CLI command surface

Overview

This page indexes the native CLI, customer action manifest, and backend-specific connections. Use Engine Commands for local design work and Job and Cloud Commands for service operations. Examples apply to the 0.1.9 interface.

Two Parsers, One Binary

The native parser handles release, capabilities, rtl, sv, verification, trace, labs, tcl, eidb, eda, reports, physical, px, isa, ide, job, xls, and compute. It also handles analyze run and the explicit Evolve forms capabilities, analyze, run, cx-search, measured-ppa, and artifact. The remaining customer commands use the embedded action manifest. mcp serve starts the stdio MCP server.

What This Routing Rules Out

eda inspect, reports parse, ide init, and the listed Evolve forms are routed native commands. Their availability is no longer limited by the older archive’s dispatch omissions. Engine capabilities still determine which input or operation is supported.

The one-word customer evolve action is separate from native evolve run and compute rtl-evolve. Their request schemas are not interchangeable. The manifest’s one-word trace action remains shadowed by the native trace namespace; use the native subcommands rather than assuming manifest enumeration guarantees a matching CLI spelling.

Global Flags

Use a leading --json for native structured output, for example alti --json xls capabilities. Place it before the namespace or after the complete native subcommand, not between the words of a routed Evolve form. Use alti --help for the top-level summary and --help on the leaf operation for accepted arguments and limits. Native leaf commands also accept -h.

JSON output is command-specific. Engine envelopes contain the child’s result as a string, service commands return receipts, and terminal attachments stream bytes. See Command Reference.

Meta and Account Commands

Cloud sessions and legacy environment credentials are distinct. See CLI Authentication.

Exit Codes

Treat every nonzero result as failure unless the specific command’s contract defines a recovery action. Parsing/admission commonly returns 2, runtime and HTTP failures 1, unavailable engines 127, and invalid installed execution or launch failures 126. Engines can pass through their own statuses. The customer manifest separately uses 3 for a class rejection and 4 for a pre-dispatch refusal. A status number alone does not identify its source.

What Runs Where

Which subcommands carry –runner

The compatibility commands rtl compile, rtl synthesize, physical run, px analyze, and isa run default to local. Selecting cloud or private on those commands emits a scaffold dispatch plan; it is not remote execution. Their -- engine arguments are accepted only for local dispatch.

The job family’s --runner selects a Job Service and is a different contract. The retired alti-engine-job adapter is not in the 24-runner release inventory; do not interpret accepted local/private syntax as a delivered service.

How a local engine is found

Keep the installed release intact. XLS, compute, packed RTL, native DDS, and the typed PX/CX paths require their named sibling executable. The installed trust check binds protected runners to catalog hashes and receipts; no PATH fallback or user-supplied receipt repairs that boundary. Older compatibility resolvers can report sibling or path; inspect the receipt for the operation you actually ran. External tools such as Icarus have separate host configuration.

Which engine backs which namespace

The payload contains alti, alti-mcp, and these 24 engine runners:

alti-rtl-runner is not packaged. The committed-identity compatibility commands that request it do not gain support merely because their help exists. The desktop executable used by ide open is distributed separately.

Receipt Envelopes

An engine envelope’s stdout is a string containing the native result. Without --json, that native output can be saved directly and passed intact to a matching DDS apply command. Never reduce an authoring plan to its hash alone.

Environment Variables

Native Cloud uses --session-dir, defaulting to ~/.local/state/altifigence/cloud-cli. Do not copy desktop session files into it, log tokens, or send service secrets to arbitrary endpoints.

Engine Results

Read the actual engine result and its limits. GPU discovery is not GPU execution, a content digest is not a signature, and a non-signoff timing estimate is not implementation signoff. The next page lists the relevant engine commands.

Resolve a command before scripting

alti --version
alti --help
alti ide cloud --help
alti xls run --help

Check help on the exact leaf you plan to invoke. A matching name in alti commands does not replace native parser help, installed capabilities or runtime availability. Keep the CLI version with scripts because request schemas and receipts are versioned.