CLI Overview
The Dexto CLI provides two ways to interact with AI agents:
| Mode | What It Is | How to Use |
|---|---|---|
| CLI Tool | Terminal commands for managing agents, sessions, and configuration | dexto install, dexto setup, dexto list-agents |
| Interactive Mode | Chat session with slash commands for real-time control | /model switch, /mcp add, /search |
This guide covers the CLI Tool commands. For slash commands available during chat, see Interactive Commands.
What You Can Do
- Talk to any LLM in your terminal or browser
- Create long-lived AI agents with tools, knowledge, and memories
- Deploy agents locally or on the cloud
- Build custom integrations with Discord, Telegram, Slack, etc.
- Scaffold new AI applications with
dexto create-app
Main Command
Basic Usage
# Start interactive session (opens Web UI by default)
dexto
# Start interactive CLI mode
dexto --mode cli
# Run a single prompt (auto-uses CLI mode)
dexto "list files here"
dexto -p "create a snake game"
# Start as API server
dexto --mode server
# Run as MCP server
dexto --mode mcp
Mode Auto-Detection
dexto opens the Web UI by default. When you provide a prompt via -p or as a positional argument, Dexto automatically switches to CLI mode for one-shot execution.
Main Command Options
| Flag | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
-v, --version | Show version | dexto --version |
-a, --agent <id|path> | Use agent ID or path to config file | dexto -a nano-banana-agent |
-p, --prompt <text> | Run single prompt and exit | dexto -p "list files" |
-m, --model <model> | Specify LLM model | dexto -m gpt-5-mini |
-c, --continue | Continue most recent conversation | dexto -c |
-r, --resume <sessionId> | Resume a specific session by ID | dexto --resume my-session |
--mode <mode> | Run mode (web/cli/server/mcp, default: web) | dexto --mode cli |
--port <port> | Server port (default: 3000 for web, 3001 for server mode) | dexto --port 8080 |
--skip-setup | Skip initial setup prompts | dexto --skip-setup |
-s, --strict | Require all MCP servers to connect | dexto --strict |
--no-verbose | Disable verbose output | dexto --no-verbose |
--no-interactive | Disable prompts/setup | dexto --no-interactive |
--no-auto-install | Disable auto agent install | dexto --no-auto-install |
--auto-approve | Auto-approve all tool executions | dexto --auto-approve |
Note: The -a, --agent flag accepts both agent IDs from the registry and paths to agent config files. See the Agent Registry for available agents.
Subcommands
create-app - Scaffold New TypeScript App
Create a new Dexto TypeScript application from scratch.
dexto create-app
This command will:
- Create project structure
- Set up TypeScript configuration
- Prompt for LLM provider and API keys
- Install dependencies
- Generate example files
init-app - Initialize Existing TypeScript App
Add Dexto to an existing TypeScript project.
dexto init-app
Requirements:
- Must have
package.jsonandtsconfig.jsonin current directory
setup - Configure Global Preferences
Configure global Dexto preferences including default LLM provider, model, and agent.
dexto setup
dexto setup --provider openai --model gpt-5-mini
dexto setup --force
Options:
--provider <provider>- LLM provider (openai, anthropic, google, groq, xai, cohere)--model <model>- Model name (uses provider default if not specified)--default-agent <agent>- Default agent name (default: coding-agent)--force- Overwrite existing setup without confirmation--no-interactive- Skip interactive prompts
See Global Preferences for detailed configuration guide.
install - Install Agents
Install agents from the registry or custom YAML files/directories.
# Install single agent from registry
dexto install nano-banana-agent
# Install multiple agents
dexto install podcast-agent coding-agent database-agent
# Install all available agents
dexto install --all
# Install custom agent from file
dexto install ./my-agent.yml
# Install from directory (interactive)
dexto install ./my-agent-dir/
Options:
--all- Install all available agents from registry--force- Force reinstall even if agent is already installed--no-inject-preferences- Skip injecting global preferences into installed agents
See the Agent Registry for available agents.
uninstall - Uninstall Agents
Remove agents from your local installation.
# Uninstall single agent
dexto uninstall nano-banana-agent
# Uninstall multiple agents
dexto uninstall agent1 agent2
# Uninstall all agents
dexto uninstall --all
Options:
--all- Uninstall all installed agents--force- Force uninstall even if agent is protected (e.g., coding-agent)
sync-agents - Sync Agent Configs
Sync installed agents with bundled versions after Dexto updates.
# Check status and prompt for updates
dexto sync-agents
# List what would change (dry run)
dexto sync-agents --list
# Force update all without prompts
dexto sync-agents --force
Options:
--list- Show status without making changes--force- Update all agents without confirmation
When to use: When Dexto shows "Agent updates available" notification after an update, or when you want to reset agents to their default configurations.
list-agents - List Available Agents
List agents from the registry and locally installed agents.
