astrale-cli

Astrale CLI

astrale connects to existing Astrale Kernels. It selects an instance and identity, performs graph reads and mutations, invokes callables, installs running domains, reads the Kernel journal, and opens authenticated views.

The rendered command help is authoritative for flags and defaults:

astrale --help
astrale <command> --help

• Binary: astrale
• Package: @astrale-os/cli
• Runtime: Node 22 or newer; source development defaults to Node 26 and also supports Node 24 and Bun
• Dev entrypoint: bun cli/bin/astrale.ts <command>

Command Surface

Primary commands:

astrale status
astrale whoami
astrale use <name>
astrale get <target>
astrale query [sources...]
astrale introspect <origin-or-path>
astrale mutate
astrale call <path> [key=value...]
astrale token
astrale logs
astrale view [target-or-view]
astrale ui ...
astrale instance ...
astrale domain ...
astrale identity ...
astrale auth ...
astrale idp ...
astrale admin ...

Kernel-touching commands share --format, --json, --raw, --url, -i/--instance, --timeout, --as, --creds, --anonymous, and --debug where applicable. The CLI creates one public Kernel Call, and its Client session owns remote routing, fresh credentials, and one safe stale-route retry.

astrale ui is local project tooling and takes no Kernel, instance, identity, or credential options, except astrale ui request, which is an authenticated Kernel command and takes the shared Kernel options.

Use --anonymous to omit a caller credential even when a local or bookmark-default identity exists. It cannot be combined with --as or --creds; required callables reject anonymous requests.

UI Projects

Astrale UI is one tree-shakeable runtime package plus consumer-owned pattern, block, and theme source. Initialize a React and Tailwind CSS v4 project with the exact published UI release:

astrale ui init --preset astrale
astrale ui search "editable chart with export"
astrale ui request "accessible async combobox with creation"
astrale ui add pattern/chart/line-basic
astrale ui add theme/observatory
astrale ui add ./my-playground-export.css
astrale ui doctor
astrale ui doctor --project ./apps/web
astrale ui preset apply compact

Initialization writes Base UI + Nova shadcn configuration, theme and preset CSS imports, and astrale-ui.lock.json. The lock records the exact package version, Git tag, resolved commit SHA, shadcn version, Base UI version, preset, and hashes of installed source. Registry metadata, included manifests, and item files are always read from that single commit snapshot.

Run astrale ui add without item arguments for an interactive picker. In CI, provide canonical addresses explicitly. Ordinary add refuses locally edited installed files; review those files, then use --overwrite --yes only when replacement is intentional. --dry-run leaves project files and the lock unchanged. Use astrale ui search <free-text> --json to receive a short ranked candidate list with exact demo code and its command or runtime packageImport.

Use astrale ui request <free-text> when search does not satisfy the need. It calls /:ui.astrale.ai:function.request on the selected instance with one bounded intent (1-512 characters) and prints the returned receipt: { state: "submitted", requestId, collaborationUrl } or { state: "pending" | "outcome-unknown" | "failed" | "conflict", requestId }.

Patterns, blocks, and themes are application-owned source after installation. A theme is copied to components/astrale/theme/ and activated through one relative import in the configured host stylesheet; local playground exports require no registry fetch or shadcn invocation. Composition root className, inline style, controlled values/actions, and stable data-slot anatomy remain open to the host. The package owns reusable runtime behavior; neither the CLI nor the SDK embeds the UI package or Base UI.

Paths

Use canonical Kernel Paths:

Static dispatch uses one colon before the method. Instance dispatch uses :: followed by the complete Domain-qualified Method key. Discover methods with astrale introspect <origin> --bundle. Introspection can use a Class receiver to inspect an instance contract; calling it requires an observed instance Path. @self is expanded by the CLI before signing when it appears at the head of a call Path or a bare key=@self value. It is not rewritten inside --data, stdin JSON, URLs, or arbitrary substrings.

astrale get @self --json
astrale introspect /:notes.example:class.Note::notes.example:class.Note.method.archive
astrale call /:blog.example:class.Author:list limit=10
astrale call /:admin.astrale.ai:core.fleet::admin.astrale.ai:class.Fleet.method.listInstances

Instances And Domains

astrale instance combines admin-provisioned instances and local bookmarks:

astrale instance create my-app
astrale instance root import development --yes
astrale instance invite my-app person@example.com
astrale instance invitation status @invitation-id
astrale instance status my-app
astrale instance status staging --bookmarked
astrale instance list --include-retired --admin-only --json
astrale instance use my-app
astrale instance bookmark staging --url https://kernel.example.com
astrale instance forget staging

Use explicit -i <instance> in scripts. instance delete affects an admin-managed instance; instance forget removes only the local bookmark. instance status reports Admin-owned lifecycle by default; add --bookmarked to probe one local bookmark's exact issuer, JWKS, and TLS trust instead. instance invite requires authority to manage the exact Instance and grants only Instance member access. It returns the durable Invitation immediately; Admin automatically materializes child Shell access after WorkOS acceptance. instance invitation status <id> performs one read-only observation of the retained Invitation. completed means access is materialized; accepted, registering, and registered are intermediate states, not completed access. The command requires the exact Invitation id and does not change its state. instance invitation reconcile <id> is diagnostic recovery, not the normal invitation journey. Without a deployed Admin Domain, astrale instance list cannot fetch managed instances (key-backed identities have no Admin token). Use astrale instance list --bookmarked.

