This command allows you to compile firmware from any directory. You can compile JSON exports from <https://config.qmk.fm>, compile keymaps in the repo, or compile the keyboard in the current working directory.
It is possible to speed up compilation by adding the `-j`/`--parallel` flag.
```
qmk compile -j <num_jobs> -kb <keyboard_name>
```
The `num_jobs` argument determines the maximum number of jobs that can be used. Setting it to zero will enable parallel compilation without limiting the maximum number of jobs.
This command is similar to `qmk compile`, but can also target a bootloader. The bootloader is optional, and is set to `:flash` by default. To specify a different bootloader, use `-bl <bootloader>`. Visit the [Flashing Firmware](flashing.md) guide for more details of the available bootloaders.
This command is directory aware. It will automatically fill in KEYBOARD and/or KEYMAP if you are in a keyboard or keymap directory.
This command lets you connect to keyboard consoles to get debugging messages. It only works if your keyboard firmware has been compiled with `CONSOLE_ENABLE=yes`.
Formats a JSON file in a (mostly) human-friendly way. Will usually correctly detect the format of the JSON (info.json or keymap.json) but you can override this with `--format` if neccesary.
Displays information about keyboards and keymaps in QMK. You can use this to get information about a keyboard, show the layouts, display the underlying key matrix, or to pretty-print JSON keymaps.
**Usage**:
```
qmk info [-f FORMAT] [-m] [-l] [-km KEYMAP] [-kb KEYBOARD]
```
This command is directory aware. It will automatically fill in KEYBOARD and/or KEYMAP if you are in a keyboard or keymap directory.
**Note:** Parsing C source files is not easy, therefore this subcommand may not work with your keymap. In some cases not using the C pre-processor helps.
Any arguments that are not provided will prompt for input. If `-u` is not passed and `user.name` is set in .gitconfig, it will be used as the default username in the prompt.
This command an generate a keymap.json from a VIA keymap backup. Both the layers and the macros are converted, enabling users to easily move away from a VIA-enabled firmware without writing any code or reimplementing their keymaps in QMK Configurator.
Run it with no arguments to format all core code that has been changed. Default checks `origin/master` with `git diff`, branch can be changed using `-b <branch_name>`
Run it with `-a` to format all core code, or pass filenames on the command line to run it on specific files.
Does your IDE/editor use a language server but doesn't _quite_ find all the necessary include files? Do you hate red squigglies? Do you wish your editor could figure out `#include QMK_KEYBOARD_H`? You might need a [compilation database](https://clang.llvm.org/docs/JSONCompilationDatabase.html)! The qmk tool can build this for you.
This command needs to know which keyboard and keymap to build. It uses the same configuration options as the `qmk compile` command: arguments, current directory, and config files.
**Example:**
```
$ cd ~/qmk_firmware/keyboards/gh60/satan/keymaps/colemak
$ qmk generate-compilation-database
Ψ Making clean
Ψ Gathering build instructions from make -n gh60/satan:colemak
Ψ Found 50 compile commands
Ψ Writing build database to /Users/you/src/qmk_firmware/compile_commands.json
```
Now open your dev environment and live a squiggly-free life.
This command runs `docsify serve` if `docsify-cli` is installed (which provides live reload), otherwise Python's builtin HTTP server module will be used.
This command allows you to generate QMK documentation locally. It can be uses for general browsing or improving the docs. External tools such as [serve](https://www.npmjs.com/package/serve) can be used to browse the generated files.
This command generates a lookup table (LUT) header file for the [RGB Lighting](feature_rgblight.md) feature's breathing animation. Place this file in your keyboard or keymap directory as `rgblight_breathe_table.h` to override the default LUT in `quantum/rgblight/`.
This command allows you to convert from raw KLE data to QMK Configurator JSON. It accepts either an absolute file path, or a file name in the current directory. By default it will not overwrite `info.json` if it is already present. Use the `-f` or `--force` flag to overwrite.
This command converts images to a format usable by QMK, i.e. the QGF File Format. See the [Quantum Painter](quantum_painter.md?id=quantum-painter-cli) documentation for more information on this command.
## `qmk painter-make-font-image`
This command converts a TTF font to an intermediate format for editing, before converting to the QFF File Format. See the [Quantum Painter](quantum_painter.md?id=quantum-painter-cli) documentation for more information on this command.
## `qmk painter-convert-font-image`
This command converts an intermediate font image to the QFF File Format. See the [Quantum Painter](quantum_painter.md?id=quantum-painter-cli) documentation for more information on this command.