Commandbox Boxlang

CommandBox BoxLang Skill

When to Use This Skill

Load this skill when:

• Starting a BoxLang server with CommandBox
• Configuring server.json for BoxLang engine settings
• Using the BoxLang REPL for interactive development
• Running BoxLang task runners or scripts from the CLI
• Installing BoxLang modules via CommandBox

Installation

box install commandbox-boxlang

Starting a BoxLang Server

# Start with BoxLang engine
box server start cfengine=boxlang

# Or configure via server.json (recommended)
box server start

server.json Configuration

{
    "name": "myapp",
    "cfengine": "boxlang",
    "port": 8080,
    "webroot": ".",
    "boxlang": {
        "version": "1.0.0",
        "debug": false,
        "modules": [
            "bx-compat-cfml",
            "bx-web-support"
        ],
        "jvmArgs": "-Xmx512m -Xms256m",
        "configFile": "boxlang.json"
    },
    "web": {
        "rewrites": {
            "enable": true,
            "config": "urlrewrite.xml"
        }
    }
}

boxlang.json (BoxLang Runtime Config)

{
    "debugMode": false,
    "defaultTimezone": "UTC",
    "defaultLocale": "en_US",
    "modules": {
        "bx-compat-cfml": {},
        "bx-web-support": {}
    },
    "executors": {
        "defaultTimeout": 30
    }
}

BoxLang REPL

# Start interactive REPL
box boxlang repl

# Run a single expression
box boxlang execute "now()"

# Run a .bx file
box boxlang run path/to/script.bx

# Run with variables
box boxlang run script.bx --arg1=value1

Module Management

# Install a BoxLang module
box install bx-compat-cfml
box install bx-orm
box install bx-async

# List installed BoxLang modules
box list --boxlang

# Update all BoxLang modules
box update --boxlang

Task Runners

// tasks/BuildTask.bx
class {

    function run( args = {} ) {
        print.line( "Building application..." )

        // Compile / minify / etc.
        command( "npm run build" ).run()

        print.greenLine( "Build complete!" )
    }

    function test( args = {} ) {
        command( "box testbox run" ).run()
    }
}

# Run a BoxLang task
box boxlang task BuildTask run
box boxlang task BuildTask test

Common CLI Commands

# Check BoxLang version
box boxlang version

# Clear BoxLang module cache
box boxlang modulecache clear

# Compile a .bx file to bytecode
box boxlang compile path/to/file.bx

# Run tests with BoxLang engine
box testbox run runner=http://localhost:8080/tests/runner.cfm

Best Practices

• Use server.json for all server configuration — avoids repeated CLI arguments
• Pin BoxLang version in server.json — prevents unexpected upgrades breaking the app
• Install bx-compat-cfml when migrating CFML code — enables legacy function/tag compatibility
• Set JVM args in server.json appropriate for the workload — avoid default heap limits in production
• Use the REPL for quick prototyping and debugging BoxLang expressions
• Configure debugMode: false in boxlang.json for production — avoids detailed error output

Documentation

• commandbox-boxlang: https://github.com/Ortus-Solutions/commandbox-boxlang
• BoxLang docs: https://boxlang.ortusbooks.com
• CommandBox docs: https://commandbox.ortusbooks.com