# CLI-Anything > An open-source framework that auto-generates agent-native CLI harnesses for any software, making any application controllable by AI agents through structured command-line interfaces. CLI-Anything is an open-source project from HKUDS that transforms any software with a codebase into an agent-native tool by automatically generating structured CLI harnesses. Released in March 2026 and licensed under Apache 2.0, it has rapidly grown to over 36,000 GitHub stars and 3,500 forks. The project ships a plugin for Claude Code, Pi, OpenCode, Codex, and other AI coding agents, and pairs with CLI-Hub — a community registry at clianything.cc — where users can browse, install, and manage over 80 community-built CLIs. ## What It Is CLI-Anything sits in the agent harness category: it bridges the gap between AI agents (which excel at reasoning) and real professional software (which was designed for human GUI interaction). Rather than relying on fragile UI automation or limited APIs, CLI-Anything generates a full Python Click CLI that calls the actual application backend — Blender renders via `blender --background`, LibreOffice exports via headless mode, GIMP processes via Script-Fu. The result is a structured, JSON-capable command-line interface that any AI agent can discover and operate using standard `--help` flags and `which` commands. ## The 7-Phase Automated Pipeline The core workflow is a fully automated 7-phase pipeline triggered by a single slash command (e.g., `/cli-anything ./gimp`): - **Phase 1 – Analyze**: Scans source code, maps GUI actions to APIs - **Phase 2 – Design**: Architects command groups, state model, output formats - **Phase 3 – Implement**: Builds Click CLI with REPL, JSON output, undo/redo - **Phase 4 – Plan Tests**: Creates TEST.md with unit and E2E test plans - **Phase 5 – Write Tests**: Implements comprehensive test suite - **Phase 6 – Document**: Updates TEST.md with results - **Phase 7 – Publish**: Creates `setup.py`, installs to PATH A `/cli-anything:refine` command performs gap analysis and incrementally expands coverage without destructive changes. The methodology is codified in `HARNESS.md`, a single source-of-truth SOP that encodes lessons from building all production harnesses. ## CLI-Hub and the Community Registry CLI-Hub (`pip install cli-anything-hub`) is the package manager and web registry for the ecosystem. As of mid-2026, the hub lists over 80 CLIs across 39 categories — spanning 3D modeling (Blender, FreeCAD), image editing (GIMP, Inkscape, Krita), video (Kdenlive, Shotcut, VideoCaptioner), audio (Audacity, MuseScore), game development (Godot, s&box), scientific computing (QGIS, Uni-Mol Tools), and web APIs (Mailchimp, Zoom, n8n, Exa). Each CLI ships a canonical `SKILL.md` file that makes it discoverable by SKILL-compatible agents via `npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything --skill `. A meta-skill lets agents autonomously browse the catalog and install whichever CLI fits the task. ## Architecture and Design Principles Every generated CLI follows five core design principles enforced by HARNESS.md: - **Authentic software integration**: The CLI generates valid project files (ODF, MLT XML, SVG) and delegates rendering to the real application — no toy reimplementations. - **Dual interaction modes**: Stateful REPL for interactive agent sessions plus subcommand interface for scripting pipelines. - **Consistent UX**: All CLIs share a unified REPL interface (`repl_skin.py`) with branded banners, command history, and progress indicators. - **Agent-native design**: Built-in `--json` flag on every command delivers structured data; `--help` provides automatic documentation agents can discover. - **Zero-compromise dependencies**: Real software is a hard requirement — tests fail (not skip) when backends are missing. ## Test Coverage and Production Readiness The project reports 2,280 passing tests across 27+ harnesses, covering unit tests with synthetic data, end-to-end tests with real files and software invocation, and CLI subprocess verification. The test suite achieves a 100% pass rate across all harnesses. Notable harness sizes include Blender (208 tests), Inkscape (202 tests), s&box (244 tests), and Mailchimp (303 commands). The project notes that reliable harness generation requires frontier-class models such as Claude Sonnet or GPT-5 class; smaller models may produce incomplete CLIs. ## Update: v0.3.0 and CLI-Hub v0.2.0 The latest GitHub release is **v0.3.0**, published April 24, 2026. CLI-Hub reached **v0.2.0** on April 15, 2026, adding support for public CLIs from multiple install sources (`pip`, `npm`, `brew`, bundled/system tools) backed by a new `public_registry.json`. The April 18, 2026 update unified all SKILL.md files under a top-level `skills/` directory, enabling direct monorepo consumption via `npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything`. The project has been receiving daily updates since its March 2026 launch, with new harnesses and infrastructure improvements landing continuously. ## Features - Automated 7-phase CLI generation pipeline from any codebase - Claude Code, Pi, OpenCode, Codex, and GitHub Copilot CLI plugin support - CLI-Hub package manager for browsing and installing community CLIs - SKILL.md generation for agent skill discovery via npx skills - Dual REPL and subcommand interaction modes - Built-in --json flag for structured agent-consumable output - Stateful session management with undo/redo - Iterative /refine command for gap analysis and coverage expansion - Production-grade multi-layer testing (unit + E2E + CLI subprocess) - Unified REPL interface (repl_skin.py) across all generated CLIs - Meta-skill for autonomous CLI discovery and installation by agents - Support for 80+ CLIs across 39 categories in the community registry - Apache 2.0 open-source license ## Integrations Claude Code, Pi Coding Agent, OpenCode, Codex, GitHub Copilot CLI, OpenClaw, Qodercli, Goose, Blender, GIMP, Inkscape, LibreOffice, Audacity, OBS Studio, Kdenlive, Shotcut, Zoom, FreeCAD, ComfyUI, Ollama, n8n, Mailchimp, Godot Engine, Draw.io, Mermaid, MuseScore, QGIS, Exa, ChromaDB, WireMock, LLDB, RenderDoc ## Platforms WINDOWS, MACOS, LINUX, ANDROID, IOS, WEB, API, DEVELOPER_SDK, CLI ## Pricing Open Source ## Version v0.3.0 ## Links - Website: https://clianything.cc/ - Documentation: https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything/blob/main/cli-anything-plugin/HARNESS.md - Repository: https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything - EveryDev.ai: https://www.everydev.ai/tools/cli-anything