CLI Reference
Reference for the local installer and inspection commands. The CLI is designed to run on the operator's machine, apply bundles idempotently, and avoid pretending support that an adapter does not actually implement.
Core Architecture
The vibebasket CLI works as an idempotent local installer. When a bundle URL or local manifest file is passed, it fetches the manifest, applies only the capabilities the target adapter really supports, skips targets or MCP entries it cannot represent safely, writes backups before mutating known config files when a real config change is required, and verifies the written result when readback is implemented for that target.
Available Commands
vibebasket apply <url|file>The primary command. Accepts a hosted bundle URL or a local JSON manifest file, validates its manifest, and applies each item (MCP servers, skills, rules) to every compatible local adapter. Adapters back up existing config files only when an MCP config mutation is actually needed and merge entries idempotently, so running apply twice is safe. If a target cannot support part of the bundle cleanly, the CLI reports that target as skipped instead of pretending the install succeeded.
Current scope
apply remains the primary install path. Supporting commands such as list, search, doctor, init, and rollback are available today.
apply — Flags
| Flag | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| --force / -f | Boolean | Skips the interactive trust confirmation and lets adapter MCP merges overwrite an existing MCP entry when the same id is already present. |
| --scope / -s | user | project | Overrides the bundle's scope. user installs in home directory, project installs relative to the working directory. |
| --dry-run / -d | Boolean | Previews pending config changes without writing to disk. Shows the target configuration that would be applied. |
| --no-verify | Boolean | Skips the post-install readback checks. Useful only for debugging or unusual local environments where readback is temporarily unreliable. |
Other Commands
vibebasket list
Scans all 24 IDE targets and reports installed MCP servers, skills, and rules per target.
vibebasket search <query>
Searches the VibeBasket catalog from the terminal using the FTS5 full-text index. Returns up to 10 matching items from the hosted catalog across MCPs, Skills, and Rules. The current terminal surface is intentionally lightweight and best for quick catalog discovery rather than full visual browsing.
vibebasket init
Scaffolds a .vibebasket/ workspace structure plus a local .vibebasket.env file template for project-scoped secrets and assets.
vibebasket doctor
Diagnoses the local environment: checks for .vibebasket project structure, inspects adapter config presence, reports MCP counts where readable, and prints a concise environment summary for the current machine.
vibebasket rollback
Opens an interactive restore flow, lets you choose from recent timestamped backups, and then restores the selected adapter config snapshot. For project-scoped backups, run it from the same project root you want to restore into.
vibebasket mcp serve
Runs the local stdio VibeBasket MCP server. This is the IDE-facing surface for catalog search, target guidance, install planning, bundle apply, backup inspection, rollback, and local stack save/load. Cloud stack save is still intentionally routed through the website today.