@ctrlai/cli — your Context Key, in one command

The 60-second try, no account needed: run one command in any repo and the files your AI tools read — CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, AGENTS.md — appear, written from one source. Nothing leaves your machine.

npx @ctrlai/cli init        # scan THIS repo → write CLAUDE.md · .cursorrules · AGENTS.md from one source

That's it — no key, no signup, no network. It reads your rules files + stack locally and writes the unified rules files your tools already load. Re-run any time; your own lines outside the managed block are always kept.

When you want your context live in every tool (always fresh, scoped per tool, revocable), get a free Context Key and the same CLI serves it:

export CTRL_KEY=ck_live_…                # from <web>/control-panel → Keys → Issue
export CTRL_API=http://localhost:3000    # dev (default: https://api.ctrlai.com)

npx @ctrlai/cli emit                     # writes the files from your bound face, live
npx @ctrlai/cli context --task "write a SQL migration"   # the task-shaped, ready-to-inject block
npx @ctrlai/cli seed .                   # scan THIS repo locally → propose atoms to ratify in the web

Installed globally (npm i -g @ctrlai/cli), the command is ctrlai.

Commands

| Command | What | Account? | |---|---|---| | ctrlai init [dir] [--dry] | scan the repo locally → write CLAUDE.md · .cursorrules · AGENTS.md from one source. --dry previews. Preserves your lines outside the managed block. | no | | ctrlai emit [--dir .] [--targets …] [--local] | write the rules files. --local = render from a local repo scan (no key). Default = the live served slice of your bound face via GET /api/v1/context?format=<t>. | --local: no | | ctrlai context [--task "…"] [--json] | no task → static (the whole bound face); --task → dynamic (task-shaped, select-and-drop). Prints the systemBlock (or --json). | yes | | ctrlai seed <path> [--dry] | scan the repo locally → POST /api/v1/seed to propose atoms to ratify. --dry previews, posts nothing. | --dry: no | | ctrlai config [set key\|api <value>] | show config, or save to ~/.ctrl/config.json (env CTRL_KEY/CTRL_API win). The key is never logged. | — | | ctrlai --help · ctrlai --version | | |

init, seed --dry, and emit --local run fully local — no account, nothing leaves your machine.

The wall (what crosses, and what never does)

• Local commands are local. init / seed --dry / emit --local read only the §5 allowlist — rules/convention files, package.json (deps + scripts), the lockfile name, and tsconfig/eslint/prettier presence. They never read .env*, source code, or lockfile contents, and they make no network call. The files they write are a local draft (clearly labeled), not a released Face.
• The key is the boundary. emit (live) / context only ever return your key's bound face ∩ ceiling (pseudonymous unless the key is identified) — the server enforces it. A revoked/expired key gives a clean "invalid/expired/revoked" error.
• seed proposes; it never releases. The only thing that leaves your machine is the candidate list you're about to ratify — and a proposal is not an atom: nothing becomes part of you until you ratify it in the web.

Build (local / pre-publish)

pnpm install
pnpm --filter @ctrlai/cli build    # tsc → dist/
node packages/cli/dist/ctrl.js --help

Published as @ctrlai/cli → npx @ctrlai/cli …. A thin OSS client (MIT); the paid intelligence stays server-side.