CLI Commands

CLI

archcore init

Initialize .archcore/ in the current directory.

archcore init

What it does:

Creates .archcore/ directory with settings.json
Auto-detects installed coding agents
Installs MCP server config for detected agents
Installs session hooks for supported agents
Offers to write the “use Archcore” instruction hint into detected agent configs (interactive only)

If no agents are detected, falls back to Claude Code configuration. Safe to re-run — .archcore/settings.json is left untouched and MCP/hook writes are idempotent.

In --non-interactive mode the instruction hint is skipped — add it later with archcore instructions install.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see the CLI Quick Start.

archcore status

Check .archcore/ structure and document health.

archcore status

Checks performed:

Directory structure exists
File naming follows <slug>.<type>.md pattern
Slugs are lowercase alphanumeric with hyphens only
Document types are valid (one of the 18 types)
YAML frontmatter has required title and status fields
Frontmatter is valid YAML
Sync manifest JSON structure
Orphaned relations (documents referenced but not on disk)

When orphaned relations are found, status hints: “Run ‘archcore doctor —fix’ to remove orphaned relations”

archcore doctor

Comprehensive health check with optional fix.

archcore doctor [--fix]

Runs all validation checks plus:

Verifies settings.json exists and is valid
Checks server reachability (if server URL is configured)
Reports tag hygiene issues (invalid format, singleton tags that may be typos)

Returns a non-zero exit code if any issues are found.

Flags:

Flag	Description
`--fix`	Remove orphaned relations from the manifest before running checks

archcore config

Manage configuration.

archcore config                    # Show current sync type
archcore config get <key>          # Read a config value
archcore config set <key> <value>  # Set a config value

Available keys:

Key	Values	Description
`sync`	`none`, `cloud`, `on-prem`	Sync type (currently locked)
`project_id`	integer	Project ID for sync (currently locked)
`archcore_url`	URL	Server URL for on-prem (currently locked)
`language`	language code	Language for document content (e.g., `en`, `ru`)

Examples:

archcore config set language ru
archcore config get language

archcore mcp

Run the MCP server or install MCP config.

archcore mcp              # Start stdio MCP server
archcore mcp install       # Install MCP config for all detected agents
archcore mcp install --agent <id>  # Install for a specific agent

Coding agents connect to this stdio server. It’s not meant to be run manually — agents launch it as a subprocess.

Agent IDs: claude-code, cursor, copilot, gemini-cli, opencode, codex-cli, roo-code, cline

Flags:

Flag	Description
`--project <path>`	Project root to serve. Overrides the current directory.

The project root is resolved in order: the --project flag, then the ARCHCORE_PROJECT_ROOT environment variable, then the current working directory. This is useful when an agent launches the server from a fixed location instead of the project directory.

See MCP server for details.

archcore instructions

Manage the “use Archcore” hint in agent instruction files.

The hint tells agents that Archcore’s MCP tools are available and when to consult them. Without it, agents may never call the MCP tools even though the server is installed.

archcore instructions install   # Write the hint into detected agent configs
archcore instructions remove    # Remove the hint

Subcommands:

Subcommand	Description
`install`	Writes the “use Archcore” hint into the instruction files of detected agents (e.g. `AGENTS.md`, `.claude/rules`).
`remove`	Removes the hint previously written by `instructions install` or `init`. Works even after the project is de-initialized.

Flags:

Flag	Description
`--agent <id>`	Target a single agent host (e.g. `claude-code`, `cursor`, `gemini-cli`, `codex-cli`) instead of all detected ones.

For shared files (AGENTS.md, GEMINI.md) the hint is inserted inside a managed marker block:

<!-- archcore:start -->
…
<!-- archcore:end -->

This lets Archcore update or remove the hint without touching your own content — remove deletes only the marker block and leaves the rest of the file intact.

Instruction file locations:

Agent	Location
Claude Code	`.claude/rules/`
Gemini CLI	`GEMINI.md`
Cursor, Codex CLI, OpenCode, Roo Code, Cline, Copilot	`AGENTS.md`

Examples:

archcore instructions install                  # All detected agents
archcore instructions install --agent claude-code   # Claude Code only

archcore hooks

Manage agent hooks.

archcore hooks install                  # Install hooks for all detected agents
archcore hooks install --agent <id>     # Install for a specific agent

Agent hook commands (called by agents, not manually):

archcore hooks claude-code session-start
archcore hooks cursor <event>
archcore hooks gemini-cli <event>
archcore hooks copilot <event>

See hooks for details.

archcore validate

Validate every document in .archcore/ against the schema (frontmatter, slug, type, tags). Used by hooks after each mutation.

archcore validate

Returns non-zero on any validation failure.

archcore update

Check for and install the latest version.

archcore update

Queries GitHub releases, compares versions, downloads the binary for your OS/architecture, verifies the checksum, and updates in place.

archcore —version

Display the current version.

archcore --version

archcore —help

Show help with all available commands.

archcore --help