Use at the start of any OpenCLI session — this is the top-level map of what `opencli` can do, how to discover adapters, what flags and output formats are universal, and which specialized skill to load next. Point here when an agent asks "what can opencli do?" or "how do I find the right command?".

opencli usage OpenCLI turns any website, Electron desktop app, or external CLI into a uniform opencli <site <command surface that agents can drive without screen scraping. This skill is the orientation layer — once you know what you want to do, load one of the specialized skills below. The three pillars Adapter commands — opencli <site <command [...] . Built in adapters live in clis/ , user adapters in ~/.opencli/clis/ . Each is backed by a strategy ( PUBLIC COOKIE INTERCEPT UI LOCAL ) that tells you whether a Chrome session is needed. Browser driving — opencli browser subcommands ( open , state , click , type , select , find , extract , network , …) for ad hoc interaction and scraping when no adapter covers the task. See opencli browser . Current tab binding — opencli browser <session bind attaches the Chrome tab the user already opened/logged into to that browser session. Follow up commands use opencli browser <session ... . See opencli browser before using it; bound sessions still block tab mutation. External CLI passthrough — opencli gh , opencli docker , opencli vercel , etc. Managed via opencli external install <name (auto install from external clis.yaml ) or opencli external register <name (bring your own). Install opencli doctor prints a structured DoctorReport — daemon status, extension connection, version checks, and a live browser connectivity probe. Scope is narrow: it diagnoses the browser bridge (daemon + extension + Chrome wiring). PUBLIC / LOCAL adapters, opencli list , validate , verify , plugin commands, and external CLI passthrough don't need it to be green — only COOKIE / INTERCEPT / UI adapters and the opencli browser subcommands do. Flag: v (verbose). Prerequisites by command type Strategy tag on opencli list What it needs PUBLIC Nothing — pure HTTP, no browser. COOKIE Chrome logged into the target site + OpenCLI extension installed from the [Chrome Web Store](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/opencli/ildkmabpimmkaediidaifkhjpohdnifk). Command captures the credential from your live session — no re login. INTERCEPT Same as COOKIE, plus opencli opens an automation window to capture a signed request. UI Same as COOKIE, full DOM interaction. LOCAL No browser; talks to a local/dev endpoint. Electron desktop apps (cursor, codex, chatwise, discord app, doubao app, antigravity, chatgpt app) route through CDP against the running app — same cookie less flow as a logged in browser. Make sure the app is running before invoking. Discover what's installed — don't read this file, run a command Do not hard code adapter lists — there are 100+ sites and the count moves every week. opencli list f json is the source of truth; it emits one entry per command with {site, name, aliases, description, strategy, browser, args, columns, ...} . For an agent, that is always better than grepping a doc. Before falling back to raw opencli browser commands on high change authenticated sites, check whether a site adapter already exposes the workflow. For example, ChatGPT web has higher level commands for conversation reads and Deep Research result extraction; discover the current surface with opencli chatgpt help or opencli list f json . Universal flags (work on every adapter command) flag effect f, format <fmt table (default in TTY) · yaml (default in non TTY) · json · plain · md · csv . Pass explicitly when you want a specific shape; agents almost always want f json . v, verbose Debug logs + stack traces on failure; also sets OPENCLI VERBOSE=1 for the process. Command specific flags ( limit , tab , filter , …) are not universal — consult <site <command help . Output formats json — pretty printed, 2 space indent. Default choice for agents. plain — prints a single primary field for chat style commands ( response / content / text / value ). Useful for piping to another tool. yaml — fallback when output is not a TTY and f is not explicit. table — color coded, site grouped; meant for humans. md , csv — straightforward tabular dumps. A few commands override the default via cmd.defaultFormat (e.g. chat commands default to plain ), so don't assume without reading help . Environment variables variable default purpose OPENCLI BROWSER CONNECT TIMEOUT 45 Seconds to wait for the browser bridge. OPENCLI BROWSER COMMAND TIMEOUT 60 Per command timeout. OPENCLI CDP ENDPOINT — Manual CDP endpoint override (dev / remote Chrome / Electron). OPENCLI CACHE DIR ~/.opencli/cache Network capture + browser state cache. OPENCLI WINDOW command specific foreground or background browser window mode. OPENCLI VERBOSE false Verbose logging (also triggered by v ). Self repair When an adapter command fails because the site changed (selectors drifted, API rotated, response schema shifted), re run with trace retain on failure . The error envelope includes a trace block pointing at summary.md ; patch only the adapterSourcePath from that summary and retry. Max 3 repair rounds. The full flow is in opencli autofix . Writing your own adapter Two path storage: Private : ~/.opencli/clis/<site /<command .js — no build step, hot available, not visible in the public package. Public / PR : clis/<site /<command .js — for upstream contribution; requires build. Scaffolding & verification: Adapters import only @jackwener/opencli/registry and @jackwener/opencli/errors . columns must align 1:1 (in name and order) with keys of the object returned by func . For the full workflow see opencli adapter author . Plugins Plugins are third party extensions pulled from git, separate from the main adapter registry: External CLI passthrough Wraps external command line tools so you can discover + invoke them through the same opencli … entrypoint: Built in entries live in src/external clis.yaml ; user overrides and additions in ~/.opencli/external clis.yaml . Commonly shipped: gh , docker , vercel , lark cli , longbridge , dws , wecom cli , obsidian , ntn , tg(tg cli) , discord(discord cli) , wx(wx cli) . Some official CLIs use shell script installers instead of a shell free package manager command. Entries without an install config, such as ntn , must be installed manually from their homepage before passthrough use. Shell completion Where to go next If you're about to… Load this skill Drive a live browser ad hoc (no adapter available, or prototyping) opencli browser Write a new adapter, or add a command to an existing site opencli adapter author Fix a broken adapter after a command failure opencli autofix Route a search / lookup / research request to the right adapter smart search Commands that used to exist The following were removed in the PR 1094 consolidation — don't try to invoke them: opencli explore <url — superseded by opencli browser network + opencli browser find for live API discovery, and by the opencli adapter author workflow for capture. opencli record <url — removed; manual capture now lives in opencli browser network detail . opencli web read / opencli desktop as top level groups — folded into their respective adapters ( opencli web read still exists as the web adapter's read command, but there is no standalone web / desktop top level group command). Don't Don't paste this skill's command list into your plan; it will rot. Call opencli list f json at the start of a task instead. Don't assume every adapter needs a browser — strategy PUBLIC and LOCAL don't. Check the strategy field. Don't silently fall back from a failing adapter to a hand rolled fetch — trace retain on failure gives you the browser evidence and adapter source path. Do that first.

opencli-usage