CLI Reference

The CLI provides an interactive REPL for conversing with Maestro.

Starting the CLI

# Development
npm run cli

# Production
node dist/index.js cli

Commands

All commands start with /:

Command	Description
/help	Show available commands
/clear	Clear conversation history for current session
/cost	Show token usage and estimated cost
/quit	Exit the CLI
/exit	Exit the CLI (alias)

Usage Examples

Basic Conversation

$ npm run cli

Maestro CLI - Type /help for commands, /quit to exit

You: Hello!
Assistant: Hello! How can I help you today?

You: What's 15% tip on $85?
Assistant: 15% of $85 = $12.75

You: /cost
Token usage:
  Input: 245 tokens
  Output: 52 tokens
  Estimated cost: $0.0012

You: /quit
Goodbye!

Using Tools

You: Clone https://github.com/example/project
Assistant: Cloned to project. This is now your active project.

You: What files are in this project?
Assistant: [Uses claude_code to list files]
- README.md
- package.json
- src/
  - index.ts
  - utils.ts

Creating Agents

You: Create an agent called summarizer
Assistant: Created summarizer. What should its description be?

You: It summarizes long texts concisely
Assistant: Updated description. What system prompt should it use?

You: Be extremely concise. Summarize to 2-3 sentences max.
Assistant: Updated system prompt. summarizer is ready.

You: List all agents
Assistant: Available agents:
- orchestrator
- personal-assistant
- coder
- summarizer (dynamic)

Session Persistence

The CLI uses a fixed session ID per terminal. Your conversation history:

• Persists across CLI restarts
• Is stored in SQLite (data/maestro.db)
• Can be cleared with /clear

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+C	Cancel current input
Ctrl+D	Exit CLI
Up/Down	Navigate history

Output Formatting

The CLI supports:

• Colored output for different message types
• Streaming responses (text appears as it’s generated)
• Markdown rendering in terminal

Environment Variables

The CLI respects these environment variables:

Variable	Effect
LOG_LEVEL	Set logging verbosity
NO_COLOR	Disable colored output

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Normal exit
1	Error occurred

Troubleshooting

CLI hangs on startup

Check that ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set in .env.

No streaming output

Some terminals don’t support streaming. The response will appear all at once when complete.

History not working

Arrow key history requires a compatible terminal. Most modern terminals support this.