# List all agents (registry + installed)
dexto list-agents
# Show only installed agents
dexto list-agents --installed
# Show only registry agents
dexto list-agents --available
# Show detailed information
dexto list-agents --verbose
Options:
--verbose- Show detailed agent information--installed- Show only installed agents--available- Show only available agents from registry
See the Agent Registry for detailed agent information.
which - Show Agent Path
Display the path to a specific agent's configuration file.
dexto which nano-banana-agent
dexto which coding-agent
session - Manage Sessions
Manage conversation sessions.
session list
List all available sessions.
dexto session list
session history
Show message history for a session.
# Show history for current session
dexto session history
# Show history for specific session
dexto session history my-session-id
session delete
Delete a specific session.
dexto session delete old-session-id
search - Search Session History
Search across all conversation messages in session history.
# Search all sessions
dexto search "bug fix"
# Search in specific session
dexto search "error" --session my-session
# Filter by role
dexto search "help" --role assistant
# Limit results
dexto search "code" --limit 20
Options:
--session <sessionId>- Search in specific session only--role <role>- Filter by role (user, assistant, system, tool)--limit <number>- Limit number of results (default: 10)
mcp - MCP Server Mode
Start Dexto as an MCP server to aggregate and re-expose tools from configured MCP servers.
# Start MCP tool aggregation server
dexto mcp --group-servers
# Start in strict mode
dexto mcp --group-servers --strict
Options:
--group-servers- Aggregate and re-expose tools from configured MCP servers-s, --strict- Require all MCP server connections to succeed--name <name>- MCP server name (default: 'dexto-tools')--version <version>- MCP server version (default: '1.0.0')
Note: In the future, dexto --mode mcp will be moved to this subcommand to expose the agent as an MCP server by default.
Common Usage Patterns
Quick Start
# Interactive session with default settings (opens Web UI)
dexto
# Interactive CLI mode
dexto --mode cli
# Use a specific agent (opens Web UI)
dexto --agent nano-banana-agent
# Start with a specific model (opens Web UI)
dexto -m claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929
One-Shot Prompts
# Run single task and exit (auto-uses CLI mode)
dexto "list all TypeScript files in src/"
dexto -p "create a README for this project"
# With auto-approve for automation
dexto --auto-approve "format all JavaScript files"
# With specific agent
dexto --agent coding-agent "create a landing page for my coffee shop"
# Combine agent, model, and auto-approve
dexto --agent coding-agent -m gpt-5 --auto-approve "build a todo app with React"
Session Continuation
# Continue most recent conversation (opens Web UI)
dexto --continue
# Continue in CLI mode
dexto --continue --mode cli
# Continue with a one-shot prompt, then exit
dexto -c -p "now add error handling"
# Resume specific session (opens Web UI)
# Get session id from the web UI or session list command
dexto --resume my-project-session
# Resume session in CLI mode
dexto --resume my-project-session --mode cli
# Resume and run a one-shot prompt
dexto -r my-project-session "fix the bug we discussed"
Agent Management
# Install agents for specific use cases
dexto install podcast-agent music-agent coding-agent
# Install all available agents
dexto install --all
# List what's installed
dexto list-agents --installed
# Find agent config location
dexto which coding-agent
# Use custom agent file
dexto --agent ./agents/my-custom-agent.yml
Web UI
# Launch on default port (3000)
dexto
# Custom port
dexto --port 8080
# With specific agent
dexto --agent database-agent
API Server
# Start REST + SSE streaming server (default port 3001)
dexto --mode server
# With custom port
dexto --mode server --port 8080
# With specific agent and strict mode
dexto --mode server --agent my-agent --strict
# For production with custom agent
dexto --mode server --agent ./production-agent.yml --port 3001
Content Generation
# Generate podcast content
dexto --agent podcast-agent "create a 5-minute podcast about space exploration"
# Generate images
dexto --agent nano-banana-agent "create a futuristic cityscape"
# Create code with specific instructions
dexto --agent coding-agent "build a REST API with Express and TypeScript"
# Interactive mode for complex tasks
dexto --agent coding-agent
# Then in the UI: "Let's build a full-stack app step by step"
Automation & CI/CD
# Automated code review (no confirmation prompts)
dexto --auto-approve "review all files in src/ and suggest improvements"
# Generate documentation
dexto --auto-approve "create API documentation from the code in src/api/"
# Run tests and analyze results
dexto "run the test suite and explain any failures"
# Git commit message generation
git diff | dexto -p "generate a conventional commit message for these changes"
Multi-Agent Workflows
# Start researcher agent as MCP server (Terminal 1)
dexto --mode mcp --port 4000 --agent researcher-agent
# Start coordinator agent that uses researcher (Terminal 2)
dexto --agent coordinator-agent --port 5000
Search & History
# Search all conversations
dexto search "database schema"
# Search in specific session
dexto search "bug fix" --session my-session-id
# Filter by role
dexto search "error" --role assistant
# View session history
dexto session history my-session-id
Next Steps
- Interactive Commands - Slash commands for chat sessions
- Agent Registry - Browse available agents
- Agent Configuration - Create custom agents
- MCP Integration - Connect external tools and services
- Global Preferences - Configure system-wide defaults