Neon CLI commands — init

Before you begin

• Before running the init command, ensure that you have installed the Neon CLI.
• The init command requires authentication. If you have not authenticated with the neon auth command, running neon init will automatically launch the Neon CLI browser authentication process. Alternatively, you can specify a Neon API key using the --api-key option when running a command. See Connect.

The init command

The init command initializes your app project with Neon using your AI coding assistant. It configures the Neon MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server or installs the Neon Local Connect extension depending on your editor, installs agent skills, and enables your AI assistant to help set up your Neon integration.

This command will:

• Authenticate via OAuth (opens your browser)
• Create a Neon API key for you automatically
• For VS Code and Cursor: Install the Neon Local Connect extension, which includes the Neon MCP Server and provides database development tools directly in your IDE
• For Claude Code: Configure the Neon MCP Server in ~/.claude.json
• Install Neon agent skills for your selected editor(s)

The init command supports: Cursor, VS Code with GitHub Copilot, and Claude Code. It automatically detects which editors you have installed and lets you choose which to configure.

Usage

From the CLI:

You can run it from the Neon CLI to install the Neon MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server and authenticate.

neon init

npx

You can also run the init command in the root directory of your app with npx instead of installing the Neon CLI locally:

npx neonctl@latest init

After running the command, restart your editor and ask your AI assistant to "Get started with Neon" to launch an interactive onboarding guide. The command installs Neon agent skills to help you get started with Neon, including helping you configure a database connection. For Cursor and VS Code users, the Neon Local Connect extension also provides database schema browsing, SQL editing, and table data management directly in your IDE.

Options

This command supports global options only.

Example

Navigate to the root directory of your application and run the neonctl@latest init command:

cd /path/to/your/app
npx neonctl@latest init

The command outputs progress as it completes each step:

npx neonctl@latest init

┌  Adding Neon to your project
│
◆  Which editor(s) would you like to configure? (Space to toggle each option, Enter to confirm your selection)
│  ◼ Cursor
│  ◼ VS Code
│  ◻ Claude CLI
│
◒  Authenticating...
┌────────┬──────────────────┬────────┬────────────────┐
│ Login  │ Email            │ Name   │ Projects Limit │
├────────┼──────────────────┼────────┼────────────────┤
│ alex   │ alex@domain.com  │ Alex   │ 60             │
└────────┴──────────────────┴────────┴────────────────┘
◇  Authentication successful ✓
│
◇  Installing agent skills for Neon...
│
◇  Agent skills installed ✓
│
◇  Neon Local Connect extension installed for Cursor / VS Code.
│
├  What's next? ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│                                                                                                  │
│  Restart Cursor / VS Code, open the Neon extension and type                                      |
|  in "Get started with Neon" in your agent chat                                                   │
│                                                                                                  │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
│
└  Have feedback? Email us at feedback@neon.tech

Supported AI Assistants

The init command supports:

• Cursor — Ask: "Get started with Neon"
• VS Code with GitHub Copilot — Ask: "Get started with Neon"
• Claude Code — Ask: "Get started with Neon"

The command automatically detects which editors are installed and lets you select which to configure.

Manual setup

If you prefer to configure manually or need to set up for other IDEs, create a Neon API key in the Neon Console and use this configuration:

Example configuration for Claude Code (~/.claude.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Neon": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.neon.tech/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <NEON_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

For detailed manual setup instructions for all editors, see Connect MCP clients.