Fleet administrators may add --include-retired to the ordinary Admin inventory. The default excludes retired tombstones; included retired Instances use the same output shape and are identified by terminal state: "deleted". The optional issuer is present only when Admin has retained exact evidence. Unreachable does not mean retired. Add --admin-only when local bookmarks should be omitted from the machine-readable envelope.

instance create provisions through the configured Admin Domain with a WorkOS caller; Admin owns Host placement. Neither instance create nor instance root import accepts --host.

instance root import <slug-or-id> retrieves the target owned Instance's root signing identity through Admin over an end-to-end encrypted, one-use transfer. It imports that identity locally as <slug>-root, not the Admin or Host root identity. Use --admin <bookmark> or --admin-url <url> to select another Admin endpoint. Recovery requires --yes in automation, replaces an existing key-backed identity with that name, and refuses to overwrite an IdP-backed identity.

Root import preserves the active instance and keeps the human Admin identity as the Instance bookmark's default. Select the imported root explicitly with --as:

astrale instance root import development --yes
astrale get @self -i development --as development-root --json

Use an authorized human identity for the import; development-root is available for subsequent Instance calls after recovery. Root success proves execution, not an application user's access Policy.

The CLI is connect-only: it does not build or run domains. The SDK's astrale-domain binary owns dev, build, deploy, lint, package, and test workflows. Project Environments select exact deployment and optional installation targets; they do not use the CLI's active instance.

astrale domain install has two modes:

• Default: install a published catalog origin or URL through the admin control

plane onto an admin-managed instance.

• --direct: call the public Kernel install syscall with a running domain URL.

This works for any instance you can authenticate to and owns the explicit identity-override consent prompt.

astrale domain install crm.example -i staging
astrale domain install https://crm.example --direct -i staging
astrale domain uninstall crm.example -i staging
astrale domain uninstall app.example shared.example --destructive -i staging

A replacement cannot change an installed Domain issuer. If that identity change is intentional, uninstall the origin first and then install it again. Uninstall accepts one or more origins and removes the complete selected set atomically, so dependencies inside that set are allowed. Safe mode is the default and never deletes application data. --destructive deletes application facts whose concrete Class belongs to a selected Domain; it does not cascade into unselected Domains. Surviving dependents and surviving foreign Edges that reference selected Nodes still block the complete operation. Type the canonical Domain list interactively, or pass --yes in automation.

Bookmarks retain their own TLS trust (--ca). instance use probes OIDC and JWKS with that exact CA. If two bookmarks point to the same normalized URL with different CA settings, the CLI warns and instance list --bookmarked --json shows each bookmark's caFile, issuer, and default identity.

A deployment-only Publication change does not require reinstalling the Domain. Reinstall only when installation or Schema intent changes.

Identity And Delegation

astrale auth login stores an IdP-backed identity. astrale identity create creates a local key identity. Registration targets an existing Identity Node; it never creates a Node, changes business properties, assigns a Group, or replaces the local identity or its keypair:

astrale identity create alice
astrale identity register alice \
  --node @existing-user-id \
  -i staging

The Kernel assigns Node IDs. They are returned by reads and creation results and can be reused through the @node-id Path form; do not derive application meaning from their contents. The primary self credential is signed for the target Kernel audience. Register checks the caller's authority on the existing Node. When a Domain callable supplies that authority, optionally name it with --via; the CLI sends the same request and verifies the returned Node and Authentication. No Domain callback is required when the direct caller already has authority:

astrale identity register operator \
  --node @existing-operator-id \
  --via /:operations.example:function.registerOperator \
  -i staging

astrale token issues an audience-bound credential for the selected authenticated identity. When the audience is the target Kernel issuer (the default), it mints a top-level Grant credential that can be reused with --creds. A different --audience creates a delegated service envelope for that receiver instead. TTL defaults to 240 seconds so ordinary tokens remain short beneath the one-hour local operator proof; an explicit TTL still cannot outlive the selected source credential. Use --raw for shell assignment.

TOKEN=$(astrale token --raw -i staging)
astrale call /:notes.example:class.Note:list --creds "$TOKEN" -i staging

astrale auth token is different: it prints the cached upstream IdP token.

