Using the Kendo CLI

Updated on Jun 18, 2026

The Kendo CLI (@progress/kendo-cli) is a command-line tool that helps you set up and manage Kendo UI for jQuery projects from the terminal.

With the Kendo CLI you can:

• Create a new Kendo UI for jQuery application from a built-in template.
• Scaffold Kendo UI components into an existing application.
• Build a custom Kendo UI script bundle with only the components your project needs.
• Set up your development environment, including license activation and AI assistant configuration.
• Migrate your project to the latest version of the Kendo UI packages.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have Node 22 or Node 24 installed. See Node Setup on Windows with nvm-windows for a quick setup guide.

Installation

Install the Kendo CLI globally so the kendo command is available in any terminal session:

sh

npm i -g @progress/kendo-cli

Verify the installation by checking the version:

sh

kendo --version

Available Commands

The following commands apply to Kendo UI for jQuery. Run kendo --help to see all available commands at any time.

Command	Description
kendo create jquery	Create a new jQuery app from a built-in template.
kendo scaffold jquery	Add Kendo UI for jQuery components to an existing app.
kendo custom-build jquery	Generate a custom Kendo UI for jQuery UMD bundle with selected components.
kendo setup jquery	Set up Kendo UI for jQuery in your development environment.
kendo migrate	Migrate the project to the latest version of the Kendo UI packages.
kendo license	Manage your Kendo UI license (activate, refresh, info).
kendo mcp config jquery	Configure the Kendo UI for jQuery MCP server for your AI coding assistant.
kendo machine-id	Print a hardware-based hash for license troubleshooting.

kendo create jquery

Creates a new Kendo UI for jQuery application from a template. The available templates are:

Template shorthand	Description
jba	Blank — a minimal starting point with Kendo UI scripts and stylesheets included and no pre-built pages.
jqa	Admin — a multi-view app with a Task Dashboard, Products, Performance statistics, and Account Settings pages, showcasing Grid, Charts, and navigational components.
jda	Dashboard — includes a ListView of team members and Scheduler and Chart components representing task and performance data.
jdla	Dashboard Layout — displays data through Chart components arranged in a TileLayout.
jga	Grid — demonstrates a simple Grid configuration.
jsa	Standard — showcases navigational components such as PanelBar, Menu, TabStrip, and TreeView.

sh

kendo create jquery jba MyApp
kendo create jquery jqa MyAdminApp --theme=bootstrap

After the project is generated, navigate into the new directory, install packages, and run:

sh

cd MyApp
npm install
npm start

Options

Option	Description	Default
--theme	Kendo theme to apply. Choices: default, bootstrap, material, fluent.	default

kendo scaffold jquery

Adds Kendo UI for jQuery components to an existing application. The command detects your project directory and guides you through selecting a component to add.

sh

kendo scaffold jquery

kendo custom-build jquery

Generates a custom Kendo UI for jQuery UMD bundle that includes only the components you select, reducing the overall file size. The CLI resolves and installs the target @progress/kendo-ui version, lets you choose components interactively, and outputs a single kendo-custom.min.js file. A kendo-config.json file is saved so you can reproduce the build later.

sh

kendo custom-build jquery
kendo custom-build jquery --version xxxx.x.xxx
kendo custom-build jquery --no-interactive
kendo custom-build jquery --config path/to/kendo-config.json

Options

Option	Description	Default
--version	Target @progress/kendo-ui version (2026 and later only).	Latest
--config, -c	Path to kendo-config.json.	kendo-config.json
--interactive	Run interactive component selection. Pass --no-interactive to skip prompts and use an existing config file.	true

kendo setup jquery

Sets up Kendo UI for jQuery in your development environment. The wizard checks for a valid license and opens a browser to authenticate if needed, then configures the product-specific MCP server for your IDE.

sh

kendo setup jquery

If you prefer not to install the package globally, you can use npx:

sh

npx @progress/kendo-cli kendo setup jquery

kendo migrate

Migrates the project to the latest version of the Kendo UI packages and applies available codemods. Run the command in the root of your project:

sh

kendo migrate

For more targeted migrations:

sh

# Migrate a specific package between versions
kendo migrate @progress/kendo-ui --from 10 --to 11

# Only install updates, skip codemods
kendo migrate --no-codemods

# Only run codemods, skip package installation
kendo migrate --no-install

# Skip confirmation prompts
kendo migrate --force

Options

Option	Description	Default
packages	One or more packages to migrate. If omitted, runs for all detected Kendo packages.	All packages
--to	Target version to migrate to.	Latest version
--from	Source version to migrate from.	Currently installed version
-f, --force	Skip all confirmation prompts.	false
-i, --install / --no-install	Install the updated @progress packages. Pass --no-install to skip installation and run codemods only.	true
-c, --codemods / --no-codemods	Run codemods for the listed or updated packages. Pass --no-codemods to skip codemods and install packages only.	true
--peer-deps, --pd / --no-peer-deps	Install @progress packages gathered from peer dependencies.	true
-o, --optional / --no-optional	Run optional codemods. Pass --no-optional to run only required transformations.	true
--ignore-pattern	Glob pattern for files and directories to exclude from codemod transformations.	—
--ai-mode	Display post-codemod instructions for changes that could not be applied automatically.	false

kendo license

Manages your Kendo UI license key.

sh

# Activate a license key
kendo license activate

# Download or refresh a license key by authenticating in the browser
kendo license refresh

# Display the active license details
kendo license info

kendo license activate searches for a license key in the following locations, in order:

• The path specified in the TELERIK_LICENSE_PATH environment variable.
• The TELERIK_LICENSE or KENDO_UI_LICENSE environment variables.
• telerik-license.txt or kendo-ui-license.txt files in the current directory, each parent directory, or ~/.telerik/ (Linux and macOS) / %APPDATA%\Telerik\ (Windows).

kendo license refresh opens a browser to authenticate with telerik.com and saves a fresh key to ~/.telerik/telerik-license.txt.

kendo license info prints the audience, issue date, and list of products covered by the current license key.

kendo mcp config jquery

Configures the Kendo UI for jQuery MCP server so your AI coding assistant can look up components, APIs, and best practices directly from the official documentation.

sh

# Configure for all supported IDEs (default)
kendo mcp config jquery

# Configure for a specific IDE
kendo mcp config jquery --ide=cursor
kendo mcp config jquery --ide=vscode
kendo mcp config jquery --ide=visualstudio

# Overwrite existing entries
kendo mcp config jquery --ide=cursor --force

# Output machine-readable JSON
kendo mcp config jquery --json

Options

Option	Description	Default
--ide	IDE to configure. Choices: cursor, vscode, visualstudio, all.	all
--force	Overwrite existing MCP server entries instead of skipping them.	false
--json	Print machine-readable JSON output instead of human-readable text.	false

kendo machine-id

Prints a hardware-based hash for your machine. Useful when troubleshooting license activation issues.

sh

kendo machine-id

Next Steps

• Installing with NPM
• Building Custom Kendo UI Scripts Locally

See Also

• Downloading the Bundles
• Installing Kendo UI by Using the CDN Services
• Licensing Overview