Varel CLI

Public CLI for initializing the private Varel core and installing Varel Hyperdrive for guided setup.

npm install -g @varel/cli
varel login
varel init my-app
cd my-app
varel hyperdrive install

The CLI authenticates the user, checks core and Hyperdrive access, creates a fresh app from the private core, and connects Hyperdrive to supported local agent clients.

After installing Hyperdrive, restart Codex or Cursor, and restart Claude Code or run /reload-plugins. Open the project in that app and ask Hyperdrive to prepare provider sign-in, MFA, and email verification before setup work. Hyperdrive will then guide scoped provider setup, domain work, launch checks, and production readiness from inside the project.

Commands

varel login                    # Authenticate this machine with Varel
varel logout                   # Remove local CLI auth
varel whoami                   # Show account and entitlement status
varel doctor                   # Inspect auth, project, and Hyperdrive config
varel init [targetDir]         # Create a fresh app from the private core
varel hyperdrive install   # Connect Hyperdrive to Codex, Cursor, and Claude Code
varel hyperdrive status    # Show Hyperdrive subscription and connection status

Configuration is stored at ~/.varel/config.json. The default production API is https://www.varel.dev; override it with VAREL_API_URL or --api-url when dogfooding against a local internal app.

Hyperdrive defaults to https://hyperdrive.varel.dev/mcp; override it with VAREL_HYPERDRIVE_MCP_URL or --hyperdrive-url when support asks you to test another endpoint. varel hyperdrive install writes authenticated user-local Codex and Cursor MCP configuration, installs or refreshes the Claude Code ~/.claude/skills/varel-hyperdrive plugin with a dynamic headersHelper, and removes stale project Codex overrides that could shadow user-local auth. The Claude Code plugin does not store a static token in Claude config; it asks the local Varel CLI for the current token when Claude connects. If Claude Code cannot be configured automatically, the command writes a token-safe repair script at ~/.varel/install-hyperdrive-claude-code.sh. varel hyperdrive status checks that your account and Hyperdrive connection are ready.

varel init checks your Varel entitlement first, then tries to clone the private core over SSH and falls back to HTTPS. After the core files are copied, it removes the template repository metadata and initializes a fresh local Git repository without a remote. Add your own remote with git remote add origin <your-repo-url>, or pass --disable-git to leave the new app uninitialized. If GitHub access fails after entitlement approval, connect the Polar GitHub repository access benefit in the Varel customer portal, verify access to varelhq/varel-core, and rerun varel init. Support can provide --repo-url or VAREL_CORE_REPO_URL for temporary clone overrides.

The interactive init wizard defaults to Launch-ready with local/development and production selected. Preview is optional because some provider preview environments require extra setup or paid tiers. For scripted init, use --environments local,prod or add preview explicitly with --environments local,preview,prod.

Development

pnpm install
pnpm check
pnpm dev -- --help

Local Dogfooding

Run the internal app first:

cd ~/projects/varel-workspace/internal
pnpm dev

Then log in from the CLI repo:

cd ~/projects/varel-workspace/cli
pnpm dev login

When invoked through the dev script, the CLI uses http://localhost:3000 as the Varel API URL. A built CLI uses production defaults.

For offline CLI UI work:

VAREL_CLI_OFFLINE=1 pnpm dev -- whoami

Publishing

Before publishing:

pnpm check
npm pack --dry-run

The package publishes only dist and this README. prepack runs a clean TypeScript build so stale local artifacts are not included.