> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://predev.mintlify.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. > ## Agent Instructions > Agents: start with https://docs.pre.dev/agents.md, which has complete recipes, plan access, polling rules, errors and limits. > Authenticate with the workspace API key (pdk_…) from Integrations → Built-in, sent as Authorization: Bearer . > REST API: https://api.pre.dev (OpenAPI: https://docs.pre.dev/api-reference/openapi.json). AI Gateway: https://api.pre.dev/v1, OpenAI-compatible (OpenAPI: https://docs.pre.dev/api-reference/ai-gateway.openapi.json). > pre.dev MCP server: npx -y @predotdev/mcp setup adds it to every local coding agent with every pre.dev tool plus the user's own Chrome; the hosted server is https://api.pre.dev/mcp. Search these docs over MCP at https://docs.pre.dev/mcp. # pre.dev CLI > Use the coding agent in a local project directory. The `predev` CLI reads and edits files in your working directory. It connects that directory to a pre.dev project for conversation history and planning artifacts. ## Install and launch The installer supports macOS and Linux on ARM64 and x64. It requires `curl` and Python 3. ```bash theme={null} curl -fsSL https://pre.dev/install | bash ``` It installs under `~/.predev`, adds `predev` to your shell path, and launches the CLI in an interactive terminal. For installation without launching: ```bash theme={null} curl -fsSL https://pre.dev/install | PREDEV_NO_AUTORUN=1 bash ``` Then run it from your repository: ```bash theme={null} cd my-project predev ``` If your shell has not picked up the PATH change, open a new terminal or run `~/.predev/bin/predev`. ## First run Sign in through the browser when prompted, then return to the terminal. The CLI stores its credential in `~/.predev/auth.json`; `/login` signs in again or switches accounts, and `/logout` signs this machine out. The CLI resolves a project for the directory and resumes it on subsequent launches. A folder with code starts as a full project. A folder without code starts [chat only](https://predev.mintlify.site/cli/chat-only-projects.md): the agent and all its tools, with no keys, database, or file sync until you build something there or type `/project`. Use `predev --new` to create a fresh project association. An existing codebase can be mapped with `/reverse` before you request changes. ```bash theme={null} predev "add an empty state to the reports page" predev open "https://pre.dev/projects/$PROJECT_ID" predev --version predev --help ``` `predev open` brings an existing project, for example one you started on the web, into the current folder: its files are pulled here and it runs on this machine. A chat-only project opens in the folder it last ran in. ## Sign in without a browser Set `PREDEV_API_KEY` to your workspace API key and the CLI signs in with it when the computer has no saved login, as in CI, coding agents and fresh machines. A saved browser login always wins, so exporting the key for the AI Gateway does not change who you are in the CLI. To use the key on a computer with a saved login, run `predev logout` first. Copy the key from **Integrations → Built-in** in the dashboard (the **AI** card). ```bash theme={null} export PREDEV_API_KEY="pdk_..." predev ``` The CLI checks the key with pre.dev when it starts and keeps it in memory only. It never writes the key to `~/.predev/auth.json`. A rejected key stops the CLI with `PREDEV_API_KEY was rejected (revoked or wrong key)` and exit code 2; the CLI does not fall back to the browser. Set the key in your shell or CI environment. The CLI never reads its own settings from a project's `.env` file. The CLI says which identity it is using at startup (the email, never the key). `/login` works as usual, and the saved login it creates wins over the key. ## Run one task without the app `predev run` sends one request to the agent in the current directory, prints the result, and exits. It works on the same project as `predev` in that directory, needs no browser, and never waits for input. ```bash theme={null} predev run "add a health check endpoint with a test" echo "fix the failing test in src/date.test.ts" | predev run predev run --new "scaffold a command-line tool in Go" ``` * With no prompt argument, `predev run` reads the prompt from stdin, to the end of input or until 10 seconds pass without input. `--new` before the prompt creates a fresh project for the directory. * Standard output has one `[predev]` line per step, then the agent's final message. Errors go to standard error. * Before it exits, the command waits up to two minutes for the run's edits to sync to pre.dev, and it stops processes the agent started, such as dev servers. * The run takes the directory's session for this computer, like `predev` does. Afterwards the session stays assigned to this computer and shows as offline on the web, as after quitting `predev`. * The directory as it is on disk is the source of truth. `predev run` pulls the session's files from pre.dev only into a directory that synced this session before, and never when the `CI` environment variable is set, so a CI checkout never picks up files that earlier runs created on other commits. Most CI services set `CI` for you. Jenkins, Azure Pipelines and AWS CodeBuild do not: set `CI=true` there, above all on agents that keep their home directory between jobs. * In CI, the account email in the output is masked. * Parallel jobs that share one checkout path use `predev run --new`, which gives each job its own project. * If the directory's session runs in the cloud or on another computer that is online, or a run is already in progress there, the command exits with code 1 and changes nothing. Open `predev` in the directory (type `/local` to bring a cloud session back), or use `predev run --new`. A session left on a computer that is offline moves to this one, so CI runners with a fresh home directory can run `predev run` every time. * Ctrl-C stops the run. Press it again to quit at once. | Exit code | Meaning | | - | - | | `0` | The run finished. If the agent asked a question, the question follows the final message, with how to answer it. | | `1` | The run failed or was stopped. | | `2` | Not signed in, or `PREDEV_API_KEY` was rejected. | To answer a question, run `predev run ""` in the same directory. The conversation continues from there. ## Work in the terminal The agent decides whether to answer, plan, or build. Use `/sprint ` for a dedicated sprint and `/fork ` for a separate session. `/kanban`, `/roadmap`, and `/arch` open project views in the terminal. `/usage` shows what the project's credits went on, and `/publish` puts the app at its permanent address. Review file changes with `git status` and `git diff`. `/undo` puts the files back the way they were before your last message or sprint, and `/redo` brings the change back. ## Your laptop or the cloud A session you start in the CLI runs on your machine. The web shows the same session, and a message typed there runs on your laptop while the CLI is connected. When the app's dev server is running, the owner can see it live in the web Preview. | Command | Effect | | - | - | | `/cloud` | Syncs this folder up and hands the session to its cloud workspace. Messages you type in the terminal go there. | | `/local` | Pulls the session's latest files into this folder and runs it here again. Files you changed here since the last sync are kept. | | `/status` | Shows where the session runs and which local processes are up | The launcher checks for updates in the background and verifies downloaded releases. A background update can take effect on a later launch; `predev --version` reports the installed version in use. > **[Command reference](https://predev.mintlify.site/cli/commands.md)** > > Commands, launch flags, and integration controls. > **[Use an existing repo](https://predev.mintlify.site/cli/existing-repos.md)** > > Map the architecture and review local changes. 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