OpenCLIs

OpenCLIs is the package and discovery platform for the Monolex CLI estate. It resolves signed registry/CDN releases, installs first-party and supported GitHub Release tools, tracks local package state, deploys agent skills from each tool’s initiate/ bundle, and registers compatible binaries as MCP servers in AI clients. Published contract: openclis 0.4.18, CDN build 2026-07-15-182615. The executing binary, registry response, and public CDN metadata agree on this release. Registry ownership: the canonical docs_url is this page, the public product homepage is https://openclis.com, and OpenCLIs pairs with NIIA, OpenCLIs Vault, Monogram, and Monosystem. Repository ownership remains monolex/openclis; no public source URL is advertised while that repository is private. Version 0.4.18 keeps native MCP registration as the default and the niia mcp-serve adapter behind an explicit --wrap choice. It adds scoped, non-mutating update plans with the stable openclis.update-plan.v1 JSON schema and makes selected install failures propagate as a non-zero command result.

openclis update still executes immediately unless --dry-run is present. Version 0.4.18 provides a real read-only plan; --json is valid only with --dry-run. Bare update and explicit --all select every installed non-keychain tool, while named tools form an exact scope. --all cannot be combined with explicit tool names.

Quick Start

curl -fsSL https://openclis.com/install.sh | sh

openclis --version
openclis search "code search"
openclis install monogram
openclis list --json
openclis init monogram

Package Commands

Command	What it does	Effect or release boundary
`ensure <tool> [tool...]`	Leaves already available tools alone and installs only missing tools.	Idempotent availability check with installation effects for misses.
`search <query>`	Searches the OpenCLIs registry by name, description, and category.	Registry discovery; does not install.
`install <tool>`	Downloads the current platform artifact, verifies the package contract, installs its binaries, and deploys enabled skills.	Executable and configuration mutation.
`install @github/<owner/repo>`	Installs a supported tool such as ripgrep, fd, bat, jq, or gh from GitHub Releases.	Third-party provenance remains GitHub, not a first-party Monolex build.
`install @official/<tool>` / `@npm/<package>`	Installs an official distribution or npm-backed CLI through its owning source adapter.	Provenance and version semantics remain source-specific.
`update [--all \| <tool>...]` / `upgrade`	Applies available updates to every installed non-keychain tool or an exact named scope.	Executes immediately; `--all` and named tools are mutually exclusive.
`update --dry-run [--json] [--all \| <tool>...]`	Resolves the same scope without installing and reports updates, current tools, unavailable metadata, missing names, and skipped keychain tools.	`--json` emits `openclis.update-plan.v1`; no executable is replaced.
`update --force-downgrade <tool>`	Accepts a registry/CDN version regression as a deliberate rollback.	Destructive version transition; verify artifact and runtime afterward.
`list`	Shows installed package names, versions, builds, binaries, and local state.	Add `--json` for durable inventory automation.
`info <tool>`	Joins installed state with current registry metadata and release history.	Read-only package diagnosis.
`rollback <tool>`	Reinstalls the release pointed to by the package’s public previous-release metadata.	Executable downgrade; verify the resulting version and build.
`uninstall <tool>` / `remove`	Removes the installed package entry and deployed binary links.	Package removal; separately managed external state may remain.
`reinstall <tool>`	Re-deploys cached skills/integration files for an installed tool.	Local integration mutation; it is not a network version upgrade.
`status`	Prints the installed estate and writes `~/.openclis/status.json` plus `status.md`.	Inventory read with generated status-file writes.
`version` / `--version`	Prints the executing OpenCLIs version.	Read-only binary identity.
`license [tool]` / `--license`	Prints the platform EULA or the selected tool’s license information.	Read-only legal metadata.

Installed package metadata, executable payload identity, source-tree version, and public CDN release are separate surfaces. For release verification, check all of these rather than treating openclis list as proof that the executable actually reports the same version.

AI Guide and Skill Deployment

Command	What it does	Output or effect
`init` / `initiate`	Runs the same installed-estate status generation as `status` in 0.4.18.	Writes `~/.openclis/status.json` and `status.md`.
`init <tool>`	Prints the available AI usage guide for one installed package.	Read-only progressive-disclosure surface.
`config get <key>`	Reads one OpenCLIs setting using dot notation.	Read-only.
`config set <key> <value>`	Writes one setting.	Persistent OpenCLIs configuration mutation.

