Root CLI Subcommands

Start the CLI-JAW server in the foreground. The server must be running before chat, dispatch, browser, and most other commands can operate.

jaw serve [--port <N>] [--no-open] [--lan] [--remote]

Examples

# Start with defaults (port 3457, auto-opens browser)
jaw serve

# Custom port, no browser
jaw serve --port 3458 --no-open

# LAN mode for local network access
jaw serve --lan --port 3460

# Use a separate data directory
jaw --home ~/.cli-jaw-work serve --port 3458

Multi-instance manager. Start the dashboard server, list/start/stop instances, manage persistent services, and perform L2 cross-instance memory federation searches.

jaw dashboard <command> [options] [--json]

Examples

# Start the dashboard
jaw dashboard serve

# List online instances as JSON
jaw dashboard ls --json | jq '.[] | select(.status == "online")'

# Start a new instance on port 3458
jaw dashboard start 3458 --home ~/.jaw-work

# Stop an instance
jaw dashboard stop 3457

# Cross-instance memory search
jaw dashboard memory search "JWT authentication"

# List all memory instances
jaw dashboard memory instances

# Register for persistent auto-start
jaw dashboard perm 3458 --home ~/.jaw-work

Check if the jaw server is running by pinging the API. Optionally check the dashboard server too.

jaw status [--port <N>] [--json] [--dashboard]

Exit code 0 = server running, 1 = server not running or error.

Examples

# Quick health check
jaw status

# JSON output for scripting
jaw status --json
# → {"status":"running","port":"3457","cli":"claude"}

# Check both server and dashboard
jaw status --dashboard

# Check a specific port
jaw status --port 3458

Interactive setup wizard for first-time configuration. Creates ~/.cli-jaw/settings.json, configures the default CLI backend, messaging channels, and skills directory.

jaw init [options]

Examples

# Interactive wizard (recommended for first run)
jaw init

# Non-interactive with defaults
jaw init --non-interactive --cli claude

# Re-initialize with force
jaw init --force --cli gemini --channel telegram

# Dry run to see what would be created
jaw init --dry-run

Diagnose installation and configuration health. Checks Node.js version, CLI binary resolution, settings file validity, MCP server connectivity, employee CLI availability, and port availability.

jaw doctor [--json] [--fix] [--tcc] [--prime]

Examples

# Run diagnostics
jaw doctor

# Machine-readable output
jaw doctor --json

# Auto-fix detected issues
jaw doctor --fix

# Check macOS accessibility permissions
jaw doctor --tcc

Factory reset: performs MCP sync, skill reset, employee reset, and session clear. Prompts for confirmation unless --yes is passed. Requires a running server.

jaw reset [--yes] [--port <N>]

Examples

# Reset with confirmation prompt
jaw reset

# Skip confirmation (scripting)
jaw reset --yes

# Reset a specific instance
jaw reset --port 3458 --yes

Interactive terminal REPL. Connects to the running server via WebSocket for real-time conversation. Supports a rich TUI mode with persistent footer, a raw JSON protocol mode for UI integration, and a minimal plain readline mode.

jaw chat [--port <N>] [--raw] [--simple]

Examples

# Default rich TUI
jaw chat

# Simple mode (works in dumb terminals)
jaw chat --simple

# Connect to a different instance
jaw chat --port 3458

# Raw JSON mode for piping
jaw chat --raw

Send a task to an employee agent. The employee runs asynchronously via the server API and returns results via stdout. Pipe-compatible for scripting workflows. Requires JAW_BOSS_TOKEN (inherited from the server process).

jaw dispatch --agent <name> --task <text> [--json] [--port <N>]

Examples

# Dispatch a frontend task
jaw dispatch --agent "Frontend" --task "Fix CSS bug in the header component"

# Dispatch a backend task
jaw dispatch --agent "Backend" --task "Add rate limiting to /api/chat endpoint"

# JSON output for piping
jaw dispatch --agent "Data" --task "Optimize the slow query in reports" --json

Employee management utilities. Currently supports resetting employees to the default 5 profiles (Frontend, Backend, Data, Docs, QA).

jaw employee <subcommand> [--port <N>]

Examples

# Reset all employees to defaults
jaw employee reset

# Reset on a specific instance
jaw employee reset --port 3458

PABCD state machine transitions. Drives the workflow through Interview, Planning, Audit, Build, Check, and Done phases. Calls the running server's API so WebSocket broadcasts reach all connected clients in real-time.

jaw orchestrate <phase> [--force] [--json] [--port <N>]

Valid transitions: IDLE → I → P → A → B → C → D → IDLE. Interview is optional: IDLE → P is also valid.

Examples

# Start planning phase
jaw orchestrate P

# Force transition (skip validation)
jaw orchestrate B --force

# Check current state
jaw orchestrate status

# Reset to IDLE
jaw orchestrate reset

# JSON output
jaw orchestrate status --json

Persistent goal lifecycle management. Set objectives, track progress with checkpoints, and manage goal state (pause, resume, cancel, complete). Goals survive across sessions and server restarts.

jaw goal <subcommand> [args...] [--port <N>]

Examples

# Set a new goal
jaw goal set "Implement keyboard shortcuts for the editor"

# Check current goal
jaw goal status

# Add a progress checkpoint
jaw goal update "K0: shortcut registry done, K1: in progress"

# Mark complete
jaw goal done "All phases complete, PR merged"

# View past goals
jaw goal history 5

# Pause and resume
jaw goal pause
jaw goal resume

# Cancel with reason
jaw goal cancel "Deprioritized in favor of auth refactor"

Persistent memory store CLI. Search, read, save, and list memory files. Memory is stored as markdown files in ~/.cli-jaw/memory/ and indexed for semantic search.

jaw memory <subcommand> [args...]

