Scaffold and Install an App via Command Line
Tethys Platform provides an easy way to create new app projects via command line with the scaffold command. This command generates a Tethys app project with the minimum files and the folder structure that is required (see App Project Structure).
Last Updated: October 2025
Tip
You will need to use the command line/terminal to manage your app and run the development server. See the Terminal Quick Guide article for some tips if you are new to command line.
Windows Users: Use the Anaconda Powershell Prompt to run Tethys commands. Visit the Anaconda site for instructions on installing Anaconda Powershell Prompt or Miniconda Powershell Prompt.
Note
See Scaffold and Install an App via the Portal if you would rather avoid using the command line.
1. Generate Scaffold
To generate a new app using the scaffold command, open a terminal, Activate Your Virtual Environment, and execute the following commands:
tethys scaffold new_app
You will be prompted to enter metadata about your app such as, proper name, version, author, and description. All of these metadata are optional. You can accept the default value that is shown in the square brackets by pressing enter.
In a file browser change into your home directory and open the tethysdev directory. If the scaffolding worked, you should see a directory called tethysapp-new_app. All of the source code for your app is located in this directory. For more information about the app project structure, see App Project Structure.
2. Development Installation
Now that you have a new Tethys app project, you need to install the app on your development Tethys Portal. In a terminal, change into the tethysapp-new_app directory and execute the tethys install -d command:
cd tethysapp-new_app
tethys install -d
Tip
Windows Users: If you get an error when running tethys install -d, then you have insufficient permissions to install your app in development mode. Either try opening the tethys_cmd.bat as an administrator and run the commands again, or run tethys install. The disadvantage to this method is that each time you want Tethys to reflect changes to your app code, you will need to run tethys install again.
3. View Your New App
Open the terminal and enter the Tethys environment with the command:
conda activate tethys
Use the following command to start up the development server:
tethys start
Browse to http://127.0.0.1:8000/apps/ in a web browser and login with the default portal user:
username: admin
password: pass
Your app should be listed on the app library page. Click on the app tile to launch it.
Tip
To stop the development server press CTRL-C.
