CLI Reference

All commands available from the terminal.

Quickstart · Tools Reference · Standalone · Configuration

Two CLI interfaces

Context	Command prefix	Example
In-Gemfile (Rake)	`rails ai:`	`rails 'ai:tool[schema]' table=users`
Standalone (Thor)	`rails-ai-context`	`rails-ai-context tool schema --table users`

Both provide the same 45 tools and functionality.

Commands

`serve`

Start the MCP server.

rails ai:serve                                        # stdio (default)
rails-ai-context serve                                # stdio (default)
rails-ai-context serve --transport http --port 6029   # HTTP transport

Option	Default	Description
`--transport`	`stdio`	`stdio` or `http`
`--port`	`6029`	HTTP listen port
`--no-boot`	off	Skip booting the app; answer from source alone

`tool`

Run any of the 45 MCP tools from the terminal.

# Rake syntax
rails 'ai:tool[schema]' table=users detail=full
rails 'ai:tool[search_code]' pattern="publishable?" match_type=trace
rails 'ai:tool[model_details]' model=User

# Thor syntax
rails-ai-context tool schema --table users --detail full
rails-ai-context tool search_code --pattern "publishable?" --match-type trace
rails-ai-context tool model_details --model User

Option	Description
`--list`	List all available tools
`--json`	Output as JSON
`--no-boot`	Skip booting the app; answer from source alone

The static tier and `--no-boot`

Every command that reads the app takes --no-boot: tool, serve, context, inspect, facts, preset, watch and init. It skips the boot and answers from source alone, which is what you want on a repo you have just cloned, on an app whose boot is broken, and in CI where booting costs more than the answer.

The same tier is entered automatically when a boot fails, so you get an answer either way. Answers that need a running app are marked [UNAVAILABLE: ...] rather than guessed, and everything else is tagged [STATIC] instead of [VERIFIED]. docs/COMPATIBILITY.md lists which of the 40 introspectors answer in which tier.

doctor is the exception: diagnosing the boot is its job, so it refuses --no-boot and still exits 1 when the app cannot start.

rails-ai-context tool models --no-boot        # no boot, no database, no Gemfile
rails-ai-context context --no-boot            # writes CLAUDE.md from source

Tool name resolution

All of these resolve to the same tool:

rails 'ai:tool[schema]'
rails 'ai:tool[get_schema]'
rails 'ai:tool[rails_get_schema]'

Resolution order: exact match → rails_ prefix → rails_get_ prefix → get_ prefix.

`context`

Generate static context files.

rails ai:context              # All configured formats
rails ai:context:claude       # Claude only
rails ai:context:cursor       # Cursor only
rails ai:context:copilot      # Copilot only
rails ai:context:opencode     # OpenCode only
rails ai:context:json         # JSON export

rails-ai-context context                # All
rails-ai-context context --format claude # Specific format

Option	Default	Description
`--format`	all configured	`claude`, `cursor`, `copilot`, `opencode`, `codex`, `json`, `all`

`doctor`

Run the diagnostic checks and report an AI readiness score.

rails ai:doctor
rails-ai-context doctor
rails-ai-context doctor --strict   # exit 1 when any check fails (CI gate)
rails ai:doctor STRICT=1           # rake equivalent

Checks include: schema existence, pending migrations, model files, routes, MCP config validity, introspector health, ripgrep availability, Prism gem, Brakeman gem, listen gem, gitignore security, auto_mount security, schema size, view count, and more.

`watch`

Watch for file changes and auto-regenerate context files.

rails ai:watch
rails-ai-context watch

Requires the listen gem. Watches app/, config/, db/, lib/tasks/.

`init` (standalone only)

Interactive setup for standalone mode.

rails-ai-context init

Asks which AI tools to configure and whether to use MCP or CLI mode. Creates .rails-ai-context.yml and MCP config files.

`version`

rails-ai-context version

`inspect`

Print introspection summary as JSON.

rails-ai-context inspect

Rake tasks (in-Gemfile only)

Task	Description
`rails ai:context`	Generate context for all configured formats
`rails ai:context:claude`	Generate Claude context
`rails ai:context:cursor`	Generate Cursor context
`rails ai:context:copilot`	Generate Copilot context
`rails ai:context:opencode`	Generate OpenCode context
`rails ai:context:json`	Generate JSON export
`rails ai:serve`	Start MCP server (stdio)
`rails ai:tool`	List tools or run a tool
`rails ai:doctor`	Run diagnostics
`rails ai:watch`	Watch mode
`rails ai:setup`	Interactive setup (alternative to generator)

Tool argument syntax

Rake format

rails 'ai:tool[tool_name]' key=value key2=value2

Strings: table=users
Booleans: explain=true or explain=false
Enums: detail=full
Spaces: pattern="has_many :posts"

Thor format

rails-ai-context tool tool_name --key value --key2 value2

Strings: --table users or --table=users
Booleans: --explain (true) or --no-explain (false)
Enums: --detail full
Spaces: --pattern "has_many :posts"

JSON output

Add --json for machine-readable output:

rails-ai-context tool schema --table users --json

Common workflows

Quick schema check

rails 'ai:tool[schema]' table=users

Trace a method

rails 'ai:tool[search_code]' pattern="process_payment" match_type=trace

Full feature analysis

rails 'ai:tool[analyze_feature]' feature=billing

Check AI readiness

rails ai:doctor

Regenerate after changes

rails ai:context

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