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Create a new Flash project with a ready-to-use template structure including a FastAPI server, example GPU and CPU workers, and configuration files. 
flash init PROJECT_NAME [OPTIONS]

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Example

Create a new project directory: 
flash init PROJECT_NAME
cd PROJECT_NAME
pip install -r requirements.txt
flash dev
Initialize in the current directory: 
flash init .

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Arguments

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PROJECT_NAME
string
required
Name of the project directory to create. Use . to initialize in the current directory.

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Flags

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--force, -f
Overwrite existing files if they already exist in the target directory.

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What it creates

The command creates the following project structure:
PROJECT_NAME
lb_worker.py
gpu_worker.py
cpu_worker.py
.env.example
.gitignore
pyproject.toml
requirements.txt
README.md
AGENTS.md
CLAUDE.md

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Template contents

  • lb_worker.py: load-balanced endpoint with HTTP routes. Contains @Endpoint functions with custom HTTP methods and paths (e.g., POST /process, GET /health). Multiple routes can share the same endpoint.
  • gpu_worker.py: GPU queue-based endpoint. Contains an @Endpoint function that runs on GPU hardware. Provides /run or /runsync routes for job submission. Creates one Serverless endpoint when deployed.
  • cpu_worker.py: CPU queue-based endpoint. Contains an @Endpoint function that runs on CPU-only instances. Provides /run or /runsync routes for job submission. Creates one Serverless endpoint when deployed.
  • .env: Template for environment variables including RUNPOD_API_KEY.

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AI coding agent files

Flash generates context files that help AI coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Codex, Aider, and others) use Flash correctly. These files tell agents to use Flash CLI commands instead of raw Runpod API calls.
FilePurpose
AGENTS.mdCLI-first rules for AI coding tools (Cursor, Codex, Aider, Amp, Jules, and others)
CLAUDE.mdSymlink to AGENTS.md so Claude Code picks up the same rules
Flash writes these files only when they don’t already exist. If you have your own AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md, Flash leaves them alone.
Tools using other conventions: GitHub Copilot reads .github/copilot-instructions.md and Cursor (legacy) reads .cursorrules. If you use those, symlink or copy AGENTS.md:
ln -s ../AGENTS.md .github/copilot-instructions.md
ln -s AGENTS.md .cursorrules

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Add agent files to existing projects

If you’ve already run flash init, add the agent files with: 
python -c "from runpod_flash.rules import install_agent_files; from pathlib import Path; install_agent_files(Path.cwd())"

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Opt out

Delete AGENTS.md. Flash won’t re-create it.

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Next steps

After initialization:
  1. Copy .env.example to .env (if needed) and add your RUNPOD_API_KEY.
  2. Install dependencies: pip install -r requirements.txt
  3. Start the development server: flash dev
  4. Open http://localhost:8888/docs to explore the API.
  5. Customize the workers for your use case.
  6. Deploy with flash deploy when ready.
This command only creates local files. It doesn’t interact with Runpod or create any cloud resources. Cloud resources are created when you run flash dev or flash deploy.