@runtime-ai/cli

Runtime · The engineering memory for AI-native development.

The CLI connects your AI coding tools (Claude Code, Codex, Cline, Cursor) to a Runtime workspace. Every prompt and completion that flows through Runtime's gateway is captured as engineering history you can search, replay and bill against — instead of evaporating when the session ends.

Private beta. Runtime is currently in friends-and-family testing. You need an invite to create a workspace.

Install

npm install -g @runtime-ai/cli

Requires Node.js 18 or newer.

Quick start

runtime login          # authenticate against the hosted gateway
runtime workspace use  # pick the workspace to record into
runtime connect claude # wire up Claude Code (or: codex, cline, cursor)

Then use your AI tool exactly as before. To confirm it's recording:

runtime activity       # recent tool activity
runtime balance        # credit balance for the active workspace
runtime doctor         # diagnose installation and configuration

To unwind a connection completely — revoking the key, reverting the tool's config and stripping the environment variables it set:

runtime disconnect claude

Semantic search over your history

Install the companion MCP server to let Claude Code and Codex query the history this CLI captures:

npm install -g @runtime-ai/mcp

runtime connect detects it and wires it up automatically. RCP captures, MCP retrieves.

Pointing at a different environment

The CLI defaults to Runtime's hosted production gateway. Override it with environment variables — this is how you target a local stack or the dev/staging environments:

| Variable | Default | Purpose | | --------------------- | ------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | | RUNTIME_GATEWAY_URL | hosted production gateway /v1 | API base the CLI talks to | | RUNTIME_WEB_URL | hosted production dashboard | origin used to print invite links | | RUNTIME_CONFIG_DIR | ~/.runtime | where the session is stored |

RUNTIME_GATEWAY_URL=http://localhost:3001/v1 runtime whoami

RUNTIME_GATEWAY_URL takes precedence over the gateway saved in your config, so it works even after you've logged in.

Each environment is a separate database with its own users and workspaces, so one config file can only hold one session at a time. Use RUNTIME_CONFIG_DIR to keep them apart instead of logging in and out:

export RUNTIME_CONFIG_DIR=~/.runtime-dev
export RUNTIME_GATEWAY_URL=https://runtime-gateway-dev.up.railway.app/v1
export RUNTIME_WEB_URL=https://runtime-web-dev.up.railway.app
runtime login

Configuration is stored in $RUNTIME_CONFIG_DIR/config.json (default ~/.runtime/config.json).

Commands

| Command | What it does | | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | login / logout | Authenticate against Runtime | | whoami | Show the logged-in user | | workspace (ws) | List, create and switch workspaces | | connect [tool] | Connect an AI tool to Runtime | | disconnect [tool] | Revoke the key, undo config, strip env | | keys | Manage API keys | | activity | Recent tool activity for the active workspace | | balance | Credit balance for the active workspace | | status | Current CLI configuration | | doctor / repair | Diagnose and self-heal a broken installation | | upgrade | Check for and install the latest version | | feedback | Send feedback about the CLI |

Run runtime help <command> for details on any of them.