---
title: Pass Args to Commands
description: 'Recipe describing how to pass args to tasks running commands'
---

# Pass Args to Commands

When you have an [inferred task](/concepts/inferred-tasks) (or an explicitly defined task using the [`nx:run-commands` executor](/recipes/running-tasks/run-commands-executor#2-update)) running a command, there'll come a time when you'll need to pass args to the underlying command being run. This recipe explains how you can achieve that.

## Example project and tasks

For this recipe we'll use a project with the following `project.json` file:

```json {% fileName="apps/my-app/project.json" %}
{
  "sourceRoot": "apps/my-app/src",
  "projectType": "application",
  "targets": {}
}
```

And the following [final configuration](/reference/project-configuration):

{% project-details title="Project Details View" height="100px" %}

```json
{
  "project": {
    "name": "my-app",
    "type": "app",
    "data": {
      "name": "my-app",
      "root": "apps/my-app",
      "sourceRoot": "apps/my-app/src",
      "projectType": "application",
      "targets": {
        "build": {
          "options": {
            "cwd": "apps/my-app",
            "command": "vite build"
          },
          "cache": true,
          "dependsOn": ["^build"],
          "inputs": [
            "production",
            "^production",
            {
              "externalDependencies": ["vite"]
            }
          ],
          "outputs": ["{workspaceRoot}/dist/apps/my-app"],
          "executor": "nx:run-commands",
          "configurations": {},
          "metadata": {
            "technologies": ["vite"]
          }
        },
        "serve": {
          "options": {
            "cwd": "apps/my-app",
            "command": "vite serve"
          },
          "executor": "nx:run-commands",
          "configurations": {},
          "metadata": {
            "technologies": ["vite"]
          }
        },
        "preview": {
          "options": {
            "cwd": "apps/my-app",
            "command": "vite preview"
          },
          "executor": "nx:run-commands",
          "configurations": {},
          "metadata": {
            "technologies": ["vite"]
          }
        },
        "test": {
          "options": {
            "cwd": "apps/my-app",
            "command": "vitest run"
          },
          "cache": true,
          "inputs": [
            "default",
            "^production",
            {
              "externalDependencies": ["vitest"]
            }
          ],
          "outputs": ["{workspaceRoot}/coverage/apps/my-app"],
          "executor": "nx:run-commands",
          "configurations": {},
          "metadata": {
            "technologies": ["vite"]
          }
        }
      },
      "tags": [],
      "implicitDependencies": []
    }
  },
  "sourceMap": {
    "root": ["apps/my-app/project.json", "nx/core/project-json"],
    "targets": ["apps/my-app/project.json", "nx/core/project-json"],
    "targets.build": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.build.command": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.build.options": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.build.cache": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.build.dependsOn": [
      "apps/my-app/vite.config.ts",
      "@nx/vite/plugin"
    ],
    "targets.build.inputs": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.build.outputs": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.build.options.cwd": [
      "apps/my-app/vite.config.ts",
      "@nx/vite/plugin"
    ],
    "targets.serve": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.serve.command": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.serve.options": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.serve.options.cwd": [
      "apps/my-app/vite.config.ts",
      "@nx/vite/plugin"
    ],
    "targets.preview": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.preview.command": [
      "apps/my-app/vite.config.ts",
      "@nx/vite/plugin"
    ],
    "targets.preview.options": [
      "apps/my-app/vite.config.ts",
      "@nx/vite/plugin"
    ],
    "targets.preview.options.cwd": [
      "apps/my-app/vite.config.ts",
      "@nx/vite/plugin"
    ],
    "targets.test": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.test.command": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.test.options": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.test.cache": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.test.inputs": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.test.outputs": ["apps/my-app/vite.config.ts", "@nx/vite/plugin"],
    "targets.test.options.cwd": [
      "apps/my-app/vite.config.ts",
      "@nx/vite/plugin"
    ],
    "name": ["apps/my-app/project.json", "nx/core/project-json"],
    "$schema": ["apps/my-app/project.json", "nx/core/project-json"],
    "sourceRoot": ["apps/my-app/project.json", "nx/core/project-json"],
    "projectType": ["apps/my-app/project.json", "nx/core/project-json"],
    "tags": ["apps/my-app/project.json", "nx/core/project-json"]
  }
}
```

{% /project-details %}

We'll focus on the `build` target of the project. If you expand the `build` target in the Project Details View above, you'll see that it runs the command `vite build`. In the next sections, we'll see how to provide `--assetsInlineLimit=2048` and `--assetsDir=static/assets` args to that command.

