Command reference

Every command, in both surfaces — the m-shell (slash commands) and the CLI (one-shot, scriptable). Most actions exist in both.

Excalibur has two surfaces over one engine: the interactive m-shell (slash commands + natural language) and the CLI (one-shot, scriptable — for hooks, scripts and CI). Most actions exist in both.

Natural language is the default in the m-shell — you rarely need a slash command. They're there for explicit control and autocompletion.

Slash commands (m-shell)

Build & ask

Command	What it does
(natural language)	Routes intent → assist · run · Discovery · careful
`/ask <question>`	L1 — answer with repo context
`/review`	L0 — read & critique, no changes
`/patch <task>`	L2 — a small, reviewable patch
`/run <task>`	L3 — build the change in a branch
`/plan <task>`	Produce a plan to approve before it runs
`/swarm <task>`	Fan out to parallel agents (independent subtasks)
`/explore <task>`	Run rival approaches in parallel, compare
`/bg <task>` · `/threads`	Run in the background · list the fleet (⏸ paused runs are resumable)
`/scope <task>`	Read-only map: subsystems · built-vs-missing · risks
`/discovery <idea>`	Decide what — or whether — to build
`/models` · `/agent`	Pick the model pair · switch the active agent persona

Steer the run

Command	What it does
`/model [id]`	Show or switch the active model
`/workflow [name]`	Show or set the workflow
`/level <0–4>`	Set autonomy for the next turn
`/agents <n>`	Cap the swarm size (optional)
`/diff`	Show the accumulated diff
`/cost`	Tokens & cost so far
`/status`	Repo config, provider, safety preset

Time & memory

Command	What it does
`/rewind` (alias `/replay`)	Time machine — scrub the run, fork from any step
`/undo` · `/redo`	Revert / reapply the last change group
`/compact [hint]`	Summarize context now (also automatic)
`/remember <note>`	Save a decision to project memory
`/continue` · `/resume`	Resume a previous session
`/clear`	Clear the conversation
`/export` · `/copy`	Export the session / copy the last reply

Run it for you

Command	What it does
`/goal <condition>`	Iterate until a condition is met (autonomous loop)
`/loop [interval]`	Re-run a prompt on a schedule until done/cancel

Extend & connect

Command	What it does
`/extensions`	List / manage extensions
`/help`	List available commands
`/login` · `/connect` · `/sync`	Enterprise: auth, pull team config, push runs

Special input

Syntax	What it does
`!<command>`	Run a shell command (passthrough)
`@<file>`	Attach a file's fresh contents
`#<symbol>`	Reference a code symbol

Any prompt_template you define (per-user or per-repo) becomes its own /command, with $1 / $ARGUMENTS placeholders. See Extensions.

CLI commands (programmatic)

For scripts, git hooks and CI — everything the shell does, one-shot.

Core

Command	What it does
`excalibur`	Open the m-shell
`excalibur new [name]`	Create a new project (dir + `git init` + scaffold)
`excalibur init [--team / --full]`	Scaffold `.excalibur/` (optional)
`excalibur ask "<q>"` · `explain`	L1 — answer
`excalibur review [--diff]`	L0 — critique
`excalibur patch "<task>"` then `apply` / `branch` / `reject`	L2 — patch
`excalibur run "<task>"`	L3 — build in a branch
`excalibur scope "<task>"`	Read-only scope map — subsystems · built-vs-missing · risks (`--json` · `--angles <n>`)
`excalibur discovery "<idea>" [--from-file <p>]`	Discovery

run flags: --fast · --careful (L4) · --structured · --explore · --level <0–4> · --max-agents <n> · --workflow <name>

Orchestrate & automate

Command	What it does
`excalibur mission "<goal>"`	Auto-plan + drive the whole cycle from a goal — `--budget <usd>` · `--pr`. See Missions
`excalibur swarm "<task>"`	Fan out to parallel agents in isolated worktrees (verified fan-in)
`excalibur explore "<task>"`	Best-of-N — run rival approaches, keep the winner
`excalibur orchestrate [--spec <name>] [--resume]`	Re-run / resume a parallel run, or run an authored DAG spec
`excalibur orchestration` (alias `chronogram`)	Watch a swarm as a live wave/DAG chronogram (`--pause` / `--resume`)
`excalibur schedule add "<every 2h\|at 09:00>" "<task>"`	Autonomous scheduled jobs (`list` / `remove` / `run`)

Dashboard & connect

Command	What it does
`excalibur serve [--write] [--share]`	Local token-gated web dashboard (kanban, runs, cost, live orchestration)
`excalibur share <run-id>`	Export a run as a self-contained shareable HTML file
`excalibur work-items`	Native local kanban / work items
`excalibur web` · `search` · `research "<q>"`	Governed web fetch / search / cited multi-source research
`excalibur mcp`	Manage MCP servers (add from the signed registry, auth)
`excalibur acp`	ACP server over stdio — the bridge for the VS Code / Cursor / Windsurf extension

Inspect & history

Command	What it does
`excalibur status` · `logs` · `doctor`	State & diagnostics
`excalibur rewind <run-id>` (alias `replay`)	Time machine
`excalibur changes <run-id>` · `fork <instr>` · `undo`	Changed files · fork from a step · revert a run
`excalibur insights` · `plans` · `stats`	Cross-run cost / token / outcome lenses
`excalibur verify`	Adversarial verification mesh over a run's changes
`excalibur theme`	Switch / load a TUI theme
`excalibur daily` · `weekly-plan`	Local activity reports
`excalibur pr-summary` · `pr-create`	PR artifacts (uses `gh`)

Configure

Command	What it does
`excalibur models list / setup`	Models & providers
`excalibur workflows list / explain <w>`	Workflows
`excalibur methodologies list`	Methodologies
`excalibur instructions scan / list / inspect / enable / disable / import / doctor`	Instruction discovery (ISD)
`excalibur skills list / inspect / enable / disable`	Skills
`excalibur extensions list / validate / create / enable / disable / install / doctor`	Extensions

Enterprise

Command	What it does
`excalibur login`	Device-auth — bind the CLI to your user
`excalibur connect`	Pull team models, policies, workflows, defaults
`excalibur sync`	Push runs & events (opt-in)

The m-shell — the interactive experience in depth.
Autonomy levels — what /level and --level control.