diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cli.ts b/packages/cli/src/cli.ts
index 4f07b4da..e0991d70 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cli.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cli.ts
@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@ import { cac } from 'cac';
 import { allowTs } from './utils/allowTs';
 import { error } from './utils/logger';
 import { scripts } from './commands';
+import App from './Core';
 import { UserConfig } from './types';
 
 /**
  * Wrap raw command to catch errors and exit process
  */
-const wrapCommand = (cmd: (...args: any[]) => Promise<void>): typeof cmd => {
+const wrapCommand = (cmd: (...args: any[]) => Promise<App>): typeof cmd => {
   const wrappedCommand: typeof cmd = (...args) =>
     cmd(...args).catch((err) => {
       error(err.stack);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/index.ts
index 07cde5e3..4445e326 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/index.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { UserConfig } from '../types';
 import { loadUserConfig } from '../utils/loadUserConfig';
 
 export const scripts = (defaultAppConfig: UserConfig) => {
-  const entry = async (): Promise<void> => {
+  const entry = async (): Promise<App> => {
     if (process.env.NODE_ENV === undefined) {
       process.env.NODE_ENV = 'development';
     }
@@ -34,10 +34,6 @@ export const scripts = (defaultAppConfig: UserConfig) => {
       },
     };
 
-    if (appConfig === null) {
-      return;
-    }
-
     // create vuepress app
     const app = new App(appConfig);
 
@@ -49,6 +45,8 @@ export const scripts = (defaultAppConfig: UserConfig) => {
     // initialize and prepare
     await app.init();
     await app.prepare();
+
+    return app;
   };
 
   return entry;