Tools with an initiate/ directory can deploy both SKILL.md and initiate.md. Standard targets are:

Key	Default target
`skill_targets.claude`	`~/.claude/skills/`
`skill_targets.agents`	`~/.agents/skills/`
`skill_targets.gemini`	`~/.gemini/skills/`
`skill_targets.<name>`	Custom target or `false` to disable it
`auto_skill`	Enables or disables automatic deployment during install/update

openclis config set skill_targets.agents true
openclis config set skill_targets.gemini true
openclis config set auto_skill true

MCP Registration

Command	What it does	Effect
`mcp add <tool> --<target>`	Registers the installed tool’s native MCP stdio server in the chosen AI CLI.	Mutates that client’s MCP configuration.
`mcp add <tool> --wrap --<target>`	Registers `niia mcp-serve <tool>` as an explicit adapter instead of the native server.	Adapter choice is visible and intentional.
`mcp remove <tool> --<target>`	Removes that registration.	Client configuration mutation; does not uninstall the tool.
`mcp list [--json]`	Shows registered MCP servers across supported AI CLIs, including transport, scope, command or URL, and adapter mode.	Read-only integration inventory.

openclis mcp add kernel-cli --claude
openclis mcp add monogit --wrap --codex
openclis mcp list --json
openclis mcp remove kernel-cli --claude

Supported targets in 0.4.18 are --claude, --claude-desktop, --gemini, --codex, --opencode, and --crush. Native registration and wrapping are different execution paths; use --wrap only when the adapter is the intended contract. CLI help/schema parity and actual MCP runtime transport are distinct gates. After registration, start the target AI client and call a harmless read-only MCP tool before declaring the integration live.

Account and Vault Commands

Command	What it does	Security effect
`login [api-key]`	Authenticates OpenCLIs and stores the resulting credential.	Avoid exposing positional keys through shell history; prefer the interactive flow.
`whoami`	Shows the authenticated account identity.	Read-only.
`logout`	Revokes authentication and clears the corresponding vault state.	Credential mutation.
`vault store <service>`	Sends stdin to the stable vault helper.	Secret write.
`vault read <service>`	Reads a token through the vault helper.	Secret-bearing stdout; never include in logs.
`vault delete <service>`	Deletes one service credential.	Irreversible credential removal.
`vault list`	Lists service names without printing token values.	Safe inventory view.
`auth read\|write\|delete\|read-json\|write-json <service>`	Provides the lower-level structured credential bridge used by integrations.	Secret-bearing compatibility surface; prefer `vault` for routine human use.

The vault subcommands delegate to the separately released openclis-vault binary so routine OpenCLIs updates do not change the macOS Keychain caller identity.

Direct Tool Wrapper

If a top-level word is not an OpenCLIs built-in, OpenCLIs can resolve it as an installed tool and forward the remaining arguments:

openclis ripgrep --version

The child tool owns its stdout, stderr, exit code, and command semantics. For automation that needs an unambiguous executable identity, invoking the installed binary directly remains the clearer contract.

Release Verification Pattern

command -v openclis
openclis --version
openclis list --json
curl -fsSL https://cdn.openclis.com/openclis/latest.json

For a tool, also run its own --version, --help, doctor/status command, and a real read-only smoke. Registry installation success is only the package layer.

Relationships

Tool	Ownership
OpenCLIs Vault	Stable keychain helper for tokens and shared service credentials
MonoPass	Structured passkey/WebAuthn store rather than general package authentication
NIIA	Uses installed tools for orchestration and can wrap registered MCP services as CLI calls
Monosystem	Uses `openclis.update-plan.v1` for scoped remote plans and applies only behind the target device’s upgrade gate
Kernel CLI	Example dual CLI/MCP package installed and registered by OpenCLIs

Get Started

Articles

So Anthropic

User Guide

Philosophy

Applied Philosophy

Architecture

Gestalt Color

Transparency

Terminal Core

Features

VariableMD

Research

CodexMono

vpncli

MonoSurf

AI-CLIs

OpenCLIs

Quick Start

Package Commands

AI Guide and Skill Deployment

MCP Registration

Account and Vault Commands

Direct Tool Wrapper

Release Verification Pattern

Relationships

​Quick Start

​Package Commands

​AI Guide and Skill Deployment

​MCP Registration

​Account and Vault Commands

​Direct Tool Wrapper

​Release Verification Pattern

​Relationships

Quick Start

Package Commands

AI Guide and Skill Deployment

MCP Registration

Account and Vault Commands

Direct Tool Wrapper

Release Verification Pattern

Relationships