Graph Reads

get

get reads one exact canonical Node:

{ "id": "node-id", "class": "notes.example:class.Note", "props": {} }

The structured Node result is exactly { id, class, props }.

astrale get @note --json
astrale get /:notes.example:class.Note
astrale get /:kernel.astrale.ai --schema

Method Paths identify callables rather than Nodes; use call to invoke them or introspect to inspect their Schema. Schema-valued properties are omitted unless --schema is passed.

introspect

introspect reads the Kernel Schema syscall for one installed Domain.

astrale introspect kernel.astrale.ai
astrale introspect /:kernel.astrale.ai --bundle
astrale introspect /:kernel.astrale.ai:class.Identity:whois
astrale introspect @note::notes.example:class.Note.method.archive

A method or Function Path projects its input/output from the installed bundle. An instance Method's qualified key selects the schema even with an @id receiver; introspection neither reads nor invokes that receiver. A bare @id has no schema origin.

query

query executes canonical astrale.graph.query/v6. Its structured result is { kind: "graph", graph: { nodes, edges }, page?: { next } }; pass the opaque page.next value to --cursor until it is absent.

• Positional Paths create Path source terms.
• --class <path> selects Nodes implementing one exact Class.
• --edge <class> adds one exact expansion; direction is outgoing,

incoming, or incident.

• --limit is finite and defaults to 100.
• --cursor resumes the same caller-bound query scope.
• --ast and --file admit a complete canonical Query V6 document.

astrale query /:notes.example:class.Note --limit 50 --json
astrale query --class /:notes.example:class.Note --limit 50 --json
astrale query @note \
  --edge /:notes.example:class.references \
  --direction outgoing --limit 25 --json
astrale query --file query.v6.json --cursor "$CURSOR"

Use query with --edge for an exact neighborhood.

Mutations

astrale mutate accepts canonical astrale.graph.mutation/v3 or its exact { preconditions, operations } authoring input from --data, --file, or stdin. The transition is atomic. --dry admits and prints the canonical document without opening a Kernel connection. The result is { createdNodes }.

astrale mutate --file mutation.v3.json --dry
astrale mutate --file mutation.v3.json

Calls

astrale call creates one Path-targeted Call. Input priority is --data, key=value, piped stdin, then {}. --dry-run admits the Path and prints the call input. Value, binary, and stream results are handled explicitly, and --output writes binary data. A streaming binary is drained with backpressure while the command-scoped Client session is live, then presented through the same raw/file/JSON paths as buffered binary. JSON preserves application status and encodes the body as text or base64. Callable input/output is astrale introspect <path>.

astrale call /:blog.example:class.Author:list limit=10
astrale call /:blog.example:class.Author:create \
  --data '{"name":"Ada"}' --json
astrale call /:assets.example:class.Asset:render id=123 --output asset.png

Top-level key=value values coerce booleans, null, numbers, arrays, and objects. Use --data for nested or digits-only string values.

Journal

astrale logs reads the public Kernel journal syscall and returns { records, cursor? }. Filters match exact values; use --topic-prefix for prefix matching:

astrale logs -i staging --limit 50
astrale logs --topic op:function.failed
astrale logs --topic-prefix op:function. --follow

Use --principal, --since, --until, or an opaque --cursor as needed. --follow retains one Client session and advances only with returned cursors. Structured output retains the admitted correlation object, including invocation root and parent identifiers, and includes correlationId as a projection of invocationId. With --json, --follow emits NDJSON with one complete admitted record per line; combining --format yaml with --follow is rejected.

Views And Browser Sessions

astrale view opens one resolved View through a local browser shell:

astrale view @customer --list
astrale view @customer --snapshot
astrale view /:crm.example:view.dashboard --target @customer
astrale view --sessions
astrale view --close <session-id>

astrale browser prepares a persistent authenticated GUI browser profile. Use astrale browser --check to verify it, then drive the printed profile with agent-browser.

Output And Automation

• TTY defaults are human-readable.
• --json emits one JSON document for finite commands; logs --follow emits an NDJSON stream.
• --raw unwraps scalars and writes raw binary bytes.
• --format yaml|json selects finite structured rendering; logs --follow supports JSON/NDJSON only.
• Use --ci --no-prompt for automation.
• Use explicit -i, --as, and --timeout rather than ambient state.
• Pipe large JSON through stdin; command-line argument size is limited by the

operating system.

Debugging

Start with:

astrale status
astrale instance active
astrale auth status
astrale whoami

Add --debug for full Kernel error diagnostics. Missing and authorization-masked Nodes are intentionally indistinguishable. A Path also needs access to its intermediate nodes and edges: an observed Node may be readable by @id or a Class query while its Domain-rooted Path is unavailable. Check -i and --as; this alone does not prove corrupt data. Use introspect for callable schemas.

Storage

State lives under ASTRALE_HOME, or ~/.astrale by default:

config.json
instances.json
identities.json
idps/
idp-sessions/
keys/
browser.json
browser/

Optional roots are ASTRALE_HOME, ASTRALE_KEYS_DIR, and ASTRALE_DATA_DIR.

Source Map

• Entry: cli/bin/astrale.ts
• Program and shared options: cli/src/program/
• Public Kernel connection boundary: cli/src/connection/
• Query/Mutation document preparation: cli/src/graph/
• Commands: cli/src/commands/
• Shared presentation and local stores: cli/src/lib/
• Studio bridge: cli/studio/server/
• Tests: owner-local __tests__/ directories