CLI reference

Your agent runs these; you rarely need to. They are documented so you can read what the agent is doing, and drive it yourself when you want to.

Every command answers --help, and claude-foundation describe [command] [--json] describes the surface — including six primary slash commands plus /changes and the /feature compatibility alias, resolvable by bare word or /slash spelling, read from the shipped command files so there is no second copy to drift.

Primary agent surface

Normal users issue /investigate, /change, /build, /prove, /land, or /dev; the agent owns CLI details. Its compact runtime surface is:

Command	Purpose
`change start --template \| <draft.json>`	Compile and atomically start one semantic agreement
`change amend <change> <amendment.json>`	Transactionally extend that agreement during Build
`advance <change> --through build\|proven\|archived`	Run deterministic lifecycle work and return one of six bounded actions at the next real boundary
`changes`	Read active state and the next useful route
`doctor …`	Diagnose a route only when the coordinator asks for it

claude-foundation help shows this small surface. help --all exposes the compatible primitives below for operators and host integrations.

Read-only

Safe to run at any time. These mutate nothing.

Command	Purpose
`changes`	List active changes, lifecycle status, and each one’s next useful action
`doctor [--stage change\|build\|prove] [--change <id>]`	Diagnose project, provider, and lifecycle readiness
`packet <change> [--phase <phase>] [--task <id>]`	Read the bounded machine handoff for the current operation
`metrics <change>`	Inspect measured usage, active budget, cost, and execution timing
`feedback <change>`	Explain reviewer, evidenced repair, human-wait, and unattributed timing; show reuse and the next action
`change audit <change>`	Audit scenario, claim, task, and provider traceability
`proof readiness <change>`	Typed blockers and canonical next commands
`land check <change>`	Validate that the proven projection remains landable
`handoff status <change>`	Inspect permission-bound operations and their Land disposition
`handoff packet <change> [--id <H00n>]`	Read the credential-free packet for a named DevOps/SRE owner
`repos [change]`	Inspect repository topology and selection
`models`	Inspect model-tier policy
`providers`	Inspect evidence wiring while defining a change contract
`version`	Print the installed package version

Consumer quality

See Consumer quality gates for configuration, language profiles, baselines, and rollout policy.

Command	Purpose
`quality discover [--change <id>]`	Read repository manifests and report detected languages, profiles, providers, and unsupported capabilities without executing project commands
`quality init [--change <id>] [--write] [--force] [--ci github]`	Preview consumer quality config; explicitly write it and optional GitHub workflow templates
`quality doctor [--change <id>] [--enforce]`	Validate selected repositories, provider configuration, executable availability, and mutation isolation
`quality run [--change <id>] [--repo <id>] [--capability <name>] [--full] [--shard-index <n> --shard-count <n>] [--enforce]`	Run per-repository lanes and apply changed-code or full-inventory ratchets
`quality report`	Read the latest non-averaged repository-lane summary
`quality baseline [--repo <id>] [--capability <name>] [--write --decision-ref <ref> --reason <why>]`	Preview or explicitly approve versioned CRAP/mutation baselines
`quality debt`	Render JSON and Markdown debt from the latest run without widening Change scope

The change lifecycle

Command	Purpose
`change new <intent> [--rapid]`	Compatible primitive for manually authoring a change agreement
`change start --template \| <draft.json>`	Compile and start an isolated change from one validated semantic draft
`change amend <change> <amendment.json>`	Add semantic requirements transactionally while preserving completed work
`change resolve <change> …`	Persist impact, coupling, security, and review decisions
`change validate <change>`	Validate the change and its executable evidence contract
`sandbox create <change> [--all]`	Create the isolated Build workspace
`sandbox sync <change>`	Synchronize an intentional contract revision into Build
`advance <change> [--through build\|proven\|archived] [--host-result <result.json>]`	Normal model-facing coordinator; run safe deterministic steps and return one bounded action
`proof advance <change>`	Compatible Prove primitive used internally and by explicit integrations
`proof collect <change>`	Low-level collection for diagnosis or an explicit integration
`proof run <change>`	Low-level atomic run when no resumable external handoff is needed
`handoff record <change> --id <H00n> …`	Record a named operator’s accepted/completed/rejected result and durable references

