CLI Reference

Complete reference for the engrams command-line interface.

Global usage

engrams <command> [options]

Top-level flags

Flag	Description
`--help`, `-h`	Show help and exit
`--version`	Print the Engrams version and exit

`engrams serve`

Start the Engrams MCP server. This is the default command when no subcommand is provided.

engrams serve [--mode stdio|http] [--host HOST] [--port PORT] [--log-level LEVEL]

Flag	Default	Description
`--mode`	`stdio`	Communication mode: `stdio` or `http`
`--host`	`127.0.0.1`	Host to bind (HTTP mode only)
`--port`	`8000`	Port to listen on (HTTP mode only)
`--log-level`	`INFO`	Logging level: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR

Examples

# stdio mode (for IDE MCP clients)
engrams serve --mode stdio

# HTTP mode
engrams serve --mode http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

# Verbose logging
engrams serve --mode stdio --log-level DEBUG

`engrams init`

Scaffold the AI strategy file for a supported coding tool into the current project directory. Run this from your project root.

engrams init --tool <name> [--list] [--force] [--project-dir DIR]

Flag	Description
`--tool NAME`	Target AI tool (see supported tools below)
`--list`	List all supported tool names and exit
`--force`	Overwrite an existing strategy file
`--project-dir DIR`	Target project directory (default: `.`)

Supported tools

Tool name	Output file
`roo`	`.roo/rules/engrams_strategy`
`cline`	`.clinerules`
`cursor`	`.cursorrules`
`windsurf`	`.windsurfrules`
`claude-code`	`CLAUDE.md`
`claude-desktop`	Prints instructions for manual paste
`generic`	`engrams_strategy.md`

Examples

# List available tools
engrams init --list

# Initialize for Roo Code
engrams init --tool roo

# Force overwrite an existing file
engrams init --tool cursor --force

# Scaffold into a specific directory
engrams init --tool cline --project-dir /path/to/project

`engrams dashboard`

Start the browser-based Engrams knowledge dashboard.

engrams dashboard [--workspace DIR] [--port PORT] [--enable-chat] [--ollama-model MODEL]

Flag	Default	Description
`--workspace DIR`	Auto-detected	Path to the project workspace
`--port PORT`	`8080`	Port for the dashboard web server
`--enable-chat`	off	Enable the Ollama chat panel
`--ollama-model MODEL`	`llama3.2`	Ollama model for the chat panel

Examples

# Auto-detect workspace
cd /path/to/project && engrams dashboard

# Explicit workspace
engrams dashboard --workspace /path/to/project

# With Ollama chat
engrams dashboard --enable-chat --ollama-model llama3.2

# Custom port
engrams dashboard --port 9000

Legacy command: engrams-dashboard remains available for backward compatibility but engrams dashboard is preferred.