---
title: Recipes with bun just
description: Run justfile recipes with the just task runner shipped as a Bun plugin.
---

`bun just` runs [just](https://github.com/casey/just) recipes with the `just` [plugin](/runtime/bun-plugin) (`bun-just`, downloaded on first use). It searches the current directory and its parents for `justfile` or `.justfile`.

```just
test:
  bun test

build: test
  bun build ./src/index.ts --outdir dist
```

```sh
bun just --list
bun just test
bun just --dry-run build
```

Recipes use just's default `sh -cu` interpreter. On Windows, install a POSIX shell and make `sh` available on `PATH`, or select another interpreter with `set windows-shell`.

Use `bun just --bun-shell recipe` to run recipes with [Bun Shell](/runtime/shell) instead. It runs with unset-variable checking and does not implement every POSIX shell feature. `set shell`, `set windows-shell`, command-line shell options and shebang recipes keep their configured interpreters. Recipe dependencies, arguments, variables, imports, modules, dotenv files, listing, formatting and exit codes behave as in just.

Enable `set positional-arguments` or add `[positional-arguments]` to a recipe to receive its name as `$0` and its arguments as `$1`, `$2`, and so on:

```just
set positional-arguments

greet name:
  @printf '%s: %s\n' "$0" "$1"
```

`bun just greet 'Bun user'` prints `greet: Bun user`. In `shell(command, args...)`, `$0` is the command string and the additional arguments start at `$1`.

Use `bun --cwd path/to/project just build` to select a project. Options after `just` belong to the recipe runner:

```sh
bun just --justfile tasks.just --working-directory . --list
bun just --fmt --check
bun just --dump --dump-format json
```

A package script named `just` takes precedence over the built-in command. Inside that script, `bun just` runs the built-in runner.

`{{just_command()}}` returns a quoted command that runs the built-in runner again, including the `just` subcommand and `--bun-shell` when it is selected. Use it for recursive recipes. `just_executable()` returns only the path of the executable, as in just.
Recipes run with `npm_lifecycle_event=just`, so recursive calls stay in the built-in runner even when a recipe changes to a directory that has a package script named `just`.

```just
again:
  {{just_command()}} test
```

Running recipes does not download a separate task runner. `bun just --help` lists the available options.