CLI Reference

Every feature in 8Vast is available through the 8v command line tool. This page lists all commands grouped by area. For deeper explanations, follow the links to each feature's documentation.

Daemon

The daemon is the background service that powers everything. The CLI and desktop app both connect to it.

8v daemon run              # Start daemon in foreground (Ctrl+C to stop)
8v daemon install           # Install as a system service (starts on boot)
8v daemon uninstall         # Remove the system service
8v daemon start             # Start the daemon via service manager
8v daemon stop              # Stop the daemon via service manager
8v daemon status            # Show status — PID, port, uptime
8v daemon logs              # Stream daemon logs to your terminal

8v daemon run is useful for debugging — you see every log line. For normal use, install it as a service so it runs in the background.

See Getting Started for setup.

Projects

A project is a directory that 8Vast tracks. Registering a project gives you indexing, search, work sessions, and persistent memory for that directory.

8v project init             # Register the current directory as a project
8v project list             # List all registered projects
8v project link             # Link this project to an organization
8v project unlink           # Unlink from an organization

8v project init detects your git repos, identifies the default branch, and derives a project name. You can link a project to an organization to enable sync, shared workflows, and collaboration.

Search

Search your codebase by keywords, by meaning, or both. Build an index first, then search instantly.

8v search index <path>      # Build search index for a directory
8v search find <query>      # Search code (hybrid mode by default)
8v search symbols <path>    # Extract code symbols (functions, types, etc.)

Options for 8v search find:

Flag	Description
--mode bm25	Keyword search only
--mode semantic	Meaning-based search only
--mode hybrid	Both (default)

See Search for details on indexing, scoring, and query modes.

Linting

Analyze code for errors, performance issues, and quality problems. Works on any language.

8v lint <path>              # Analyze code at the given path
8v lint rules               # List all available rules
8v lint explain <rule>      # Show details about a specific rule
8v lint init                # Generate a lint.toml config file

8Vast detects your existing tools (Clippy, ESLint, Ruff) and merges everything into one report. No plugins required.

See Linting for built-in rules, custom rules, and configuration.

Stack

Run services locally using lightweight VMs. Define your services in a stack.yaml file, then manage them like containers.

8v stack up                 # Start all services defined in stack.yaml
8v stack down               # Stop all services
8v stack status             # Show which services are running
8v stack logs <service>     # View logs for a service
8v stack exec <service>     # Run a command inside a service
8v stack pull <image>       # Pull an OCI image
8v stack build <context>    # Build an image from a directory
8v stack validate           # Check your stack.yaml for errors

8v stack up pulls images, boots VMs, sets up networking, and forwards ports. Press Ctrl+C to stop everything, or use 8v stack up -d to run in the background.

Auth

Sign in to an organization to access shared projects, issues, features, and team collaboration.

8v auth login               # Sign in (interactive)
8v auth login --org myco    # Sign in to a specific organization
8v auth status              # Show current sessions
8v auth logout              # Sign out of all organizations
8v auth logout --org myco   # Sign out of one organization

8Vast works without signing in. Auth is only needed for organization features. See Authentication for details.

Credentials

Store API keys and secrets in your operating system's secure storage.

8v credentials set <name> --value <secret>   # Store a credential
8v credentials get <name>                     # Retrieve a credential
8v credentials list                           # List stored credentials
8v credentials remove <name>                  # Delete a credential

Credentials are stored in macOS Keychain or Linux Secret Service. Never in config files. See Credentials for details.

Context

Manage connections to daemons. By default, 8Vast connects to the local daemon. Use contexts to connect to remote daemons or switch between them.

8v context list             # Show all daemon connections
8v context current          # Print the active connection
8v context use <name>       # Switch to a different connection
8v context create <name>    # Add a new remote daemon connection
8v context remove <name>    # Delete a connection

Contexts let you manage multiple environments from one CLI. Create a context for a remote server, switch to it, and all commands run against that daemon.

Global Flags

These flags work with any command:

Flag	Description
--help	Show help for any command
--version	Print 8Vast version
--daemon-url <url>	Override daemon address (default: 127.0.0.1:3001)
--format json	Output as JSON (useful for scripting)

Getting Help

Every command supports --help:

8v --help                   # List all command groups
8v daemon --help            # List daemon subcommands
8v search find --help       # Show options for search