CLI-Anything: Making All Software Agent-Native

CLI-Anything (35k+ stars) is an open-source framework from HKUDS that generates a complete, structured CLI harness for any software target, enabling AI coding agents to control applications like GIMP, Blender, LibreOffice, Obsidian, and 40+ others through deterministic command-line interfaces.

Built on the thesis that tomorrow’s users will be agents: today’s software serves humans via GUIs, but AI agents need structured, composable, self-describing interfaces. CLI-Anything builds that bridge.

Why This Exists

AI agents like Claude Code, Pi, and Codex operate through text commands, but most applications expose GUIs and not CLIs. Without a structured interface, agents resort to fragile hacks like simulating keystrokes or parsing pixel output.

The CLI format solves this: structured JSON output eliminates parsing complexity, --help flags provide auto-discoverable documentation, and commands compose into deterministic multi-step workflows. CLI-Anything generates all of this automatically from a software’s source code, API surface, or executable.

Key Features

🎯 One Command, Full Pipeline

Run a single /cli-anything command and get a complete, tested CLI harness:

/cli-anything ./gimp

This runs a 7-phase pipeline:

Analyze: Scans source code, maps GUI actions to APIs
Design: Architects command groups, state model, output formats
Implement: Builds Click CLI with REPL, JSON output, undo/redo
Plan Tests: Creates TEST.md with unit + E2E test plans
Write Tests: Implements comprehensive test suite
Document: Updates TEST.md with results
Publish: Creates setup.py, installs to PATH

🔄 Iterative Refinement

After the initial build, run /cli-anything:refine <path> [focus] to expand coverage. Each run performs gap analysis and implements new commands, tests, and documentation incrementally and non-destructively.

📦 CLI-Hub Package Manager

CLI-Hub is a central registry for browsing, installing, and managing community-built CLIs:

pip install cli-anything-hub
cli-hub install <name>

The hub supports multiple install sources (pip, npm, brew, bundled/system tools) and a public_registry.json that constantly expands.

🧩 40+ Application Harnesses

CLI-Anything ships with production-grade harnesses for a wide range of software:

Category	Applications
Creative	GIMP, Blender, Krita, Inkscape, Audacity, Shotcut, Kdenlive, MuseScore, Openscreen
Office	LibreOffice, Obsidian, Zotero, Draw.io, Mubu
Dev Tools	n8n, Dify Workflow, Exa, WireMock, ChromaDB, PM2, CloudAnalyzer
Design	FreeCAD, QGIS, Sketch, Godot, RenderDoc
Browser	Safari, Browser CLI, iTerm2
AI / ML	ComfyUI, Ollama, Novita, UniMol Tools, SeaClip
Video	VideoCaptioner, OBS Studio
Other	Zoom, Firefly III, AdGuard Home, IntelWatch, Slay the Spire II, Eth2-Quickstart

🤖 8 Supported Agent Platforms

CLI-Anything integrates with virtually every major AI coding agent:

Platform	Integration Method
Claude Code	`/plugin marketplace add HKUDS/CLI-Anything`
Pi Coding Agent	`.pi-extension` install script
OpenCode	Copy commands to `~/.config/opencode/commands/`
Codex	Skill installer script
OpenClaw	SKILL.md copy to skills directory
Qodercli	Plugin registration script
GitHub Copilot CLI	`copilot plugin install`
Goose	Uses Claude Code provider commands

📋 Structured Output

Every CLI command outputs structured JSON by default, making it trivial for agents to parse, chain, and compose into complex workflows. Human-readable output is also available for debugging.

🔒 Security Hardening

Includes built-in protection against injection attacks (e.g., GIMP Script-Fu path injection fix), with ongoing security reviews as part of the contribution pipeline.

Quick Start

Claude Code (most popular)

# Add the marketplace
/plugin marketplace add HKUDS/CLI-Anything

# Install the plugin
/plugin install cli-anything

# Generate a CLI for any software
/cli-anything ./gimp

Pi Coding Agent

git clone https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything.git
cd CLI-Anything
bash .pi-extension/cli-anything/install.sh

Then /cli-anything ./blender.

OpenCode

cp CLI-Anything/opencode-commands/*.md ~/.config/opencode/commands/
cp CLI-Anything/cli-anything-plugin/HARNESS.md ~/.config/opencode/commands/

Then /cli-anything ./libreoffice.

Codex

bash CLI-Anything/codex-skill/scripts/install.sh

Then “Use CLI-Anything to build a harness for ./gimp”.

Architecture

The generated harness follows a consistent structure:

  <software>/agent-harness/
├── cli/              # Click CLI implementation
├── test/             # Unit + E2E tests
├── cli.py            # Main entry point
├── TEST.md           # Test plan and results
├── SKILL.md          # AI-discoverable skill definition
├── REPL.py           # Interactive REPL mode
└── setup.py          # Package installer

Each generated CLI has:

Click-based CLI with command groups matching the software’s capabilities
REPL mode for interactive agent sessions
JSON output for deterministic agent parsing
Undo/redo for safe multi-step workflows
100+ unit tests with comprehensive coverage

Why This Tool Rocks

One Command: Generate a complete, tested CLI for any software in minutes
35k+ Stars: One of the fastest-growing open-source AI infrastructure projects
40+ Harnesses: Production-grade CLIs for creative, office, dev, and AI tools
8 Platforms: Works with Claude Code, Pi, OpenCode, Codex, OpenClaw, Copilot, Qodercli, Goose
Iterative Refinement: Expand coverage incrementally without breaking existing commands
Structured Output: JSON by default, human-readable on demand
CLI-Hub Registry: Central package manager for browsing and installing CLIs
Community Driven: 634+ commits, 3.4k forks, active daily development from HKUDS and contributors
Open Source: Apache-2.0 license, security-hardened, actively maintained

🔗 GitHub: github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything

🔗 CLI-Hub: hkuds.github.io/CLI-Anything

Crepi il lupo! 🐺