Adapters CLI Reference

June 24, 2026 · View on GitHub

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Adapters CLI Reference

Package: @a5c-ai/adapters-cli · Binary: adapters · Version: 6.0.0 · Node: >=20.9.0

In Plain English

The adapters CLI lets you run any supported AI coding harness from your shell with one command - and manage its install, models, sessions, config, and auth in the same place.

It is the host-side companion to Babysitter's Adapters runtime. Where the in-session /babysitter:* commands drive an orchestration run from inside a harness, adapters drives a harness from outside it.

A two-line taste:

npm install -g @a5c-ai/adapters-cli
adapters run claude "explain this codebase"

That installs the CLI globally and runs the Claude harness with a single prompt. No plugin, no marketplace, no session setup required.

Three CLIs, three jobs - don't conflate them.

CLI Where it runs What it does
adapters Your shell (host-side) Run/install/manage harnesses directly
babysitter Your shell (host-side) Core orchestration runtime (run:*, task:*, harness:install-plugin)
/babysitter:* Inside a harness (in-session) Drive an orchestration run from the chat surface

CLI	Where it runs	What it does
`adapters`	Your shell (host-side)	Run/install/manage harnesses directly
`babysitter`	Your shell (host-side)	Core orchestration runtime (`run:`, `task:`, `harness:install-plugin`)
`/babysitter:*`	Inside a harness (in-session)	Drive an orchestration run from the chat surface

Technical Reference

The adapters binary is published as @a5c-ai/adapters-cli and requires Node.js >=20.9.0 (the rest of the Babysitter toolchain runs on Node >=20.0.0; the Adapters CLI pins a slightly higher floor). Install it globally:

npm install -g @a5c-ai/adapters-cli
adapters version
adapters doctor

adapters doctor runs an environment health check and is the fastest way to confirm the CLI can see your harness binaries and credentials.

Global Options

These flags are accepted across commands:

Flag	Type	Description
`--json`	boolean	Emit JSON output where the command supports it
`--config-dir <dir>`	string	Override the config directory
`--project-dir <dir>`	string	Override the project directory
`--log-level <level>`	string	Set log verbosity
`--log-file <path>`	string	Write logs to a file
`--debug`	boolean	Enable debug output
`--no-color`	boolean	Disable ANSI colors
`--help`, `-h`	boolean	Show help
`--version`, `-V`	boolean	Print version

Use adapters help <command> for per-command help at any time.

`adapters run`

Run an agent with a prompt.

adapters run claude "explain this codebase"
adapters run codex --yolo --no-session "add tests"
adapters run --profile fast "review this PR"

Arguments:

Argument	Required	Description
`agent`	no	Agent name (first positional, if registered)
`prompt`	no	Prompt text (remaining positionals or stdin)

Options:

Flag	Type	Description
`--stream` / `--no-stream`	boolean	Enable / disable streaming
`--thinking-effort <level>`	string	`low`, `medium`, `high`, `max`
`--thinking-budget <n>`	number	Thinking budget in tokens
`--thinking-override <v>`	string	Thinking override
`--temperature <n>`	number	Sampling temperature
`--top-p <n>`	number	Top-p
`--top-k <n>`	number	Top-k
`--max-tokens <n>`	number	Maximum output tokens
`--max-output-tokens <n>`	number	Maximum output tokens
`--max-turns <n>`	number	Maximum agentic turns
`--session <id>`	string	Resume session by ID
`--fork <id>`	string	Fork session by ID
`--no-session`	boolean	Ephemeral run (no session persisted)
`--system <text>`	string	System prompt
`--system-mode <mode>`	string	`prepend`, `append`, `replace`
`--cwd <dir>`	string	Working directory
`--env <KEY=VALUE>`	string (repeatable)	Environment variable
`--yolo`	boolean	Auto-approve all tool calls
`--deny`	boolean	Auto-deny all approval requests
`--timeout <ms>`	number	Run timeout in ms
`--inactivity-timeout <ms>`	number	Inactivity timeout in ms
`--output-format <fmt>`	string	Output format
`--tag <tag>`	string (repeatable)	Run tag
`--run-id <id>`	string	Run ID
`--attach <ref>`	string (repeatable)	Attach a file/resource
`--skill <name>`	string (repeatable)	Skill to load
`--mcp-server <ref>`	string (repeatable)	MCP server
`--project-id <id>`	string	Project ID
`--profile <name>`	string	Named profile to apply
`--prompt <text>`, `-p`	string	Initial prompt text
`--non-interactive`	boolean	Force headless one-shot mode (with `--prompt`)
`--interactive`, `-i`	boolean	Enter interactive REPL mode
`--quiet`, `-q`	boolean	Suppress non-essential output
`--use-mock-harness`	boolean	Use mock harness (testing)
`--mock-scenario <name>`	string	Mock scenario (testing)

