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Command-Line Interface

A comprehensive CLI for developing, validating, and running AI methods.

Overview

The pipelex CLI is the primary tool for working with Pipelex methods. It covers the full development lifecycle: authentication, initialization, building, validation, execution, inspection, and diagnostics.

Core Commands

Command Description
pipelex login Authenticate with Pipelex Gateway via the browser and save your API key
pipelex init Initialize configuration, backends, credentials, routing, and telemetry
pipelex update Refresh the model deck to match the installed pipelex version
pipelex doctor Check configuration health and suggest fixes
pipelex build AI-powered method generation from natural language requirements
pipelex validate Check pipeline syntax, structure, and run dry-run validation
pipelex run Execute pipelines from bundle files or libraries
pipelex graph Generate and render execution graphs
pipelex show Display configuration, pipes, and list AI models
pipelex which Locate where a pipe is defined, similar to which for executables

Package manifest management is currently exposed through the lowercase mthds CLI:

  • mthds package init
  • mthds package list
  • mthds package validate

Execution Options

  • Dry run — --dry-run executes with mocked LLM responses to test pipeline logic without API calls
  • Mock inputs — --mock-inputs generates synthetic inputs so you can test a pipeline without preparing real data
  • Graph generation — --graph, --graph-full-data, --graph-no-data for visual execution inspection

Agent CLI

The pipelex-agent CLI is a machine-first interface designed for automated environments like Claude Code skills. Output format varies by command — JSON, raw TOML, or markdown — with no interactive prompts or Rich formatting. Structured commands emit JSON errors to stderr; fmt and lint pass through native plxt output.

Command Description
init Non-interactive configuration setup
run Execute a pipeline and output JSON results
validate Validate pipes, bundles, or methods with JSON output
fmt Format .mthds, .toml, or .plx files in-place
lint Lint files for errors
inputs Generate example input JSON for a pipe
concept Convert a JSON concept spec into raw TOML (stdout)
pipe Convert a JSON pipe spec into raw TOML (stdout)
models List available model presets, aliases, and waterfalls (--format markdown\|json, default: markdown)
doctor Check configuration health (--format markdown\|json, default: markdown)

For detailed CLI documentation, see the CLI reference.