# gt: General Translation CLI tool: gt setup
URL: https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/docs/cli/reference/commands/setup.mdx
---

title: gt setup
description: Upload source files and register a project for General Translation. API reference for the gt setup command.

---

Uploads your source files and sets up the project for translation, without downloading results. It runs the same file collection and upload step that [`gt translate`](/docs/cli/reference/commands/translate) performs before translation begins.

Use `setup` when you want to register your source content with the platform as a discrete step — for example, at the start of a split CI pipeline. It requires a production API key and project ID.

*Note: `setup` is available for base (non-framework) projects and the React-family frameworks — `gt-react`, `gt-next`, `gt-react-native`, and `gt-tanstack-start`. It is not registered for `gt-node` or Python projects.*

```bash
npx gt setup
```

## How it works [#how-it-works]

1. Reads `gt.config.json` to determine which source files to collect.
2. Collects and hashes your translatable source files, just as [`gt translate`](/docs/cli/reference/commands/translate) does before translating.
3. Uploads new and changed source files, registering the project with the platform.
4. Exits without queuing translations or downloading results.

## Flags [#flags]

The `setup` command accepts the same flags as [`gt translate`](/docs/cli/reference/commands/translate#flags). The flags most commonly used with it are below; the linked reference above lists the complete set.

| Parameter             | Description                                      | Type      | Optional | Default          |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | --------- | -------- | ---------------- |
| `--api-key <key>`     | Production API key.                              | `string`  | Yes      | `GT_API_KEY`     |
| `--project-id <id>`   | Project ID.                                      | `string`  | Yes      | `GT_PROJECT_ID`  |
| `-c, --config <path>` | Path to the config file.                         | `string`  | Yes      | `gt.config.json` |
| `--dry-run`           | Collect files and report them without uploading. | `boolean` | Yes      | `false`          |

## Example [#example]

```bash
# Upload and register source files with the platform
npx gt setup

# Report the files that would be uploaded without uploading them
npx gt setup --dry-run
```

## Other notes [#notes]

* `setup` also runs as the source-registration step of the [`gt init`](/docs/cli/reference/commands/init) wizard.
* After registering source files, queue and download translations with [`gt enqueue`](/docs/cli/reference/commands/enqueue) and [`gt download`](/docs/cli/reference/commands/download), or run [`gt translate`](/docs/cli/reference/commands/translate) to translate in one step.