Script Files

MDL statements can be saved in .mdl files and executed as scripts. This is the primary way to automate Mendix model changes.

File Format

• Extension: .mdl
• Encoding: UTF-8
• Statement termination: Semicolons (;) or forward slash (/) on its own line

A typical script file:

-- setup_domain_model.mdl
-- Creates the Sales domain model

CREATE ENUMERATION Sales.OrderStatus (
  Draft 'Draft',
  Pending 'Pending',
  Confirmed 'Confirmed',
  Shipped 'Shipped'
);

CREATE PERSISTENT ENTITY Sales.Customer (
  Name: String(200) NOT NULL,
  Email: String(200) UNIQUE
);

CREATE PERSISTENT ENTITY Sales.Order (
  OrderDate: DateTime NOT NULL,
  Status: Enumeration(Sales.OrderStatus) DEFAULT 'Draft'
);

CREATE ASSOCIATION Sales.Order_Customer
  FROM Sales.Customer
  TO Sales.Order
  TYPE Reference;

Execution Modes

mxcli supports several ways to execute MDL. All modes open a single connection to the project — there is no per-command overhead.

Script File

Use mxcli exec to run a .mdl file:

mxcli exec setup_domain_model.mdl -p /path/to/app.mpr

Inline Commands (-c)

Pass one or more semicolon-separated commands with the -c flag:

# Single command
mxcli -p app.mpr -c "LIST ENTITIES"

# Multiple commands in one connection
mxcli -p app.mpr -c "DESCRIBE ENTITY Sales.Customer; DESCRIBE ENTITY Sales.Order; LIST MICROFLOWS IN Sales"

This is the fastest way for AI agents to batch multiple queries — all commands share a single connection.

Stdin Piping

When stdin is a pipe (not a terminal), mxcli reads commands from it in quiet mode (no banner, no prompts):

# Pipe from echo
echo "LIST ENTITIES; LIST MICROFLOWS" | mxcli -p app.mpr

# Pipe from file
mxcli -p app.mpr < commands.mdl

# Pipe from heredoc
mxcli -p app.mpr <<'EOF'
DESCRIBE ENTITY Sales.Customer;
DESCRIBE ENTITY Sales.Order;
LIST MICROFLOWS IN Sales;
EOF

From the REPL

Use EXECUTE SCRIPT inside an interactive session:

CONNECT LOCAL '/path/to/app.mpr';
EXECUTE SCRIPT './scripts/setup_domain_model.mdl';

Syntax Checking

You can validate a script without connecting to a project:

# Syntax only
mxcli check script.mdl

# Syntax + reference validation (requires project)
mxcli check script.mdl -p app.mpr --references

Syntax checking catches parse errors, unknown keywords, and common anti-patterns before execution.

Comments in Scripts

Scripts support the same comment syntax as interactive MDL:

-- Single-line comment
/* Multi-line comment */
/** Documentation comment (attached to next element) */