Examples

# Search memory
jaw memory search "JWT authentication patterns"

# Read a specific file
jaw memory read structured/profile.md

# Save a new memory entry
jaw memory save structured/profile.md "- User prefers concise Korean summaries"

# Save an episode log
jaw memory save structured/episodes/live/2026-05-29.md "## 14:30\n- Completed CLI docs page"

# List all files
jaw memory list

Chrome browser control via CDP (Chrome DevTools Protocol). Open pages, take screenshots, click elements, type text, manage tabs, and perform web AI-powered browsing. Requires the server to be running.

jaw browser <subcommand> [args...]

Examples

# Check browser status
jaw browser status

# Open a page and take a screenshot
jaw browser open https://example.com
jaw browser screenshot

# Get page snapshot for element refs
jaw browser snapshot

# Click and type using refs
jaw browser click ref:42
jaw browser type ref:15 "search query"

# Adaptive fetch
jaw browser fetch https://example.com/api/data

Skill management: list installed skills, install from reference/Codex/GitHub, remove skills, and view skill details. Skills are injected into the agent's system prompt.

jaw skill [subcommand] [name...]

Examples

# List installed skills
jaw skill

# Install a skill
jaw skill install cloudflare
jaw skill install docker kubernetes terraform

# Remove a skill
jaw skill remove cloudflare

# View skill details
jaw skill info dev-frontend

# Reset to defaults
jaw skill reset

MCP (Model Context Protocol) server management. Install npm/PyPI MCP packages, sync configuration to all 6 CLI backends, list registered servers, or reset to defaults.

jaw mcp [subcommand] [package]

Package ecosystem is auto-detected: @scope/name is npm; mcp-server-* is PyPI. Use --pypi or --npm to override.

Examples

# List all MCP servers
jaw mcp

# Install an npm MCP package
jaw mcp install @anthropic/mcp-server-fetch

# Install a PyPI MCP package
jaw mcp install mcp-server-git

# Sync configuration to all CLIs
jaw mcp sync

# Reset to default MCP servers
jaw mcp reset --force

Dashboard connector CLI -- a unified entry point for the kanban board, notes, reminders, and audit log. Provides direct CLI access to dashboard features without the web UI.

jaw connector <surface> <subcommand> [options]

Examples

# Add a kanban task
jaw connector board add --title "Implement auth flow" --lane backlog

# Move task to done
jaw connector board update task-id-123 --lane done

# List board tasks
jaw connector board list --json

# Write a note
jaw connector notes write --path "meeting/standup.md" --body "# Standup Notes\n- Auth PR merged"

# List notes
jaw connector notes list

# Add a reminder
jaw connector reminders add --title "Review PR #42" --priority high --due 2026-06-01

Priority-based reminders with Eisenhower-style categorization. Shortcut for jaw connector reminders.

jaw reminders <subcommand> [options]

Examples

# List reminders
jaw reminders list

# Add a reminder
jaw reminders add "Review PR #42" --priority high --due 2026-06-01

# Add with notes
jaw reminders add --title "Deploy staging" --notes "After QA sign-off" --priority normal

# Mark done
jaw reminders done reminder-id-abc

# JSON output
jaw reminders list --json

Manage project workspace directories. Set which directories the agent should consider as active project roots. Changes are applied via the server API and persist across sessions.

jaw project <subcommand> [paths...]

Examples

# Set project directories
jaw project set ~/Dev/frontend, ~/Dev/backend

# Set a single absolute path
jaw project set /Users/jun/projects/my-app

# List current directories
jaw project list

# Clear all
jaw project reset

Cross-platform auto-start management. Detects the OS and installs the server as a background daemon (launchd on macOS, systemd on Linux, Docker entrypoint in containers). One-step install + start.

jaw service [subcommand] [--port <N>] [--backend <type>]

Examples

# One-step install + start (auto-detects OS)
jaw service

# Custom port
jaw service --port 3458

# Check service status
jaw service status

# View logs
jaw service logs

# Remove service
jaw service unset

# Force a specific backend
jaw service --backend systemd --port 3457

Create an independent agent instance by cloning the current configuration. Copies config and skills, creates a fresh database, and regenerates AGENTS.md. Useful for running multiple isolated agents.

jaw clone <target-dir> [--from <source>] [--with-memory] [--link-ref]

Examples

# Clone to a new directory
jaw clone ~/.cli-jaw-work

# Clone with memory
jaw clone ~/.cli-jaw-research --with-memory

# Clone from a specific source
jaw clone ~/.cli-jaw-staging --from ~/.cli-jaw-prod

# Symlink reference skills to save space
jaw clone ~/.cli-jaw-dev --link-ref

macOS-specific LaunchAgent management (deprecated -- use jaw service instead). Manages plist files for auto-start on login. Retained for backward compatibility.

jaw launchd [subcommand] [--port <N>]

Examples

# One-step install + start
jaw launchd

# Custom port
jaw launchd --port 3458

# Check status
jaw launchd status

# Remove
jaw launchd unset

# Cleanup legacy plists
jaw launchd cleanup