Cortex CLI - Cortex Docs

The Cortex CLI is Cortex Code for the terminal. One binary, cortex, gives you an interactive TUI with a live timeline and approvals, one-shot runs from your own shell, and a headless mode for scripts and CI. It uses the same account and the same Code sessions as the web and desktop apps, runs on the Cloud runtime by default, and never runs the model on your laptop.

Cortex CLI on a macOS desktop: splash, prompt, slash commands, and a Shell tool row — The CLI in a macOS Terminal: splash, a prompt, the slash palette, the model picker, and a Shell tool row. A generated desktop demo of the shipped TUI, not a live recording. The stills on the pages below are headless renders of the same chrome.

Install in one line

curl -fsSL https://software.cortex.foundation/install.sh | sh

irm https://software.cortex.foundation/install.ps1 | iex

cortex login
cd ~/code/my-project
cortex

Install Quickstart

Cortex CLI session composer with the pointer hovering over it — The shipped session chrome: the Agent composer with its dual hairline, the model chip Cortex Mini 1 (medium) on the border, and the footer hints. Mouse hover is supported.

What one binary gives you

Surface	Command	Use it for
Interactive TUI	`cortex`	Everyday work: a timeline, approvals, Agent / Plan / Ask, sessions you can resume, rewind, and fork
One-shot	`cortex run "…"`	A single request from your shell, streamed, with session continuation and sharing
Headless	`cortex exec "…"`	Scripts and CI: autonomy levels, JSON output, turn and time limits

Guides

Install

Installer, checksums, version pins, channels, cortex upgrade, uninstall.

Sign in

cortex login in a browser, device code for headless machines, API keys for CI, the OS keyring.

Quickstart

First session, AGENTS.md, choosing autonomy.

Headless runs

cortex exec and cortex run in scripts, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI.

Configuration

config.toml, profiles, environment variables, data locations, hosts.

Extend

MCP servers, skills, agents and subagents, hooks, plugins, themes.

In the terminal

The rest of the CLI reference lives in the sidebar under this tab:

Page	What it covers
The TUI	Timeline rows, the composer, status line, queueing follow-ups, interrupting
Slash commands	Everything after `/` — model, mode, permissions, plan, goal, sessions, MCP, diagnostics
Modes and permissions	Agent / Plan / Ask, Spec, approvals, sandbox, the `permission` table, effort
Goals	`/goal` — a persisted long-horizon objective that survives compaction and resume
Sessions	Resume, rewind, fork, export, import, share, lock, clean up
Keyboard shortcuts	Every binding, grouped by where it applies — plus the Ctrl+X overlay
CLI troubleshooting	Outage copy, hosts that refuse, the agent that will not edit, MCP, quotas

Conventions on these pages

Commands are written cortex …. The installed binary is Cortex; the installer adds cortex and agent symlinks, and both spellings work on case-insensitive filesystems.
Everything documented here is backed by the shipped CLI. cortex --help and cortex <command> --help are generated from the same definitions and are always authoritative.
The CLI talks to the Cortex API at api.cortex.foundation. Releases are published to software.cortex.foundation.
Source and issues: github.com/CortexLM/cli, Apache-2.0.

Install the CLI — checksums, version pins, and channels.
Sign in — the browser flow, device codes, and CI keys.
CLI quickstart — a working Code session in the terminal.
Modes and permissions — decide how much the agent may do.

⌘I

​Install in one line

​What one binary gives you

​Guides