CLI Usage

The cortex command-line interface provides management and inspection tools for the installed Cortex environment.

Core Entry Points

cortex --help
cortex status
cortex tui
cortex review --dry-run

Use cortex <group> --help to inspect a command group before relying on older examples from historical docs.

Agent Management

cortex agent list              # List all agents
cortex agent status            # Show active agents
cortex agent activate <name>   # Activate an agent
cortex agent deactivate <name> # Deactivate an agent
cortex agent graph             # Display dependency graph

Rule Management

cortex rules list              # List available rules
cortex rules status            # Show active rules
cortex rules activate <name>   # Activate a rule
cortex rules deactivate <name> # Deactivate a rule
cortex rules edit <name>       # Edit a rule file

AI Intelligence

cortex ai recommend            # Get AI recommendations
cortex ai auto-activate        # Auto-activate high-confidence agents
cortex ai watch                # Start real-time monitoring
cortex ai watch --daemon       # Run watch mode in background
cortex ai record-success --outcome "feature complete"
cortex ai export --output recommendations.json

Skills

cortex skills list                   # List available skills
cortex skills info agent-loops       # Show skill details
cortex skills recommend              # Get skill recommendations
cortex skills context                # Build skill context for a session
cortex skills rate <name> --stars 5  # Rate a skill
cortex skills ratings <name>         # View ratings
cortex skills top-rated              # See top-rated skills

Hooks

cortex hooks validate          # Validate hooks configuration

Install And Link

cortex install link            # Link assets into ~/.claude
cortex install link --dry-run  # Preview the link plan
cortex install post            # Install optional extras such as manpages

cortex install link also generates slash-command aliases from the installed skill library.

Practical Reference

cortex docs                    # Browse bundled docs
cortex review --context debug  # Run review gate with extra context

For slash commands specifically, treat skills/ as the source of truth and the installed commands/ directory as a generated surface.