`adapters install` (and `uninstall` / `update` / `detect`)

Install, uninstall, update, or detect agent CLI binaries. The same command dispatches all four operations.

adapters install claude
adapters install claude --dry-run
adapters uninstall codex
adapters update codex
adapters detect claude --json

Argument: agent.

Options:

Flag	Type	Default	Description
`--force`	boolean	false	Reinstall even if already present
`--dry-run`	boolean	false	Print the planned command without executing
`--pkg-version <v>`	string	-	Pin to a specific version (npm only)

Version pinning uses --pkg-version, not --version. --version prints the CLI's own version.

`adapters adapters`

List and inspect registered adapters.

adapters adapters list
adapters adapters detect claude
adapters adapters info gemini

Subcommands: list (default), detect, info. Arguments: subcommand, agent (for detect/info). Options: --json.

`adapters models`

List and inspect models.

adapters models list claude
adapters models info claude claude-sonnet-4-20250514

Subcommands: list, info, get, refresh, current, set. Arguments: subcommand (required), agent (required), model (for info/get/set). Options: --provider <name>, --json.

`adapters sessions`

Manage agent sessions.

adapters sessions list claude
adapters sessions cost

Subcommands: list (default), show, export, cost. Arguments: subcommand, agent, session-id (for show/export).

Options:

Flag	Type	Description
`--since <date>`	string	Filter sessions after this date
`--until <date>`	string	Filter sessions before this date
`--model <id>`, `-m`	string	Filter by model
`--tag <tag>`	string (repeatable)	Filter by tag
`--limit <n>`	number	Maximum results
`--sort <key>`	string	Sort by: `date`, `cost`, `turns`
`--format <fmt>`	string	Output format: `json`, `jsonl`, `markdown`
`--json`	boolean	Output as JSON

`adapters config`

Read and write agent configuration.

adapters config get claude model
adapters config set claude model claude-sonnet-4-20250514
adapters config schema codex

Subcommands: get, set, schema, validate, reload. Arguments: subcommand (required), agent, field, value. Options: --json.

`adapters profiles`

Manage named RunOptions presets that you can apply with adapters run --profile <name>.

adapters profiles list
adapters profiles set fast --agent claude --yolo --max-turns 5
adapters profiles delete fast

Subcommands: list (default), show, set, delete, apply. Arguments: subcommand, name. Options: --scope <scope> (global or project), --json.

`adapters auth`

Check and set up authentication.

adapters auth check
adapters auth check claude
adapters auth setup gemini

Subcommands: check, setup. Arguments: subcommand (required), agent (optional for check). Options: --json.

`adapters plugin` (alias: `adapters plugins`)

Manage native agent plugins. Subcommand availability is validated at runtime against each agent's plugin capabilities and delegated to the native plugin command.

adapters plugin list claude
adapters plugin install claude filesystem-watcher
adapters plugin marketplace claude

Subcommands: list, install, enable, disable, marketplace. Arguments: subcommand (required), agent (required), plugin (plugin name / marketplace cmd). Options: --json, --help.

`adapters mcp`

Manage MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers for an agent.

adapters mcp list claude
adapters mcp install claude filesystem

Subcommands: list, install, uninstall. Arguments: subcommand (required), agent (required), server (for install/uninstall).

Options:

Flag	Type	Default	Description
`--global`	boolean	true (when `--project` absent)	Install/operate at global scope
`--project`	boolean	-	Operate at project scope

`adapters skill`

Manage skill folders for agents.

adapters skill list claude
adapters skill add claude ./skills/my-skill --global
adapters skill remove claude my-skill --project

Subcommands: list, add, remove, where, agents. Arguments: subcommand (required), agent, source/name.

