CLI Commands

Bitloops now has a thin CLI plus a single global user-level daemon service, com.bitloops.daemon.

For breaking changes from the older command model, see the upgrade note.

Global Options

bitloops --version
bitloops --version --check
bitloops --connection-status
bitloops help

Initial Setup

bitloops init

Bootstraps the current project or subproject.

bitloops init
bitloops init --install-default-daemon

Notes:

• Run bitloops start first when the daemon is already configured.
• Use bitloops init --install-default-daemon on a fresh machine when you want init to bootstrap the default daemon service before continuing.
• init treats the current working directory as the Bitloops project root.
• init creates or updates .bitloops.local.toml.
• .bitloops.local.toml is added to .git/info/exclude.
• init installs git hooks plus the selected agent hooks.
• init replaces [agents].supported with the current selection on rerun.
• init triggers daemon-backed schema initialisation and the baseline sync into artefacts_current.
• Use --agent <name> to pin the supported agent set or --skip-baseline when you want hooks and config without the initial baseline ingestion.
• init accepts --telemetry, --telemetry=false, and --no-telemetry.
• First-run telemetry consent belongs to bitloops start when the default daemon config is created for the first time.
• init only prompts for telemetry when the daemon config already existed and consent later became unresolved, for example after a CLI upgrade cleared a previous opt-out.
• In non-interactive mode, unresolved telemetry consent requires an explicit telemetry flag.

bitloops enable

Enables capture in the nearest discovered project policy.

bitloops enable

Notes:

• enable edits the nearest discovered .bitloops.local.toml or .bitloops.toml in place.
• enable only toggles [capture].enabled = true.
• Installed hooks stay in place and resume capturing without reinstallation.
• If no project config is found before the enclosing .git root, Bitloops tells you to run bitloops init.
• enable accepts --telemetry, --telemetry=false, and --no-telemetry.
• enable only prompts for telemetry when the daemon config already existed and consent is unresolved.
• In non-interactive mode, unresolved telemetry consent requires an explicit telemetry flag and Bitloops fails before editing project policy.

bitloops disable

Disables capture in the nearest discovered project policy.

bitloops disable

Notes:

• disable only toggles [capture].enabled = false.
• Hooks and watchers remain installed and become no-ops while capture is disabled.
• Use bitloops uninstall --agent-hooks --git-hooks if you want to remove hooks themselves.

bitloops uninstall

Removes Bitloops-managed artefacts from your machine and, for hook targets, from known repositories.

bitloops uninstall --full
bitloops uninstall --agent-hooks --git-hooks
bitloops uninstall --agent-hooks --git-hooks --only-current-project
bitloops uninstall --config --data --caching

Key flags:

Flag	Meaning
--full	Remove all Bitloops-managed artefacts, including legacy locations
--binaries	Remove recognised bitloops binaries
--service	Remove the daemon service and daemon state metadata
--data	Remove global data and legacy repo-local .bitloops/ data
--caching	Remove the global cache directory
--config	Remove the global config directory and legacy TLS artefacts
--agent-hooks	Remove supported agent hooks
--git-hooks	Remove Bitloops git hooks
--shell	Remove managed shell completion integration
--only-current-project	Limit hook removal to the current repository
--force	Skip confirmation

Notes:

• No flags opens an interactive multi-select picker when running in a TTY.
• In non-interactive environments, you must pass explicit flags.
• disable is a capture toggle. Use uninstall for hook removal or machine-wide cleanup.
• See Uninstalling Bitloops for target-by-target behaviour and caveats.

Daemon Lifecycle

The top-level lifecycle aliases are equivalent to bitloops daemon ....

bitloops start

Starts the Bitloops daemon.

bitloops start
bitloops start --create-default-config
bitloops daemon start
bitloops daemon start -d
bitloops daemon start --until-stopped

Key flags:

Flag	Meaning
-d, --detached	Start the daemon in the background without installing an always-on service
--until-stopped	Install or refresh the global user service and start it
--host	Override the bind host
--port	Override the bind port
--http	Force local HTTP instead of HTTPS
--recheck-local-dashboard-net	Re-run local dashboard TLS and network checks
--bundle-dir	Override the dashboard bundle directory for this run
--config	Use an explicit daemon config file
--create-default-config	Create the default global daemon config plus local default store files before starting
--telemetry, --telemetry=false, --no-telemetry	Set telemetry consent explicitly for this CLI version

Notes:

• In interactive mode, plain start prompts to create the default daemon config when it is missing. Answering yes behaves the same as --create-default-config; answering no returns the usual missing-config error.
• On a fresh machine, bitloops start --create-default-config remains the explicit non-interactive bootstrap path for the default daemon config plus the default SQLite, DuckDB, and blob-store paths.
• When you pass --config and the file does not exist, start fails.
• --create-default-config only works with the default daemon config location. It cannot be combined with --config.
• When start creates the default daemon config and no explicit telemetry flag is present, interactive mode prompts for telemetry consent before the daemon continues.
• In non-interactive mode, creating the default daemon config requires an explicit telemetry flag.

bitloops stop

Stops the daemon. If the global service is installed, Bitloops stops that service-managed runtime.

bitloops stop
bitloops daemon stop

bitloops restart

Restarts the daemon using the same targeting rules as stop.

bitloops restart
bitloops daemon restart

bitloops status

Shows daemon status, URL, config path, PID, and supervisor information.

bitloops status
bitloops daemon status

Typical output:

Bitloops daemon: running
Mode: always-on service
URL: https://127.0.0.1:5667
Config: /Users/alex/.config/bitloops/config.toml
PID: 12345
Supervisor service: com.bitloops.daemon (launchd, installed)
Supervisor state: running

If Bitloops finds legacy repo-local data such as old store directories, status also prints a warning that those paths are ignored unless explicitly configured.

Dashboard

bitloops dashboard

Opens the dashboard in your browser.

bitloops dashboard

Behaviour:

• If the daemon is already reachable, Bitloops opens the existing dashboard URL.
• If the global service is installed but not yet serving the current repo, Bitloops starts it and then opens the dashboard.
• Otherwise Bitloops prompts for foreground, detached, or always-on launch mode.

dashboard is now a launcher only. It is no longer the command that owns the server process.

Capture And History

bitloops checkpoints status

Shows repo-level capture status and the resolved thin-CLI policy.

bitloops checkpoints status
bitloops checkpoints status --detailed

The detailed view includes the discovered policy root and config fingerprint.

Other capture commands

bitloops explain
bitloops rewind
bitloops resume <branch>
bitloops reset
bitloops clean
bitloops doctor

DevQL

DevQL commands now talk to the local daemon over the existing HTTP and GraphQL surface.

Common commands

bitloops devql init
bitloops devql ingest
bitloops devql query "files changed last 7 days"
bitloops devql knowledge ingest github

Highlights:

• devql init initialises the configured relational and event stores
• devql ingest sends ingestion work through the daemon
• devql query uses the local daemon transport rather than in-process GraphQL execution

Completion

Generate shell completion scripts:

bitloops completion bash
bitloops completion zsh
bitloops completion fish