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# CLI version policy

> Set an organization-wide minimum, maximum, or exact Fern CLI version so every project builds with a consistent CLI.

[Admins](/learn/dashboard/configuration/permissions#admin) can set an organization-level CLI version policy to bound the Fern CLI version that every project in your organization runs. Set a minimum, a maximum, or an exact version. A policy lives on your organization, and applies to every project without a change to any `fern.config.json`.

By default, no policy is set, and each project runs the version it pins in [`fern.config.json`](/learn/sdks/overview/project-structure#fernconfigjson). Those pins can diverge across repositories, leaving the same API definition to compile against a different CLI in each one.

## Which version runs

Each time you run a Fern CLI command in your project, Fern compares the version pinned in `fern.config.json` against your organization's bounds and runs the nearest allowed version.

| Version pinned in `fern.config.json` | Version that runs             |
| ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| Below the minimum                    | The minimum                   |
| Above the maximum                    | The maximum                   |
| Inside the range                     | The pinned version, unchanged |

A version already inside the range prints nothing. When the version changes, the CLI names the bound that applied before the command proceeds:

**`Minimum`**

```plaintext title="Minimum"
Org "acme" requires Fern CLI >= 5.40.0 — running 5.40.0.
```

**`Maximum`**

```plaintext title="Maximum"
Org "acme" caps Fern CLI at <= 5.50.0 — running 5.50.0.
```

**`Range`**

```plaintext title="Range"
Org "acme" requires Fern CLI between 5.40.0 and 5.50.0 — running 5.40.0.
```

**`Exact pin`**

```plaintext title="Exact pin"
Org "acme" pins Fern CLI to 5.45.0 — running 5.45.0.
```

A policy never blocks a command. When the CLI can't read your organization's bounds, such as when it isn't authenticated or can't reach Fern, the project runs its own pinned version.

## Set the policy

[`fern org set cli-version`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/general-commands#fern-org-set-cli-version) writes the bounds. It requires an organization admin and an authenticated session from [`fern login`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/general-commands#fern-login). The organization is read from `fern.config.json`; pass `--org` to target a different one.

```bash
# Pin an exact version
fern org set cli-version 5.45.0

# Set a minimum
fern org set cli-version --min 5.40.0

# Set a maximum
fern org set cli-version --max 5.50.0

# Set both
fern org set cli-version --min 5.40.0 --max 5.50.0
```

Each bound is an exact published version of the [`fern-api` package](https://www.npmjs.com/package/fern-api?activeTab=versions), such as `5.45.0` or `5.45.0-rc0`.

`--min` and `--max` update only the bound you pass. Setting `--min 5.40.0` on an organization already pinned to `5.45.0` leaves the maximum at `5.45.0`, turning the pin into the range `5.40.0` to `5.45.0`.

## Read the policy

```bash
fern org get
fern org get --json
```

[`fern org get`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/general-commands#fern-org-get) prints the policy in one line — `Fern CLI must be between 5.40.0 and 5.50.0`, or the equivalent for a minimum, maximum, or exact pin — and reports when no policy is set. `--json` returns the raw `cliVersionMin` and `cliVersionMax` fields instead.

## Clear the policy

[`fern org unset cli-version`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/general-commands#fern-org-unset-cli-version) clears the bounds, and like setting them it requires an organization admin.

```bash
# Remove both bounds
fern org unset cli-version

# Remove only the minimum, keeping the maximum
fern org unset cli-version --min

# Remove only the maximum, keeping the minimum
fern org unset cli-version --max
```

## Interaction with `fern upgrade`

A policy changes the version that runs, not the version on disk, so a project stays out of range until it's upgraded. [`fern upgrade`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/general-commands#fern-upgrade) brings the file itself into range: it applies the bounds to the upgrade target before writing it.

| Command                         | Policy             | Version written |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------ | --------------- |
| `fern upgrade`                  | Maximum `5.50.0`   | `5.50.0`        |
| `fern upgrade`                  | Pinned to `5.45.0` | `5.45.0`        |
| `fern upgrade --version 5.35.0` | Minimum `5.40.0`   | `5.40.0`        |

A plain `fern upgrade` resolves to the latest release, which is never below the minimum, so only the maximum changes what it writes. The minimum applies when you request an older version with [`--version`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/general-commands#fern-upgrade): the bounds win over the version you asked for.

[`fern downgrade`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/general-commands#fern-downgrade) is the exception: it writes whatever version you pass, including one below the minimum. The policy then overrides that pin the same way it overrides any other out-of-range pin, so the project's commands keep running the minimum.

Running a newer CLI doesn't apply the migrations that `fern upgrade` performs. Raising the minimum across a major version therefore still requires each project to run `fern upgrade`.

> Keep every project in your organization on a consistent Fern CLI version.