elizaOS CLI Overview

Comprehensive guide to the elizaOS Command Line Interface (CLI) tools and commands

Installation

Install the elizaOS CLI globally using Bun:

bun install -g @elizaos/cli

Video Tutorial: Full CLI Reference

Available Commands

Command	Description
create	Initialize a new project, plugin, or agent
monorepo	Clone elizaOS monorepo from a specific branch (defaults to develop)
plugins	Manage elizaOS plugins
agent	Manage elizaOS agents
tee	Manage TEE deployments
start	Start the Eliza agent with configurable plugins and services
update	Update elizaOS CLI and project dependencies
test	Run tests for Eliza agent projects and plugins
env	Manage environment variables and secrets
dev	Start the project or plugin in development mode with auto-rebuild, detailed logging, and file change detection
publish	Publish a plugin to the registry
deploy	Deploy ElizaOS project to AWS ECS
login	Authenticate with ElizaOS Cloud
containers	Manage ElizaOS Cloud container deployments
scenario	Execute and manage test scenarios
report	Generate reports from scenario matrix runs

Global Options

These options apply to all commands:

Option	Description
--help, -h	Display help information
--version, -v	Display version information
--no-emoji	Disable emoji characters in the output
--no-auto-install	Disable the automatic prompt to install Bun if not detected
-d, --debug	Enable debug logs (LOG_LEVEL=debug)
--verbose	Enable verbose/trace logs (LOG_LEVEL=trace)
-q, --quiet	Only show errors (LOG_LEVEL=error)
--log-json	Output logs in JSON format (useful for log aggregation)

Logging Levels

Control verbosity with these flags (from most to least verbose):

# Maximum verbosity - trace every operation
elizaos start --verbose

# Debug mode - detailed debugging info
elizaos start --debug

# Normal mode (default) - standard output
elizaos start

# Quiet mode - errors only
elizaos start --quiet

For JSON logging in production environments:

elizaos start --log-json | jq '.'

Examples

Getting Version Information

# Check your CLI version
elizaos --version

# Get help for the 'agent' command
elizaos agent --help

# Get help for the 'agent start' subcommand
elizaos agent start --help

Project Structure

For detailed information about project and plugin structure, see the Quickstart Guide.

Environment Configuration

Configure your API keys and environment variables with the env command:

# Edit local environment variables interactively
elizaos env edit-local

# List all environment variables
elizaos env list

# Interactive environment manager
elizaos env interactive

Development vs Production

elizaOS supports two main modes of operation:

Development Mode

Hot reloading, detailed error messages, and file watching for rapid development.

Production Mode

Optimized performance and production-ready configuration for deployment.

Quick Start

For a complete guide to getting started with elizaOS, see the Quickstart Guide.

Creating a new project

# Create a new project using the interactive wizard
elizaos create

# Or specify a name directly
elizaos create my-agent-project

Starting a project

# Navigate to your project directory
cd my-agent-project

# Start the project
elizaos start

Development mode

# Run in development mode with hot reloading
elizaos dev

Working with Projects

elizaOS organizes work into projects, which can contain one or more agents along with their configurations, knowledge files, and dependencies. The CLI provides commands to manage the entire lifecycle of a project:

1. Create a new project with create
2. Configure settings with env
3. Develop using dev for hot reloading
4. Test functionality with test
5. Start in production with start
6. Share by publishing with publish

Working with Plugins

Plugins extend the functionality of your agents. Use the plugins command for managing plugins and publish for publishing your own:

# List available plugins
elizaos plugins list

# Add a plugin to your project
elizaos plugins add @elizaos/plugin-discord

# Publish your plugin (from plugin directory)
elizaos publish

# Test publishing without making changes
elizaos publish --test

Related Documentation

Quickstart Guide

Complete workflow guide to get started with elizaOS

Environment Configuration

Managing environment variables and configuration