CommandBox for ColdFusion: Package Management, Server Control, and CI/CD Integration

CommandBox is a free, open-source CLI from Ortus Solutions that gives ColdFusion the modern developer tooling it historically lacked. It does three big jobs. Package management: a box.json descriptor declares your dependencies and box install {package} pulls them from ForgeBox (the CFML package registry) — or from git, HTTP, or a local path — with npm-style semantic versioning (install [email protected], [email protected], foo@>1.5.0). Server control: box server start spins up an embedded CFML server in seconds from any web root, running Adobe ColdFusion or Lucee at whatever version you specify (server start cfengine=adobe@2025), with all settings captured in a server.json you commit to the repo. CI/CD integration: because everything is scriptable and non-interactive, CommandBox drops straight into Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Azure DevOps — install dependencies, run TestBox tests, apply server config with CFConfig, lint with CFLint, scan with Fixinator, and build a Docker image or WAR, all from the command line. It's written in CFML, it's free, and it's the foundation of essentially every modern ColdFusion DevOps pipeline. This guide covers all three areas with verified commands.
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