Create and edit application needs

Choose what your application needs; BaseHarbor resolves compatible providers on the selected Target. You can keep the automatic choice or select an available instance without putting provider products into the portable application contract.

Create an application

Check the effective Target from a parent directory with room for a new project:

baha target show
baha app new

Enter an application name, project location and development stack. Keep create-only to generate project files without starting containers or deploying providers. Choose run only when you also want to continue into the separately authorized application lifecycle.

The checklist offers SQL, cache, protected application secrets, application login and TLS/HTTPS. Additional needs are available through the checklist's disclosure row. Review preselected needs and deselect anything you do not need. Selecting nothing is valid; a usable application still needs a supported workload. Application login means end-user OIDC, not operator access or service credentials. TLS and secrets do not implicitly select application login.

Use the arrow keys to move and Space to toggle a need. Enter opens the preview. For example, select SQL for an order API; select cache only if the application uses one. You do not need to choose a database product to keep the automatic provider selection.

Choose an optional provider

The selection view shows compatible instances, the selected instance and its reason for each requirement on the current Target. Keep Automatic unless a specific available instance is required. Press P in the New checklist to enter the displayed requirement and instance IDs. For example, if these exact IDs are listed:

database.sql/default postgresql/shared/team

In New, entering database.sql/default automatic resets that preference. An instance from another Target, a missing instance or an incompatible instance is not a valid substitute. Resolve the displayed provider or policy blocker before continuing; confirmation does not make an unsupported provider executable.

Application needs belong to baseharbor.yaml. Explicit provider preferences belong to protected Target/deployment state. Different Targets can bind the same portable intent differently. BaseHarbor assigns the application ID; do not add app.id to authored YAML.

Review before writing

The preview explains selected providers, reused or new dependencies, containers and memory where attribution is available. Measured, estimated and unknown values remain distinct. Provider consequences describe affected applications, access and retained or deleted material; a retained file is not proof of continued access.

No returns to the checklist with need and provider selections preserved. You can repeat this loop. Cancel or EOF before confirmation writes nothing. A changed Target plan requires a refreshed preview and new consent.

Confirming create-only writes the project and its selected Target preferences; it does not prove runtime readiness. Enter the generated project directory and start it when ready:

baha up
baha status
baha doctor

Edit an existing application

Run inside its repository, with the intended Target selected:

baha app edit

Existing named needs and provider preferences are loaded first. Edit currently uses line-oriented input: type up, down or space, then Enter to submit each action. A blank line opens the preview. To select an instance actually shown in the view, enter:

provider database.sql/default postgresql/shared/team

To reset an explicit Edit preference, enter provider database.sql/default automatic for the requirement shown in the view. The next preview uses automatic resolution.

At the Edit preview, type yes to continue or no to return to selection. A blank line also returns; cancel exits without applying. Edit rechecks the current intent, ownership and consequence plan before using the existing apply/verify lifecycle. Removing a need, changing a provider and deleting data are separate decisions. Required consequence acknowledgements and separate data deletion consent are not replaced by --yes. Failed or interrupted execution reports partial results rather than an unverified success.

Interactive New and Edit require a terminal. For deterministic creation, use explicit New arguments from the command index. MCP exposes baseharbor.app.edit as propose followed by apply with the matching proposal and fresh consent; use the MCP reference for the current schema. Existing Console and Connector consumers retain their supported operations; these CLI commands do not add a new Console wizard or remote adapter.

Inspect the footprint

These commands read the same Target-bound footprint without changing resources:

baha app footprint show
baha app footprint show --details
baha app footprint show -o json

Requested or planned resources are not live observations. Use status and doctor after execution to verify actual readiness. For limits, see application commands and platform support.