@rqml/cli

The RQML command-line interface — the universal substrate every RQML integration can invoke. Backed entirely by @rqml/core, so its verdicts match the engine and the @rqml/mcp server.

Published as @rqml/cli; the installed command is rqml:

npm i -g @rqml/cli   # then: rqml <command>
# or, no install:    npx @rqml/cli <command>

rqml <command> [spec.rqml] [options]

  init [path]      Scaffold a starter spec and AGENTS.md project marker
  validate [path]  XML well-formedness, XSD, and referential integrity
  status [path]    Spec, coverage, and lint summary
  lint [path]      Semantic lint findings; severity scales with --strictness (exit 1 on error)
  check [path]     Deterministic enforcement gate (validation + coverage + drift)
  show <id>        One artifact: statement, acceptance criteria, trace neighborhood
  impact <id>      What is affected, transitively, if this artifact changes
  overview [path]  Readable spec projection (whole, or --section/--id scoped)
  matrix [path]    Traceability matrix: status, goals, code, tests, coverage gaps
  link <id> <uri>  Record an implements/verifiedBy edge and its drift baseline
  approve <id>     Transition a requirement's status (--status, default approved)
  gate [paths...]  Block implementation of non-approved requirements (exit 2)
  skeleton <kind>  Print a schema-valid snippet (req|edge|testCase|stateMachine)

  --json                     Machine-readable output (REQ-CLI-JSON)
  --strictness <level>       relaxed | standard | strict | certified
  --workspace, --all         Run validate/status/check across every spec in the repo (one exit code)
  --ignore <names>           Comma-separated directory names to skip during --workspace discovery
  --base-dir <dir>           Where spec discovery starts / the --workspace root
  --status/--type/--warning  Filter matrix rows; --status also sets approve's target
  --section/--id             Scope overview to sections or element ids (comma-separated)
  --changed <paths>          Scope gate to changed paths (or pass them as positionals)

When no spec path is given, rqml resolves the governing spec by walking up from the working directory to the nearest *.rqml (preferring requirements.rqml), stopping at the repository root — so commands work from anywhere inside a project unit. In a repo with multiple specs, rqml check --workspace gates them all.

Exit codes (stable — REQ-CLI-EXIT-CODES)

| Code | Meaning | |------|---------| | 0 | success | | 1 | validation failure (not well-formed, schema-invalid, or integrity error) | | 2 | check gate failure (blocking drift or coverage) | | 64 | usage error |

rqml check exits non-zero only when the document is invalid or has blocking drift/coverage, so it works as a CI and editor-save gate. It invokes no language model: identical inputs yield identical verdicts (REQ-ENFORCE-DETERMINISM).