DevStation CLI

CLI Reference

Every command, flag and environment variable, and every file the CLI writes.

Commands

Command	What it does
devstation	Start a session and talk to it.
devstation run <goal>	Do one thing and stop.
devstation repo <owner/name> <goal>	Work on a GitHub repository and propose a pull request.
devstation resume [id] [note]	Carry on from a stopped or crashed run.
devstation status [id] [-f]	Show what a run is doing. -f follows it.
devstation sessions	List runs in this workspace.
devstation undo	Rewind the last agent checkpoint.
devstation checkpoints	List the checkpoints it can rewind to.
devstation diff	Show what the agent has changed.
devstation index	Index this project so the agent can search it.
devstation memory	Show what it has been told about this project.
devstation mcp	The MCP servers configured here, and their tools.
devstation tools	List the tools it can use, and which ones ask first.
devstation login [provider]	Choose a provider, store its key, pick a model.
devstation logout [provider]	Remove stored keys.
devstation config	Show the settings a run would use. Also set, get, unset, path.
devstation upgrade [--check]	Update to the latest version, or only check.
devstation doctor	Check this machine is set up to run it.
devstation version	Print the version.
devstation help	The summary.

Flags

Flag	What it does
-C, --root <dir>	Work somewhere other than the current directory.
--model <name>	Override the model for this run.
--autonomy <mode>	ask_sensitive \| ask_integrations \| ask_deploy \| autonomous
--max-steps <n>	Stop after n tool calls.
--budget <usd>	Stop before a turn that would exceed this.
-y, --yes	Approve every gated action without asking. Critical still asks.
-f, --follow	Keep watching (status only).
--session <id>	Choose the run to act on.
--json	JSON output from config, sessions, checkpoints and tools.
--no-sandbox	Run commands on this machine instead of in a container.
--project	With config set or unset: write this workspace's config, not the global one.
-h, --help	Show help.
-v, --version	Print the version.

--json is honoured by the four commands that report rather than act: config, sessions, checkpoints and tools. Use it from scripts; the human output is not a stable format.

Environment variables

Models

Variable	What it does
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Anthropic key.
OPENROUTER_API_KEY	OpenRouter key.
OPENAI_API_KEY	OpenAI, or OpenAI-compatible server, key.
DEVSTATION_PROVIDER	anthropic \| openrouter \| openai
DEVSTATION_MODEL	The model, overriding config files.
DEVSTATION_BASE_URL	The endpoint, overriding config files.
ANTHROPIC_MODEL / AI_MODEL	Override the model without a flag.
DEVSTATION_MAX_TOKENS	Reply ceiling per request (default 16,000).
ANTHROPIC_MAX_TOKENS	Cap the reply length.
ANTHROPIC_EFFORT / AI_REASONING	Reasoning effort, for models that take one.
AGENT_INPUT_COST, AGENT_OUTPUT_COST	Per-million-token rates used by --budget.
AGENT_CACHE_READ_COST, AGENT_CACHE_WRITE_COST	Cache rates used by --budget.

Sandbox

Variable	What it does
DEVSTATION_SANDBOX=off	Run commands on this machine. Same as --no-sandbox.
DEVSTATION_SANDBOX_NETWORK=off	Cut the container off from the internet.
DEVSTATION_SANDBOX_RUNTIME	runc, where gVisor is unavailable.
DEVSTATION_SANDBOX_IMAGE	Use a different sandbox image.

Everything else

Variable	What it does
GITHUB_TOKEN or GH_TOKEN	Needed by devstation repo, with push rights.
DEVSTATION_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1	Turn off the daily update check.
DEVSTATION_INSTALL_DIR	Where the install script puts the binary.
DEVSTATION_VERSION	Which release the install script fetches.

Files it writes

Inside the workspace, and nowhere else:

text

.agent/sessions/           run records, written after every message
.agent/memory.db           the search index
.agent/PROJECT_MEMORY.md   what it has been told (unless one exists at the root)
.agent/.gitignore          ignores itself, so none of it reaches your history
.devstation/checkpoints/   snapshot undo history, when there is no git
.devstation/repos/         repositories cloned by devstation repo
.devstation/config.json    per-project settings, if you set any
.devstation/mcp.json       per-project MCP servers, if you add them
.devstation/skills/        per-project skills, if you add them

In your home directory:

text

~/.devstation/config.json        global settings, after login
~/.devstation/credentials.json   API keys, readable only by you
~/.devstation/mcp.json           global MCP servers, if you add them
~/.devstation/skills/            global skills, if you add them
~/.devstation/bin/devstation     the binary, if you used the install script