CLI-Anything¶

Development line: project:cli-anything · thread cli-anything-development
Last event: 2026-03-11 · 1 dated since 2026-03-11 · Researched: 2026-09-05 · confidence: high

What it is¶

CLI-Anything is an HKUDS project for two tasks: install an existing CLI via CLI-Hub, or generate a Python/Click harness for open-source software.

• JSON output for machine parsing
• REPL for interactive sessions
• Undo and redo for state rollback
• Tests for harness validation
• SKILL.md for agent integration

CLI-Hub requires Python 3.10+.

Use CLI-Hub for an existing tool. Run the generator when the harness is missing and the target application can be tested locally.

Development line¶

• 2026-03-11 — CLI-Anything GitHub repository surfaced in the agent_tools thread. On 2026-03-11, the HKUDS/CLI-Anything GitHub repository was linked in the agent_tools thread. The link provides a dated reference in the reviewed source. The evidence shows no release, version, feature change, or milestone.

What changed¶

• 2026-03-11 — Zoom harness added as the 11th supported application. A separate post from that day reported 4,4k+ GitHub stars, 9 applications, and 1 436 tests; do not treat these early counts as a permanent catalog or current metric.
• 2026-03-12 — Codex integration added.
• 2026-03-16 — Phase 6.5 added to generate SKILL.md automatically for each harness.
• 2026-03-17 — CLI-Hub launched to search, install, and run ready-made CLIs.
• 2026-03-30 — v0.2.0 reworked HARNESS.md around progressive disclosure.
• 2026-04-18 — SKILL.md files consolidated in the root skills/ directory.
• 2026-04-24 — v0.3.0 added new harness tools, including CloudCompare, IntelWatch, VideoCaptioner, and Slay the Spire II.
• 2026-06-02 — CLI-Anything: Towards Agent-Native Computer Use paper published, defining the shift from screen GUI automation to structured CLIs.
• 2026-06-25 — v0.4.0 added CLI-Matrix, 30 new CLIs, 17 fixes, and four security hardenings.

How to use this¶

As of 2026-03-11, practitioners should treat CLI-Anything as a project requiring source-level evaluation before adoption; the dated link alone provides no verified capability, release, or compatibility claim.

1. For an existing tool, install CLI-Hub with pip install cli-anything-hub. Find it with cli-hub search , inspect it with cli-hub info , install it with cli-hub install , and run cli-hub launch --help. — https://clianything.cc/docs.html
2. For software missing from the catalog, prepare Python 3.10+, source code or an accessible repository, and a supported coding agent. In Claude Code, connect the marketplace and run /cli-anything . — https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything
3. After generation, install the harness from its agent-harness directory with pip install -e .. Check commands with --help and use --json for machine parsing. — https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything

Best practices¶

• Search CLI-Hub for an existing CLI first; use the generator only when the catalog lacks the needed harness. — https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything
• Do not treat a generated CLI as complete after one run: run refine for identified gaps, then validate and test before production use. — https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything
• Install and test the target application: a harness may require GIMP, Blender, LibreOffice, or other upstream software. — https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything
• In automation, use --json and exit codes instead of parsing text output. — https://clianything.cc/docs.html

Superseded by this¶

• 2026-03-11: the early description of the project as 9 applications and 1 436 tests is obsolete. Official project history on that date records Zoom as the 11th harness, and v0.4.0 later added 30 more CLIs.
• 2026-03-11: generating a CLI for every request is obsolete. We now check CLI-Hub first to find and install an existing tool from the catalog.
• 2026-03-11: the lack of a Codex workflow became obsolete on 2026-03-12 with the built-in integration.

Still unknown¶

• The official project log confirms the 2026-03-11 event, but lacks an immutable repository snapshot from the publication moment. Early counts from the secondary source serve only as event context.
• The output schema does not support event_findings and new_events fields; what_changed stores their contents.

Sources¶

Agent brief¶

• Subject: project:cli-anything, thread cli-anything-development, 1 dated events 2026-03-11 → 2026-03-11.
• Practical note: As of 2026-03-11, practitioners should treat CLI-Anything as a project requiring source-level evaluation before adoption; the dated link alone provides no verified capability, release, or compatibility claim.
• Confidence: high. Dated supersedes above are the authority for what is obsolete.