CLI Reference

Every Recursive install ships the recursive command — a terminal client for the same Product API the dashboard uses. Use it interactively, in scripts, or hand it to an AI agent: every resource supports --json output.

Install

The CLI is bundled with the desktop app. After installation, recursive is on your PATH (the app’s installer links the binary). Verify:

recursive --version

Usage

recursive <resource> <verb> [flags]

Resources and verbs

Resource	Verbs
server	start, stop, status
config	get/set operations for app configuration
session	list, status, start, delegate, merge, archive
task	list, create, get, update
MCP-backed resources	project, memory, settings, plugin, automation, inbox, metric, adapter, favorite, macro, schema, preview, terminal

MCP-backed resources are auto-discovered at runtime from the connected server’s tool schemas, so a plugin that adds tools extends the CLI automatically.

Global flags

Flag	Purpose
--json	Output raw JSON (for agents and scripts)
--server	Server URL (default: http://localhost:12321)
--token	Auth token for remote servers
--help	Show help for a command
--version	Show version

Run recursive with no arguments in a terminal to open the interactive TUI dashboard. Run recursive <resource> to list that resource’s verbs, and recursive <resource> <verb> --help for flag details.

Tip

Agents and CI scripts should pass --json: responses become stable machine-readable documents instead of human-formatted tables.

Examples

List sessions as JSON:

recursive session list --json

Delegate a task to an autonomous agent:

recursive task create \
  --title "Add /health endpoint" \
  --description "Return { status: 'ok' } with dependency checks" \
  --json

Point at a remote instance over remote access:

recursive --server https://your-box.example.com \
          --token "$RECURSIVE_TOKEN" \
          session status s_abc123

How it relates to the HTTP API

Each CLI verb maps one-to-one onto a Product API operation documented in the OpenAPI specification. If you can call it with the CLI you can call it with curl, an SDK generator, or an MCP client.