CLI overview

The Pathvela CLI runs the agent right where you work — in your terminal, inside your project folder, with access to your files and shell. It's the same agent the SDK exposes, as a local command called lily (also runnable as pathvela).

What it does

• Answers questions and does work in the context of your current folder — reading files, running commands, and iterating until the task is done.
• Runs a terminal UI for an interactive session, or a one-shot lily run "..." for a single answer.
• Opens a local web session with lily web — the same agent behind a private page in your browser, everything staying on your machine.
• Powers auto mode, where it keeps running in the background so your Pathvela browser tab can reach it over a local connection. See Auto mode.

Install in one line

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://agent.pathvela.com/install.sh | sh

Windows:

irm https://agent.pathvela.com/install.ps1 | iex

One-off (needs Node 18+):

npx pathvela

Full details: CLI installation.

First run

lily key set sk-lily-...      # store your key (from platform.pathvela.com)
lily run "What does this project do?"
lily                          # open the interactive terminal UI

How it's built

The CLI is a self-contained native binary, not a Node app — the installers download it and cache it under ~/.lily/, so it works even without Node. The npx pathvela launcher exists for people who already have Node and want to run it without a separate install; it fetches and runs the same binary.

The agent is metered on your Pathvela account, just like the SDK.

In this section

• Installation — every install method and how the binary is cached.
• Auto mode — keep the agent running for your browser and apps.
• Commands — the full command reference.
• Configuration — keys, environment variables, and folders.
• Updating — keep the binary current.