CLI commands

The complete command surface as shipped in the current release (mcue --version tells you which). Descriptions here are the binary's own. Flags change more often than commands do, so each entry points you at --help rather than transcribing a flag list that will drift.

mcue <command> --help    # authoritative flags for any command

Project lifecycle

Command	Purpose
`mcue init <project-id> --name "Display Name"`	Register a new project and scaffold its state files
`mcue attach <project-id>`	Anchor an existing project to a directory via `.mcue` footprint
`mcue detach`	Remove the `.mcue` footprint from a directory
`mcue exists <project-id>`	Quietly check whether a project is registered
`mcue update <project-id>`	Update mutable project metadata without a closeout
`mcue project rename <old-id> <new-id>`	Rename a project id across all of its local state
`mcue project archive <project-id>`	Mark a project out of the active portfolio without removing state
`mcue project delete <project-id>`	Hard-delete a project: remove its registry entry and state directory

The session loop

Command	Purpose
`mcue closeout <project-id>`	End a session and refresh governed project state
`mcue resume <project-id>`	Generate a bounded resume packet for re-entry
`mcue index [project-id...]`	Show the derived portfolio view, across projects or for named ones
`mcue review <project-id>`	Inspect project state without full closeout
`mcue history <project-id>`	Browse a project's checkpoint history
`mcue drift <project-id>`	Show warning-only environment drift for a project or lane
`mcue recover <project-id>`	Recover from an interrupted closeout with a degraded checkpoint
`mcue reconcile <project-id>`	Resolve a lane with multiple unreconciled perspectives

Lanes and plans

Command	Purpose
`mcue lane create <project-id> <lane-id>`	Create a named operating lane inside a project
`mcue lane update <project-id> <lane-id>`	Update a lane's objective, display name, or work tree without a closeout
`mcue lane close <project-id>`	Retire a project operating lane
`mcue lane delete <project-id>`	Hard-delete a lane and all its state
`mcue plan create <project-id>`	Create the active plan for a lane
`mcue plan show <project-id>`	Show the active or archived plan for a lane
`mcue plan list <project-id>`	List active and archived plans
`mcue plan update <project-id>`	Update the active plan outside closeout
`mcue plan close <project-id>`	Archive the active plan on a lane
`mcue plan delete <project-id>`	Hard-delete the active plan on a lane

Managed Hub

Command	Purpose
`mcue hub set <url>`	Set and verify the managed Hub origin
`mcue hub status`	Show Hub configuration and linked-project cursors
`mcue login`	Authorize mcue with the configured Hub using OAuth + PKCE
`mcue logout`	Revoke the Hub OAuth session and remove it from the OS credential store
`mcue whoami`	Show the authenticated Hub identity
`mcue publish <project-id>...`	Publish one or more local projects to the managed Hub
`mcue clone <project-id>`	Materialize a Hub project into local mcue state
`mcue sync <project-id>...`	Push pending local state and pull accepted Hub events
`mcue sync status [project-id]`	Show managed-Hub cursor and pending state without network access
`mcue unlink <project-id>`	Remove only the local Hub link and pending outbox
`mcue observe <project-id>`	Collect Git evidence against Hub-accepted checkpoints; `--upload` submits it to Hub

BYO-S3 remote

A self-hosted cross-machine path that needs no account. Separate from Hub.

Command	Purpose
`mcue remote enable <project-id>`	Configure an S3-compatible remote for a project
`mcue remote disable <project-id>`	Remove a project's remote configuration
`mcue remote status <project-id>`	Show remote configuration and unpushed perspectives
`mcue remote push <project-id>`	Upload local perspectives the bucket does not have
`mcue remote pull <project-id>`	Download remote perspectives and recompute local state
`mcue remote rotate <project-id>`	Replace the stored remote credential
`mcue remote diff <project-id> <perspective-id>`	Compare local and remote bytes for a perspective (byte-conflict check)
`mcue remote force-push <project-id> <perspective-id>`	Overwrite the remote bytes for one perspective with the local bytes

Agents and MCP

Command	Purpose
`mcue serve`	Run a mcue MCP server (stdio or authenticated HTTP)
`mcue agents-snippet`	Emit the canonical mcue access-rules snippet for `AGENTS.md` / `CLAUDE.md`
`mcue token issue`	Issue a new bearer token
`mcue token list`	List issued tokens (ids, scopes, status — never the plaintext)
`mcue token rotate <token-id>`	Revoke a token and issue a replacement with the same scope
`mcue token revoke <token-id>`	Revoke a token by id

Identity and diagnostics

Command	Purpose
`mcue identity show`	Print the current operator and machine identity
`mcue identity set`	Override identity fields or add aliases
`mcue doctor`	Print install diagnostics for the local mcue setup
`mcue audit`	Read entries from the local audit log

Migrations

One-off commands for state written by older versions. Safe to ignore on a fresh install.

Command	Purpose
`mcue migrate-lanes`	Scaffold default lane state for pre-lane projects
`mcue migrate-objectives`	Detect and clean up `project_state` objectives polluted by the pre-fix closeout bug

Scoping the portfolio view

mcue index with no arguments is the cross-project glance. Name one or more projects to scope it:

mcue index                             # every active project
mcue index payments-api                # just this one
mcue index payments-api ledger-svc     # several
mcue index payments-api --expand-lanes # with its lanes

Two behaviours worth knowing:

A named project is shown whatever its state, including closed and archived ones that the unscoped view hides. Asking for a project by id means you want to see it.
An unknown id is an error, not an empty table — an empty table would read as "this project has nothing in it" rather than "no such project".

For the fuller picture of one project, including checkpoint detail, use mcue review <project-id> instead.

Commands that touch the network

Worth knowing exactly which ones do, since everything else is guaranteed local:

mcue hub set, mcue login, mcue logout, mcue whoami
mcue publish, mcue clone, mcue sync, mcue observe
every mcue remote subcommand except status
mcue serve only when serving its HTTP surface, and only to clients that reach it

Notably mcue sync status does not — it is deliberately offline so you can check pending work on a plane.