CLI Commands Reference

The Anchors CLI provides an integrated toolchain for managing the lifecycle, quality gates, dependency graph, and AI agent coordination.

Below is the complete reference of all commands organized by functional domain.

1. Quality & Verification Pipeline

Commands used to evaluate code, verify quality gates, and assess project health:

Command	Usage	Description	Detailed Guide
`check`	`anchors check [--all]`	Runs declared quality gates against staged or modified files.	Guide: check
`verify`	`anchors verify`	Runs EVERYTHING required for the phase: internal gates + external tools.	Guide: check
`doctor`	`anchors doctor [--verbose]`	Complete X-ray of project health, orphaned artifacts, and systemic drift.	Guide: doctor
`audit`	`anchors audit <file>`	Generates a focused dossier of pending items for a single file or module.	Guide: doctor
`test`	`anchors test`	Executes declared test suites and binds raw test results to graph nodes.	Guide: check
`mutation`	`anchors mutation`	Runs mutation testing engines and ingests mutant survival scores.	Gate: mutation-score
`coverage`	`anchors coverage`	Reports test coverage by scenario, line, and diff delta.	Gate: line-coverage
`judge`	`anchors judge <gate>`	Records AI evaluation verdicts for synthetic judgment gates.	AI Judgment
`review`	`anchors review <target> --gate <g> --by <who>`	Records a second look at a target of a reviewed gate, with its findings; `--pending` lists what is to review.	Guide: review

Commands that inspect, modify, and calculate relationships in anchors.graph.yaml:

Command	Usage	Description	Detailed Guide
`map`	`anchors map <build\|show>`	Operates the dependency graph; inspects nodes and directional edges.	Guide: map
`impact`	`anchors impact <target>`	Computes the downstream impact wave if the given file or spec changes.	Guide: map
`stale`	`anchors stale`	Lists stale edges: dependencies whose upstream changed without reconfrontation.	Propagation
`code`	`anchors code <layer>`	Generates the next sequential unique identity code (e.g. `AUTH-B03`).	Traceability
`recode`	`anchors recode <old> <new>`	Atomically renames an identity code across specs, features, tests, and code.	Guide: map
`stamp`	`anchors stamp <file>`	Writes missing `@contract` verification stamps on test doubles.	Gate: mock-stamped
`failures`	`anchors failures`	Audits observed test failures that are not yet cataloged in specifications.	Gate: failure-declared
`compliance`	`anchors compliance`	Evaluates regulatory status: how many nodes subject vs. how many comply.	Gate: obligation-honored
`governs`	`anchors governs`	Displays which files each doctrine guide governs across the codebase.	Product Doctrine

Commands that power continuous AI pair programming via background queues:

Command	Usage	Description	Detailed Guide
`watch`	`anchors watch`	Background filesystem watcher that detects edits and enqueues tasks.	Guide: flow
`queue`	`anchors queue`	Lists active tasks in the queue waiting to be processed by a worker.	Guide: flow
`next`	`anchors next`	Claims and pulls the next scheduled task from the queue.	Guide: flow
`work`	`anchors work <target>`	Emits an optimized instruction prompt for a specific task stage.	Guide: flow
`deliver`	`anchors deliver`	Records stage delivery and triggers automated peer confrontation.	Guide: flow
`done`	`anchors done <task-id>`	Closes claimed tasks and moves them into historical archive.	Guide: flow
`discard`	`anchors discard <task-id>`	Takes a card off the board without permanently deleting its metadata.	Guide: flow
`drop`	`anchors drop <task-id>`	Immediately drops a task from the queue without archiving.	Guide: flow
`reclaim`	`anchors reclaim`	Returns tasks claimed by dead or disconnected workers back to the queue.	Guide: flow
`suggest`	`anchors suggest`	Lists, applies, or rejects proposed automated code fixes.	Guide: flow
`escalate`	`anchors escalate`	Opens an issue when a task requires human intervention or spec change.	Guide: flow
`unblock`	`anchors unblock`	Opens a work card to resolve an item parked in `needs-user` status.	Guide: flow
`decided`	`anchors decided <card>`	Releases an escalated card after a human decision has been made.	Guide: flow

Commands for initializing, configuring, and freezing the repository:

Command	Usage	Description	Detailed Guide
`init`	`anchors init`	Interactive setup wizard to configure `anchors.yaml` and discover layers.	Guide: init
`new`	`anchors new <kind>`	Generates skeleton files (spec, feature, test, plan) per layer standards.	Guide: init
`freeze`	`anchors freeze`	Freezes the repository: stops all work until explicitly thawed.	Guide: freeze
`thaw`	`anchors thaw`	Unfreezes the project and resumes normal development.	Guide: freeze
`install-hooks`	`anchors install-hooks`	Installs the git `pre-commit` hook to enforce quality gates on stage.	Guide: init
`changelog`	`anchors changelog`	Generates a clean technical changelog from commits release by release.	Project Pillars
`commit-msg`	`anchors commit-msg`	Validates git commit messages against format expected by changelog.	Gate: header-valid
`migrate`	`anchors migrate`	Upgrades legacy Anchors configuration files to the current syntax.	The anchors.yaml
`settings`	`anchors settings`	Configures local agent-specific options without polluting repo git config.	Guide: init
`guide`	`anchors guide`	Prints self-contained machine guides intended for AI agents to digest.	Core Concepts
`board`	`anchors board [--live]`	Publishes or serves the live web Kanban board of project state.	Guide: flow