Evidence wiring

Command	Purpose
`evidence detect <change>`	Detect safe project-owned provider candidates without executing them
`evidence init <change> [--write]`	Preview, or explicitly write, high-confidence provider wiring
`evidence doctor <change>`	Explain configured, detectable, and unresolved wiring
`evidence verify-ci <change> <provider> <signed.json>`	Verify signed CI provenance bound to the provider workspace

External authority

Review and acceptance, resumable across sessions. Prefer advance; use these directly for diagnosis or an explicit integration.

Command	Purpose
`authority request <change> --type review\|acceptance`	Create a resumable external request
`authority status <change> [--request <id>] [--template]`	Inspect authority; `--template` emits the response file to fill in
`authority dispatch <change> …`	Reserve the exact full/delta packet when handing review to an AI or named human
`authority run <change> …`	Run the configured read-only ephemeral AI reviewer and record its real session
`authority abort <change> …`	Close an unusable request without pretending its dispatched attempt completed
`authority record <change> --request <id> --response <file>`	Validate a bound host response and record its evidence
`evidence record <change> <provider> <status> …`	Low-level integration path for externally observed evidence

Landing

Command	Purpose
`land archive <change>`	Low-level apply, synchronize, audit, archive, and cleanup primitive; normal agents use `advance --through archived`
`land record <change> --repo <id> --commit <sha> --decision-ref <ref>`	Legacy compatibility for an active commit-oriented transaction
`land resume <change>`	Diagnostic resume primitive; normal recovery repeats `/land`

Recovery and escape hatches

Command	Purpose
`sandbox create <change> --all`	Repair missing multi-repository bindings in place; valid existing worktrees are preserved
`change abandon <change> --reason <r> --decision-ref <ref>`	Quarantine a change that cannot be proven
`change waive <change> --capability <c> --reason <r> --decision-ref <ref>`	Withdraw one capability’s enforcement after its provider ran and failed; `--revoke` restores it
`budget continue <change> --reason <r> --decision-ref <ref>`	Open one policy-gated completion window
`agents release <change> <task> --owner <id> [--lease-id <id>] [--force]`	Release a lease; a taken-over generation requires its acquired lease id, and `--force` takes over one whose owner crashed

Commands marked as needing a --decision-ref require an explicit host-recorded user decision. The runtime will not accept the agent’s own judgement in their place.

Administration

Command	Purpose
`init [target-path] [--yes]`	Install or upgrade Change Loop in a project
`help [--all]`	Canonical commands; `--all` includes compatibility routes
`dashboard [-up\|-status\|-down]`	Manage the optional team-presence client
`migrate [legacy-id] [--apply]`	Migrate corroborated legacy workflow records

Protocol versions

advance <change> --inspect reads the next action without executing work; it cannot be combined with --through or --host-result. packet <change> --resume returns bounded current agreement references, frontier, leases and evidence. Read referenced sections when marked truncated. feedback <change> --diagnostics exports allowlisted local metadata with provider aliases; paths, commands and free-form payloads are excluded. Build/Prove completion is TARGET_REACHED; archived delivery is DELIVERED. Feedback reports current runtime receipt validity. Dashboard recorded proof remains unverified when current workspace freshness cannot be checked.

Wire-visible contracts are pinned in .claude/harness/protocol.json. A mixed-revision install fails immediately at load rather than partway through Land.

Pin	v3.5.16
runtime	3.5.16
runtime API	35
semantic draft schema	3
semantic amendment schema	1
artifact defaults schema	2
grounding schema	1, 2, 3
advance protocol	5
provider protocol	13
evidence schema	1, 2
packet schema	11
proof protocol	7
review protocol	4
acceptance protocol	2
semantic acceptance protocol	1
attestation protocol	1
authority protocol	2
quality capabilities protocol	1
CRAP protocol	1
automated mutation protocol	1