Options:

Flag	Type	Default	Description
`--global`	boolean	false	User-level skills dir
`--project`	boolean	true	Project-level skills dir (default)
`--name <name>`	string	-	Override copied skill name
`--force`	boolean	false	Overwrite existing
`--json`	boolean	false	Output as JSON

`adapters agent`

Manage custom sub-agents for harnesses.

adapters agent list claude
adapters agent add claude ./my-agent.md --global
adapters agent remove claude my-agent.md --project

Subcommands: list, add, remove, where, agents. Arguments: subcommand (required), agent, source/name.

Options:

Flag	Type	Default	Description
`--global`	boolean	false	User-level agents dir
`--project`	boolean	true	Project-level agents dir (default)
`--name <name>`	string	-	Override copied agent name
`--force`	boolean	false	Overwrite existing
`--json`	boolean	false	Output as JSON

`adapters workspaces`

Manage temp workspaces and git worktrees.

adapters workspaces list
adapters workspaces create my-ws --repo ./repo --mode worktree
adapters workspaces delete my-ws --force

Subcommands: list (default), create, archive, cleanup, recover, delete, sync-sessions. Arguments: subcommand, workspace/name.

Options:

Flag	Type	Default	Description
`--repo <path>`	string (repeatable)	-	Local cloned repository path
`--mode <mode>`	string	worktree	`worktree` or `symlink`
`--name <name>`	string	-	Workspace name
`--root <dir>`	string	-	Override workspace root directory
`--force`	boolean	false	Allow delete to clean up on disk first
`--json`	boolean	false	Output as JSON

`adapters launch`

Launch a harness with provider/model config and stdin/stdout passthrough. This is the path for routing a harness to a cloud provider (Bedrock, Vertex, Azure Foundry, Ollama, Anthropic, and more).

adapters launch claude bedrock --region us-east-1
adapters launch codex bedrock --with-proxy-if-needed -p "fix the bug"
adapters launch claude anthropic --dry-run

Arguments: harness (required), provider (e.g. bedrock, vertex, ollama, anthropic).

Options:

Flag	Type	Description
`--api-key <key>`	string	API key for the provider
`--profile <name>`	string	Profile
`--api-base <url>`	string	Custom API endpoint
`--region <region>`	string	Cloud region (Bedrock, Vertex)
`--project <id>`	string	Cloud project (Vertex, Foundry)
`--resource-group <name>`	string	Azure resource group
`--endpoint-name <name>`	string	Endpoint name
`--transport <t>`, `-t`	string	`anthropic`, `openai-chat`, `openai-responses`, `google`
`--auth-command <cmd>`	string	External command that emits a bearer token
`--with-proxy-if-needed`	boolean	Auto-launch proxy if harness can't speak provider natively
`--with-proxy`	boolean	Force proxy even if not needed
`--no-proxy`	boolean	Disable proxy (error if needed)
`--proxy-port <n>`	number	Proxy listen port (0=auto)
`--proxy-log-level <level>`	string	Proxy log level
`--resume <id>`, `-r`	string	Resume session by ID
`--session-id <id>`, `-s`	string	Explicit new session ID
`--prompt <text>`, `-p`	string	Non-interactive mode with prompt
`--interactive`, `-i`	boolean	Interactive mode
`--max-turns <n>`	number	Turn limit
`--max-budget-usd <n>`	number	Budget limit in USD
`--dry-run`	boolean	Print the resolved plan as JSON, don't execute
`--provider-arg <arg>`	string (repeatable)	Extra provider argument
`--observe`	boolean	Observe mode
`--workspace <id>`	string	Workspace identifier
`--workspace-create`	boolean	Create workspace
`--workspace-mode <mode>`	string	Workspace mode
`--workspace-repo <path>`	string (repeatable)	Workspace repo
`--workspace-name <name>`	string	Workspace name
`--yolo`	boolean	Auto-approve tool calls
`--bridge-interactive`	boolean	Bridge interactive mode
`--bridge-hooks`	boolean	Bridge hooks

`adapters detect-host`

Detect which agent harness this CLI is running under.

adapters detect-host
adapters detect-host --json

Options: --json.

`adapters remote`

Install or update adapters on a remote host (SSH, Docker, Kubernetes, or local).

adapters remote install host.example.com --mode ssh --dry-run
adapters remote install my-pod --mode k8s --harness codex

Subcommands: install, update. Arguments: subcommand (required), host (required - target host / pod / container).