## Pass args in the `project.json` task configuration

To statically pass some extra args to a specific project, you can update its `project.json` file. You can do it by either providing the args as individual options or by providing the `args` option:

{% tabs %}
{% tab label="Setting args directly as options" %}

{% callout type="note" title="Providing command args as options" %}
Support for providing command args as options was added in **Nx v18.1.1**.
{% /callout %}

```json {% fileName="apps/my-app/project.json" highlightLines=["5-10"] %}
{
  "sourceRoot": "apps/my-app/src",
  "projectType": "application",
  "targets": {
    "build": {
      "options": {
        "assetsInlineLimit": 2048,
        "assetsDir": "static/assets"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

{% /tab %}

{% tab label="Setting the \"args\" option" %}

```json {% fileName="apps/my-app/project.json" highlightLines=["5-11"] %}
{
  "sourceRoot": "apps/my-app/src",
  "projectType": "application",
  "targets": {
    "build": {
      "options": {
        "args": ["--assetsInlineLimit=2048", "--assetsDir=static/assets"]
        // it also accepts a single string:
        // "args": "--assetsInlineLimit=2048 --assetsDir=static/assets"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

{% /tab %}
{% /tabs %}

{% callout type="warning" title="Precedence" %}
Args specified in the `args` option take precedence and will override any arg specified as an option with the same name. So, defining both `"args": ["--assetsDir=static/assets"]` and `"assetsDir": "different/path/to/assets"` will result in Nx running the command with `--assetsDir=static/assets`.
{% /callout %}

## Pass args in the `targetDefaults` for the task

To provide the same args for all projects in the workspace, you need to update the task configuration in the `nx.json` file. Similar to the previous section, you can do it by either providing the args as individual options or by providing the `args` option:

{% tabs %}
{% tab label="Setting args directly as options" %}

```json {% fileName="nx.json" %}
{
  "targetDefaults": {
    "build": {
      "options": {
        "assetsInlineLimit": 2048,
        "assetsDir": "static/assets"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

{% /tab %}

{% tab label="Setting the \"args\" option" %}

```json {% fileName="nx.json" %}
{
  "targetDefaults": {
    "build": {
      "options": {
        "args": ["--assetsInlineLimit=2048", "--assetsDir=static/assets"]
      }
    }
  }
}
```

{% /tab %}
{% /tabs %}

{% callout type="caution" title="Be careful" %}
If multiple targets with the same name run different commands (or use different executors), do not set options in `targetDefaults`. Different commands would accept different options, and the target defaults will apply to all targets with the same name regardless of the command they run. If you were to provide options in `targetDefaults` for them, the commands that don't expect those options could throw an error.
{% /callout %}

## Pass args when running the command in the terminal

To pass args in a one-off manner when running a task, you can also provide them as individual options or by providing the `--args` option when running the task:

{% tabs %}
{% tab label="Providing args directly as options" %}

```shell
nx build my-app --assetsInlineLimit=2048 --assetsDir=static/assets
```

{% /tab %}

{% tab label="Providing the \"--args\" option" %}

```shell
nx build my-app --args="--assetsInlineLimit=2048 --assetsDir=static/assets"
```

{% /tab %}
{% /tabs %}

{% callout type="warning" title="Conflicting options" %}

If you provide an arg with the same name as an Nx CLI option (e.g. `--configuration`) or an `nx:run-commands` option (e.g. `--env`), the arg will be parsed as an option for the Nx CLI or the executor and won't be forwarded to the underlying command. You should provide the arg using the `-args` option in such cases.

You can also provide an arg with the same name to both the Nx CLI and the underlying command. For example, to run the `ci` configuration of a `test` target that runs the command `detox test` and pass the `--configuration` arg to the command, you can run:

```shell
nx test mobile-e2e --configuration=ci --args="--configuration=ios.sim.release"
```

{% /callout %}