-tests: Skip test file generation
• --flat: Don’t create a folder

Example:

ng g service auth --skip-tests

Module

ng generate module <name>

Options:

• --routing: Add routing module
• --flat: Don’t create a folder
• --module: Parent module to import into

Example:

ng g module admin --routing

Directive

ng generate directive <name>

Options:

• --standalone: Create standalone directive
• --skip-tests: Skip test file generation
• --flat: Don’t create a folder

Example:

ng g directive highlight --standalone

Pipe

ng generate pipe <name>

Options:

• --standalone: Create standalone pipe
• --skip-tests: Skip test file generation
• --flat: Don’t create a folder

Example:

ng g pipe currency-format --standalone

Guard

ng generate guard <name>

Options:

• --functional: Generate functional guard (default in v15+)
• --skip-tests: Skip test file generation

Example:

ng g guard auth

Interface

ng generate interface <name>

Example:

ng g interface user

Class

ng generate class <name>

Options:

• --type: Type suffix (e.g., model, util)
• --skip-tests: Skip test file generation

Example:

ng g class user --type=model

For standalone components, directives, and pipes, use the --standalone flag or set it as default in angular.json.

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ng test

Run unit tests using Karma and Jasmine.

ng test [options]

Options

--watch · boolean · default: "true"

Watch files for changes and re-run tests

--code-coverage · boolean · default: "false"

Generate code coverage report

--browsers · string

Browsers to run tests in (e.g., Chrome, Firefox)

--include · string

Glob pattern for test files to include

Examples

Watch Mode

ng test

The Angular team uses Karma 6.4.0 and Jasmine 6.1.0 for testing.

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ng e2e

Run end-to-end tests (requires e2e test setup).

ng e2e [options]

Starting with Angular v12, e2e testing is not included by default. You need to add a third-party e2e testing tool like Cypress or Playwright.

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ng lint

Run linting tools on Angular app code.

ng lint [options]

Requires ESLint or TSLint configuration. The Angular team uses TSLint 6.1.3 in the source repository.

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ng update

Update Angular packages and dependencies.

ng update [packages]

Examples

Check for Updates

ng update

Update Options

--force · boolean

Force update even if there are peer dependency warnings

--migrate-only · boolean

Only run migrations, don’t update packages

--from · string

Version to migrate from

--to · string

Version to migrate to

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ng add

Add external libraries to your project with automatic configuration.

ng add <package>

Popular Packages

Angular Material

ng add @angular/material

The ng add command automatically installs packages and runs configuration schematics.

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ng version

Display Angular CLI and package versions.

ng version
ng v  # shorthand

Outputs:

• Angular CLI version
• Node.js version
• Package manager version
• TypeScript version
• Angular package versions

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ng config

Get or set Angular configuration values.

ng config <key> [value]

Examples

Get Value

ng config cli.analytics

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ng analytics

Manage Angular CLI analytics settings.

ng analytics <command>

Enable

ng analytics on

Disable

ng analytics off

Info

ng analytics info

Prompt

ng analytics prompt

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ng extract-i18n

Extract internationalization messages from templates.

ng extract-i18n [options]

Options

--format · string · default: "xlf"

Output format: xlf, xlf2, xmb, json, arb

--output-path · string

Output directory for translation files

--out-file · string

Output file name

Example

ng extract-i18n --format=xlf2 --output-path=src/locale

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Migration Commands

Angular provides several migration schematics:

Standalone Migration

Convert to standalone components:

ng generate @angular/core:standalone

Options:

• Convert declarations to standalone
• Remove unnecessary NgModules
• Switch to standalone bootstrapping

Control Flow Migration

Migrate to new control flow syntax:

ng generate @angular/core:control-flow-migration

Converts *ngIf, *ngFor, *ngSwitch to @if, @for, @switch

Signal Inputs

Migrate to signal inputs:

ng generate @angular/core:signal-input-migration

Signal Queries

Migrate to signal queries:

ng generate @angular/core:signal-queries-migration

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Command Aliases

Common Shortcuts

Full Command	Alias	Description
ng generate	ng g	Generate schematics
ng serve --open	ng s -o	Serve and open browser
ng build --configuration=production	ng b -c production	Production build
ng test	ng t	Run tests
ng version	ng v	Show version

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Global Flags

These flags work with any command:

--help · boolean

Show help information (shorthand: -h)

--dry-run · boolean

Run command without making changes (shorthand: -d)

--force · boolean

Force overwriting of files (shorthand: -f)

--skip-import · boolean

Skip importing into NgModule

--project · string

Target project in multi-project workspace

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Next Steps

Builders

Learn about custom build processes

Schematics

Create custom code generators