> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.jetify.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Running Scripts

> Scripts are shell commands that can be defined in your devbox.json file. They can be executed by using the `devbox run` command. Scripts started with `devbox run` are launched in a interactive `devbox shell` that terminates once the script finishes, or is interrupted by CTRL-C.

Scripts will run after your packages finish installing, and after your `init_hook` completes.

## Configuring scripts[​](#configuring-scripts "Direct link to Configuring scripts")

Scripts can be added in your `devbox.json`. Scripts require a unique name, and a command or list of
commands to run:

```json theme={null}
"shell": {
    "init_hook": "echo \"Hello \"",
    "scripts": {
        "echo_once": "echo \"World\"",
        "echo_twice": [
            "echo \"World\"",
            "echo \"Again\""
        ]
    }
}
```

## Running your scripts[​](#running-your-scripts "Direct link to Running your scripts")

To run a script, use `devbox run <script_name>`. This will start your shell, run your `init_hook`,
and then run the script:

```
$ devbox run echo_once
Installing nix packages. This may take a while... done.
Starting a devbox shell...
Hello
World

$ devbox run echo_twice
Installing nix packages. This may take a while... done.
Starting a devbox shell...
Hello
World
Again
```

Your devbox shell will exit once the last line of your script has finished running, or when you
interrupt the script with CTRL-C (or a SIGINT signal).

## Running a One-off Command[​](#running-a-one-off-command "Direct link to Running a One-off Command")

You can use `devbox run` to run any command in your Devbox shell, even if you have not defined it as
a script. For example, you can run the command below to print "Hello World" in your Devbox shell:

```bash theme={null}
devbox run echo "Hello World"
```

You can also run commands that use flags as normal. For example:

```bash theme={null}
devbox run lsof -i :80
```

Note that if you want to pass flags to `devbox run`, you should pass them before the command. For
example:

```bash theme={null}
# Run `lsof -i :80` in your devbox shell in quiet mode
devbox run -q lsof -i :80
```

## Run Scripts with Custom Environment Variables[​](#run-scripts-with-custom-environment-variables "Direct link to Run Scripts with Custom Environment Variables")

You can use the `--env` flag to set custom environment variables in your Devbox shell. For example,
the following command will set the `MY_VAR` environment variable to `my_value` when running the
`echo` command:

```bash theme={null}
devbox run --env MY_VAR=my_value echo $MY_VAR
```

You can also load environment variables from a .env file using the `--env-file` flag. For example,
the following command will load the environment variables from the `.env.devbox` file in your
current directory:

```bash theme={null}
devbox run --env-file .env.devbox echo $MY_VAR
```

## Tips on using Scripts[​](#tips-on-using-scripts "Direct link to Tips on using Scripts")

1. Since `init_hook` runs every time you start your shell, you should primarily use it for setting
   environment variables and aliases. For longer running tasks like database setup, you can create
   and run a Devbox script
2. You can use Devbox scripts to start and manage long running background processes and daemons.
   1. For example -- If you are working on a LAMP stack project, you can use scripts to start MySQL
      and Apache in separate shells and monitor their logs. Once you are done developing, you can
      use CTRL-C to exit the processes and shells
3. If a script feels too long to put it directly in `devbox.json`, you can save it as a shell script
   in your project, and then invoke it in your `devbox scripts`.
4. For more ideas, see the LAMP stack example in our
   [Devbox examples repo](https://github.com/jetify-com/devbox/tree/main/examples/stacks/lapp-stack).

[Edit this page](https://github.com/jetify-com/docs/tree/main/docs/devbox/guides/scripts/index.mdx)