Roo-Code/apps/cli/README.md

@roo-code/cli

Command Line Interface for Roo Code - Run the Roo Code agent from the terminal without VSCode.

Overview

This CLI uses the @roo-code/vscode-shim package to provide a VSCode API compatibility layer, allowing the main Roo Code extension to run in a Node.js environment.

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

Install the Roo Code CLI with a single command:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RooCodeInc/Roo-Code/main/apps/cli/install.sh | sh

Requirements:

• Node.js 20 or higher
• macOS Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Linux x64

Custom installation directory:

ROO_INSTALL_DIR=/opt/roo-code ROO_BIN_DIR=/usr/local/bin curl -fsSL ... | sh

Install a specific version:

ROO_VERSION=0.1.0 curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RooCodeInc/Roo-Code/main/apps/cli/install.sh | sh

Updating

Re-run the install script to update to the latest version:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RooCodeInc/Roo-Code/main/apps/cli/install.sh | sh

Or run:

roo upgrade

Uninstalling

rm -rf ~/.roo/cli ~/.local/bin/roo

Development Installation

For contributing or development:

# From the monorepo root.
pnpm install

# Build the main extension first.
pnpm --filter roo-cline bundle

# Build the CLI.
pnpm --filter @roo-code/cli build

Usage

Interactive Mode (Default)

By default, the CLI auto-approves actions and runs in interactive TUI mode:

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-v1-...

roo "What is this project?" -w ~/Documents/my-project

You can also run without a prompt and enter it interactively in TUI mode:

roo -w ~/Documents/my-project

In interactive mode:

• Tool executions are auto-approved
• Commands are auto-approved
• Followup questions show suggestions with a 60-second timeout, then auto-select the first suggestion
• Browser and MCP actions are auto-approved

Approval-Required Mode (--require-approval)

If you want manual approval prompts, enable approval-required mode:

roo "Refactor the utils.ts file" --require-approval -w ~/Documents/my-project

In approval-required mode:

• Tool, command, browser, and MCP actions prompt for yes/no approval
• Followup questions wait for manual input (no auto-timeout)

Print Mode (--print)

Use --print for non-interactive execution and machine-readable output:

# Prompt is required
roo --print "Summarize this repository"

# Create a new task with a specific session ID (UUID)
roo --print --create-with-session-id 018f7fc8-7c96-7f7c-98aa-2ec4ff7f6d87 "Summarize this repository"

Stdin Stream Mode (--stdin-prompt-stream)

For programmatic control (one process, multiple prompts), use --stdin-prompt-stream with --print. Send NDJSON commands via stdin:

printf '{"command":"start","requestId":"1","prompt":"1+1=?"}\n' | roo --print --stdin-prompt-stream --output-format stream-json

# Optional: provide taskId per start command
printf '{"command":"start","requestId":"1","taskId":"018f7fc8-7c96-7f7c-98aa-2ec4ff7f6d87","prompt":"1+1=?"}\n' | roo --print --stdin-prompt-stream --output-format stream-json

Options

Option	Description	Default
[prompt]	Your prompt (positional argument, optional)	None
--prompt-file <path>	Read prompt from a file instead of command line argument	None
--create-with-session-id <session-id>	Create a new task using the provided session ID (UUID)	None
-w, --workspace <path>	Workspace path to operate in	Current directory
-p, --print	Print response and exit (non-interactive mode)	false
--stdin-prompt-stream	Read NDJSON control commands from stdin (requires --print)	false
-e, --extension <path>	Path to the extension bundle directory	Auto-detected
-d, --debug	Enable debug output (includes detailed debug information, prompts, paths, etc)	false
-a, --require-approval	Require manual approval before actions execute	false
-k, --api-key <key>	API key for the LLM provider	From env var
--provider <provider>	API provider (anthropic, openai, openrouter, etc.)	openrouter
-m, --model <model>	Model to use	anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
--mode <mode>	Mode to start in (code, architect, ask, debug, etc.)	code
--terminal-shell <path>	Absolute shell path for inline terminal command execution	Auto-detected shell
-r, --reasoning-effort <effort>	Reasoning effort level (unspecified, disabled, none, minimal, low, medium, high, xhigh)	medium
--consecutive-mistake-limit <n>	Consecutive error/repetition limit before guidance prompt (0 disables the limit)	10
--ephemeral	Run without persisting state (uses temporary storage)	false
--oneshot	Exit upon task completion	false
--output-format <format>	Output format with --print: text, json, or stream-json	text

Environment Variables

The CLI will look for API keys in environment variables if not provided via --api-key:

Provider	Environment Variable
anthropic	ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
openai-native	OPENAI_API_KEY
openrouter	OPENROUTER_API_KEY
gemini	GOOGLE_API_KEY
vercel-ai-gateway	VERCEL_AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐
│   CLI Entry     │
│   (index.ts)    │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  ExtensionHost  │
│  (extension-    │
│   host.ts)      │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
    ┌────┴────┐
    │         │
    ▼         ▼
┌───────┐  ┌──────────┐
│vscode │  │Extension │
│-shim  │  │ Bundle   │
└───────┘  └──────────┘

How It Works

1. CLI Entry Point (index.ts): Parses command line arguments and initializes the ExtensionHost

2. ExtensionHost (extension-host.ts):

   • Creates a VSCode API mock using @roo-code/vscode-shim
   • Intercepts require('vscode') to return the mock
   • Loads and activates the extension bundle
   • Manages bidirectional message flow

3. Message Flow:

   • CLI → Extension: emit("webviewMessage", {...})
   • Extension → CLI: emit("extensionWebviewMessage", {...})

Development

# Run directly from source (no build required)
pnpm dev --provider openrouter --api-key $OPENROUTER_API_KEY --print "Hello"

# Run tests
pnpm test

# Type checking
pnpm check-types

# Linting
pnpm lint

Releasing

Official releases are created via the GitHub Actions workflow at .github/workflows/cli-release.yml.

To trigger a release:

1. Go to Actions → CLI Release
2. Click Run workflow
3. Optionally specify a version (defaults to package.json version)
4. Click Run workflow

The workflow will:

1. Build the CLI on all platforms (macOS Apple Silicon, Linux x64)
2. Create platform-specific tarballs with bundled ripgrep
3. Verify each tarball
4. Create a GitHub release with all tarballs attached

Local Builds

For local development and testing, use the build script:

# Build tarball for your current platform
./apps/cli/scripts/build.sh

# Build and install locally
./apps/cli/scripts/build.sh --install

# Fast build (skip verification)
./apps/cli/scripts/build.sh --skip-verify