Options:

Flag	Type	Default	Description
`--mode <mode>`	string	ssh	`ssh` \| `docker` \| `k8s` \| `local`
`--harness <agent>`	string	claude	Agent to install after adapters
`--identity-file <path>`	string	-	SSH key path (ssh mode)
`--port <n>`	number	-	SSH port (ssh mode)
`--context <ctx>`	string	-	Kubernetes context (k8s mode)
`--force`	boolean	false	Reinstall even if already present
`--dry-run`	boolean	false	Print planned commands without executing
`--json`	boolean	false	Output as JSON

`adapters hooks`

Manage and dispatch unified agent hooks. See Hooks for the conceptual model and per-harness hook tables.

adapters hooks discover
adapters hooks list
adapters hooks add --id trace-all --handler builtin --target trace

Subcommands: discover, list, add, remove, set, handle. Arguments: agent, hookType (for handle).

Options:

Flag	Type	Default	Description
`--handler <type>`	string	builtin	`builtin` \| `command` \| `script`
`--target <target>`	string	log	Handler target
`--priority <n>`	string	100	Sort order (lower = earlier)
`--enabled <bool>`	string	-	`true` \| `false`
`--id <id>`	string	-	Hook ID
`--global`	boolean	false	Global scope
`--project`	boolean	true	Project scope (default)
`--json`	boolean	false	Output as JSON

`adapters gateway`

Run the browser/mobile gateway service and manage its access tokens.

adapters gateway serve
adapters gateway tokens create --name phone --qr
adapters gateway status --url http://127.0.0.1:7878

Subcommands: serve, tokens, status. Arguments: subcommand (required), tokens-subcommand (list, create, revoke under tokens).

Options:

Flag	Type	Default	Description
`--config <path>`	string	default gateway config path	Gateway config path (serve, tokens)
`--host <host>`	string	-	Listen host (serve)
`--port <n>`	number	-	Listen port (serve)
`--webui <path>`	string	-	WebUI root (serve)
`--no-webui`	boolean	false	Disable WebUI (serve)
`--url <url>`	string	http://127.0.0.1:7878	Gateway URL (status, tokens create)
`--name <name>`	string	token@	Token name (tokens create)
`--ttl-ms <n>`	number	-	Token TTL in ms (tokens create)
`--qr`	boolean	false	Render QR (tokens create)
`--id <id>`	string	-	Token ID (tokens revoke)
`--json`	boolean	false	Output as JSON

`adapters doctor`

Run an environment health check. Run this first when something is not working.

adapters doctor
adapters doctor --json

Options: --json.

`adapters tui`

Launch the Ink-based adapters TUI.

adapters tui
adapters tui --agent claude-code

Options:

Flag	Type	Default	Description
`--agent <name>`, `-a`	string	claude-code	Default agent for new prompts
`--user-plugins-dir <dir>`	string	`$ADAPTERS_TUI_PLUGINS_DIR` or `~/.adapters/tui-plugins`	Override user-plugin discovery dir
`--no-user-plugins`	boolean	false	Skip discovering user plugins

`adapters version` / `adapters help`

adapters version
adapters --version

adapters help
adapters help run

adapters version (and adapters --version) prints the CLI version. adapters help [command] shows main help or per-command help.

Not Supported

A handful of items appear in help text or are reserved internally but are not part of the supported command surface. Do not script against them:

adapters config --scope (config does not take a scope flag - use adapters profiles --scope instead)
adapters install --version (use --pkg-version to pin a version; --version prints the CLI version)
adapters mcp enable / adapters mcp disable (the mcp command implements list, install, uninstall only)
adapters hooks install (the hooks command implements discover, list, add, remove, set, handle)

Adapters - The conceptual guide to the Adapters runtime
Adapter Types reference - All 20 adapter package types enumerated (Adapters is a family, not one thing)
Adapters (ecosystem overview) - Introductory tour of the adapters family
Installation - Installing the adapters CLI and harness plugins
CLI Reference - The core babysitter orchestration CLI
Slash Commands - The in-session /babysitter:* surface
CLI Examples - Worked command examples

Next steps

Next: Configuration
Related: Adapters (concept), Adapter Types reference, Install Matrix, CLI Reference