`init project`

As a new user, run the init project subcommand to get started with Liquibase. If you already use Liquibase, run the subcommand to create a new project with a minimal input.

The subcommand finds or creates your project folder with a changelog and liquibase.properties file and delivers an example H2 database to help you get started. When creating Liquibase project files, the init project subcommand includes parameters in the properties file, which you can alternatively run as CLI arguments, configure as environment variables, or specify as Java system properties.

Syntax

To run the init project subcommand in the interactive mode, enter liquibase init project and follow the command-line instructions: choose [y] to accept all the default values, [c] to customize the values, or [n] to not set up the project files.

The subcommand provides the following options:

Keep the default settings (y):

--project-dir=./
--changelog-file=example-changelog.sql
--format=sql
--project-defaults-file=liquibase.properties
--url=jdbc:h2:tcp://localhost:9090/mem:dev
--username=dbuser
--password=letmein

The default values work with the example H2 database, which is also delivered when running liquibase init project.

Customize all parameters (c):

--project-dir=[path/to/some/directory]
--changelog-file=[file.ext]
--format=[sql|xml|json|yaml|yml]
--project-defaults-file=[liquibase.properties]
--url=[some/JDBC/URL]
--username=[string]
--password=[string]

Customize a few parameters and stop the process. The default settings will be used.

Example: If you run liquibase init project --changelog-file=mychangelog.sql --username=myusername, the interactive mode will ask if you want to accept the rest of the default parameters or customize all flags that are not set. In this case, they are project dir, project defaults file, url, and password.

To run the init project subcommand in the non-interactive mode, run liquibase init project and specify all the parameters you need at once:

liquibase init project
--project-dir=[path/to/some/directory]
--changelog-file=[file.ext]
--format=[sql|xml|json|yaml|yml]
--project-defaults-file=[liquibase.properties]
--url=[some/JDBC/URL]
--username=[string]
--password=[string]

Note: If Liquibase cannot find the directory, it will create the directory using the path you have specified.

The subcommand does not overwrite your existing changelog file but updates an existing project-defaults-file with the same name. For example, this functionality might help you update the Liquibase properties file from the CLI with a different changelog or URL but keep other values and files the same.

Command arguments

Tip: For best results, specify all commands and parameters in the --kebab-case format in the CLI. If your preference is camelCase, it also works in the CLI.

Note: The init project subcommand skips the CLI interactive mode when you provide values by other mechanisms than CLI.

The following table lists command arguments for the CLI (--kebab-case), in the liquibase.properties file (dot.case/camelCase), and as environment variables (ENVAR_CASE).

Attribute	Description	Requirements
`--changelog-file liquibase.command.init.project.changelog-file LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_INIT_PROJECT_CHANGELOG_FILE`	Relative or fully qualified path to the changelog file. Default: `example-changelog`	Optional
`--format liquibase.command.init.project.format LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_INIT_PROJECT_FORMAT`	Format of the project changelog file: `sql\|xml\|json\|yaml\|yml`. Default: `sql`	Optional
`--keep-temp-files liquibase.command.init.project.keepTempFiles LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_INIT_PROJECT_KEEP_TEMP_FILES`	For remote project locations, do not delete temporary project files. Default: `false`	Optional
`--password liquibase.command.init.project.password LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_INIT_PROJECT_PASSWORD`	Password to use to connect to the database. Default: `letmein`	Optional
`--project-defaults-file liquibase.command.init.project.projectDefaultsFile LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_INIT_PROJECT_PROJECT_DEFAULTS_FILE`	File with default Liquibase properties. Default: `liquibase.properties`	Optional
`--project-dir liquibase.command.init.project.projectDir LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_INIT_PROJECT_PROJECT_DIR`	An optional parameter used to specify the directory containing files (existing or to be auto-created) to be used with Liquibase. Default: `./`	Optional
`--project-guide liquibase.command.init.project.projectGuide LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_INIT_PROJECT_PROJECT_GUIDE`	Parameter that turns on or turns off the CLI interactive mode. For example, if you want to set one parameter and have the rest as default ones, run the parameter and set `--project-guide=off` to not be asked about the rest of the settings: `liquibase init project --changelog=mychangelog.sql --project-guide=off`. Default: `on`	Optional
`--url liquibase.command.init.project.url LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_INIT_PROJECT_URL`	The JDBC database connection URL. See Using JDBC URL in Liquibase. Default: `jdbc:h2:tcp://localhost:9090/mem:dev`	Optional
`--username liquibase.command.init.project.username LIQUIBASE_COMMAND_INIT_PROJECT_USERNAME`	Username to connect to the database. Default: `dbuser`	Optional

Note: An example of a Java system property:
For Windows, configure SET JAVA_OPTS="liquibase.command.init.project.projectDir=java_lbproj"
For Linux, run the value on the command line -Dliquibase.command.init.project.projectDir=java_lbproj