helmor-cli
dohooo/helmor
Terminal-first CLI for remote-controlling Helmor: manage repos, workspaces, agents, and build PR stacks.
What is helmor-cli?
Helmor CLI lets you control Helmor from the terminal, managing repositories, workspaces, sessions, and files. Use it for inspecting Helmor data, sending prompts to agents, managing GitHub integration, and planning/building stacked PRs—especially useful for terminal-first workflows and automation.
- Inspect Helmor data, settings, repositories, workspaces, sessions, and files
- Send prompts to agents and list available models
- Manage GitHub integration and inspect scripts
- Run Helmor as an MCP server over stdio
- Generate shell completions and check CLI status
- Plan and build large changes as stacks of dependent PRs (stack, break, restack)
How to install helmor-cli
npx skills add https://github.com/dohooo/helmor --skill helmor-cli- Helmor desktop app installed (provides the managed CLI entrypoint)
- For dev builds: access to your active Helmor worktree's target/debug/helmor-cli binary
How to use helmor-cli
- 1.Run `helmor cli-status` to verify the CLI is installed and check which data mode it targets
- 2.Run `helmor data` to inspect the active data directory and database
- 3.Use `helmor <command> --help` to see exact flags for any command group (repo, workspace, session, files, send, github, scripts, models, etc.)
- 4.For stacked PRs: use `helmor stack` to plan a large change, `helmor break` to split an existing change, or `helmor restack` to re-sync after merges
- 5.Use `helmor --json` flag with commands when output will be parsed by scripts or other tools
Use cases
- Dispatch work to Helmor agents from a terminal script or CI/CD pipeline
- Inspect active workspace and session data without opening the desktop app
- Plan a large feature as a stack of dependent PRs and track their dependencies
- Split an already-written change into smaller dependent PRs for easier review
- Re-sync a PR stack after a lower layer merges or changes
- Terminal-first developers and automation engineers
- Contributors managing complex multi-PR changes
- Users integrating Helmor into CI/CD or scripting workflows
- Developers working inside the Helmor repository
helmor-cli FAQ
Use the Helmor desktop app's onboarding/settings Components panel to install or repair the managed CLI entrypoint. Verify with `helmor cli-status`. Do not invent standalone install commands; the CLI is managed by the app.
Use `helmor send --help` to see available options. Favor `helmor --json send` for automation and script parsing.
`stack` plans and builds a large change as dependent PRs; `break` splits an already-written change into smaller PRs; `restack` re-syncs a PR stack after a lower layer changes or merges.
Yes, run `helmor mcp` to start Helmor as an MCP server over stdio. Use this when another agent or runtime needs to call Helmor through Model Context Protocol.
If you're an agent inside Helmor, use the exact CLI path from your system prompt (typically an absolute path like `<worktree>/src-tauri/target/debug/helmor-cli`). If you're at a terminal, run `<your-worktree>/src-tauri/target/debug/helmor-cli <subcommand>`.
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from dohooo/helmor.
name: helmor-cli
description: Use the Helmor CLI to remote-control Helmor from the terminal. Use when the user asks to inspect Helmor data/settings, manage repositories/workspaces/sessions/files, send prompts to agents, list models, use GitHub integration, inspect scripts, run Helmor as an MCP server, generate shell completions, quit a running app, check/install/update the Helmor CLI beta, install/update Helmor skills through the beta app flow, or needs the Helmor command reference. Also plan and build a large change as a stack of dependent PRs (/helmor-cli stack), split a change you've already written into a stack (/helmor-cli break), and re-sync a stack after lower layers change or merge (/helmor-cli restack).
Helmor CLI
Use this skill to guide simple terminal-first Helmor workflows. Keep the answer practical: prefer one or two concrete commands over a long CLI tutorial.
Command Routing
Route by the first word after /helmor-cli:
restack— re-sync a PR stack after a lower layer changed or merged. Followreferences/restack.md. (This is what the composer's Restack button sends.)stack— plan and build a large change as a stack of dependent PRs. Followreferences/stacked-pr.md.break— split the change you've ALREADY written in the current workspace into a stack of smaller dependent PRs, confirming the slicing granularity with the user first. Followreferences/break.md.- Anything else (or no argument) — an ordinary Helmor CLI task; use the binary-name guidance and command reference below.
Binary Name (Release vs Dev)
Examples below use the literal name helmor — the binary a release user has on their PATH.
- Release builds: invoke commands as
helmor <subcommand>. - Dev builds: do NOT assume
helmor-devis on PATH. Under Helmor's worktree-based dev workflow every worktree has its owntarget/debug/helmor-cli, and a shared/usr/local/bin/helmor-devsymlink (if it exists) can only point at one of them. Instead:- If you're an agent running inside Helmor, the system prompt has already handed you the exact CLI invocation to use (typically an absolute path like
<worktree>/src-tauri/target/debug/helmor-cli). Call it verbatim — don't re-verify withwhich/file/--version. - If you're a human at a terminal, run
<your-worktree>/src-tauri/target/debug/helmor-cli <subcommand>(or whatever path your active Helmor build uses).
- If you're an agent running inside Helmor, the system prompt has already handed you the exact CLI invocation to use (typically an absolute path like
The rest of every command shape is identical regardless of build.
First Checks
- Check whether the CLI is installed and which data mode it targets:
helmor cli-status
- Check the active data directory and database:
helmor data
Use --json when the output will be parsed by scripts or another tool.
CLI Install And Update
Treat Helmor CLI install/update as beta.
- Prefer the Helmor desktop onboarding/settings Components panel for installing or repairing the managed CLI entrypoint.
- Use
helmor cli-statusto verify whether the PATH entry points at the current app-managed CLI. - Do not invent a stable standalone install/update command unless it exists in
helmor --helpor a subcommand help page. - If the user is blocked, ask them to run
helmor cli-statusand share the output, or inspect the app's Components panel if working inside the Helmor repo.
Helmor Skills Install And Update
Treat Helmor skills install/update as a beta app-managed flow.
- Prefer the Helmor desktop onboarding/settings Components panel for installing or updating bundled Helmor skills.
- Do not invent a
helmor skillscommand; the top-level CLI help does not currently expose one. - If the user asks to update a bundled Helmor skill inside the repo, edit the skill files directly and validate them with the skill validation tooling.
- Keep user-facing skill content concise and English-first unless the user explicitly asks for another language.
Common Tasks
Manage Repositories And Workspaces
Use these command groups for local-first project setup and workspace orchestration:
helmor repo --help
helmor workspace --help
When creating workspaces, prefer explicit repo names and concise purpose labels:
helmor workspace new --repo helmor
Inspect Sessions And Files
Use sessions for conversation history and files for editor-surface operations:
helmor session --help
helmor files --help
Send A Prompt To An Agent
Use send when the user wants to dispatch work from the terminal:
helmor send --help
Favor JSON output for automation:
helmor --json send --help
Integrations And Local Tooling
Use the relevant command group:
helmor github --help
helmor scripts --help
helmor models --help
MCP Server
Run Helmor as an MCP server over stdio:
helmor mcp
Use this when another agent/runtime needs to call Helmor through Model Context Protocol.
Command Reference
Read references/helmor-help.md when you need the full top-level helmor --help command list.
For exact flags on a command group, run the group's help instead of guessing:
helmor <command> --help
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