actual CLI Companion

Inline knowledge and operational workflows for the actual CLI. Read this file first; load reference files only when you need deeper detail for a specific topic.

CLI Not Installed

If the actual binary is not in PATH, stop and help the user install it before doing anything else. All commands, pre-flight checks, and diagnostics require the CLI.

Detect with:

command -v actual

Install options (try in this order):

Method	Command
npm/npx (quickest)	`npm install -g @actualai/actual`
Homebrew (macOS/Linux)	`brew install actual-software/actual/actual`
GitHub Release (manual)	Download from `actual-software/actual-releases` on GitHub

For one-off use without installing globally:

npx @actualai/actual adr-bot [flags]

After install, verify: actual --version

ADR Pre-Check (OpenClaw)

Before creating a new skill, component, or feature, check whether the project has ADR context available. This ensures new work aligns with existing architectural decisions.

Check for managed section markers in CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md:

grep -l "managed:actual-start" CLAUDE.md AGENTS.md 2>/dev/null

If markers found: ADR context is already loaded into the output file. Proceed — the agent session already has this context.
If no markers but actual CLI is available:
```
actual adr-bot --dry-run
```
Review the output. If relevant ADRs exist, run actual adr-bot to sync them into CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md before starting work.
If no markers and no CLI: proceed without. Do not block the user.

Commands

Command	Purpose	Key Flags
`actual adr-bot`	Analyze repo, fetch ADRs, tailor, write output	`--dry-run [--full]`, `--force`, `--no-tailor`, `--project PATH`, `--model`, `--runner`, `--verbose`, `--reset-rejections`, `--max-budget-usd`, `--no-tui`, `--output-format`, `--show-errors`
`actual status`	Check output file state	`--verbose`
`actual auth`	Check authentication status	(none)
`actual config show`	Display current config	(none)
`actual config set <key> <value>`	Set a config value	(none)
`actual config path`	Print config file path	(none)
`actual runners`	List available runners	(none)
`actual models`	List known models by runner	(none)

Runner Decision Tree

Use this to determine which runner a user needs:

Has claude binary installed?
  YES -> claude-cli (default runner, no API key needed)
  NO  -> Do they want Anthropic models?
           YES -> anthropic-api (needs ANTHROPIC_API_KEY)
           NO  -> Do they want OpenAI models?
                    YES -> codex-cli or openai-api (needs OPENAI_API_KEY)
                    NO  -> cursor-cli (needs agent binary, optional CURSOR_API_KEY)

Runner Summary

Runner	Binary	Auth	Default Model
claude-cli	`claude`	`claude auth login`	claude-sonnet-4-6
anthropic-api	(none)	`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	claude-sonnet-4-6
openai-api	(none)	`OPENAI_API_KEY`	gpt-5.2
codex-cli	`codex`	`OPENAI_API_KEY` or `codex login` (ChatGPT OAuth)	gpt-5.2
cursor-cli	`agent`	Optional `CURSOR_API_KEY`	(cursor default)

Model-to-Runner Inference

The CLI auto-selects a runner from the model name:

Model Pattern	Inferred Runner
`sonnet`, `opus`, `haiku` (short aliases)	claude-cli
`claude-*` (full names)	anthropic-api
`gpt-`, `o1`, `o3`, `o4`, `chatgpt-*`	codex-cli
`codex-`, `gpt--codex*`	codex-cli
Unrecognized	Error with suggestions

For deep runner details (install steps, compatibility, special behaviors), see references/runner-guide.md.

Sync Quick Reference

The most common sync patterns:

# Preview what sync would do (safe, no file changes)
actual adr-bot --dry-run

# Preview with full content
actual adr-bot --dry-run --full

# Run sync, skip confirmation prompts
actual adr-bot --force

# Sync specific subdirectories only (monorepo)
actual adr-bot --project services/api --project services/web

# Use a specific runner/model
actual adr-bot --runner anthropic-api --model claude-sonnet-4-6

# Skip AI tailoring (use raw ADRs)
actual adr-bot --no-tailor

# Re-offer previously rejected ADRs
actual adr-bot --reset-rejections

# Set spending cap
actual adr-bot --max-budget-usd 5.00

For the complete 13-step sync internals, see references/sync-workflow.md.

Operational Workflow: Running Sync

Follow this pattern whenever running sync. Do NOT skip pre-flight.

0. Verify CLI installed (LOW freedom -- exact check)

command -v actual       # Must succeed before anything else

If missing, follow the install steps in CLI Not Installed above. Do NOT proceed until actual --version succeeds.

1. Pre-flight (LOW freedom -- exact commands)

actual runners          # Verify runner is available
actual auth             # Verify authentication (for claude-cli)
actual config show      # Review current configuration

If any check shows a problem, diagnose and fix before proceeding.

2. Dry-run (LOW freedom -- exact command)

actual adr-bot --dry-run [--full] [user's flags]

Show the user what would change. Let them review.

3. Confirm (HIGH freedom)

Ask user if they want to proceed. If no, stop.

4. Execute (LOW freedom -- exact command)

actual adr-bot [user's flags]

5. On failure: Diagnose

Match the error against the troubleshooting table below. For full error details, load references/error-catalog.md.

6. Fix and retry

Apply the fix, then return to step 1 to verify.

Operational Workflow: Diagnostics

For comprehensive environment checks, run the bundled diagnostic script:

bash .claude/skills/actual/scripts/diagnose.sh

This checks all binaries, auth status, environment variables, config, and output files in one pass. It is read-only and never modifies anything.

Use inline commands instead when checking a single thing (e.g., just actual auth).

Troubleshooting Quick Reference

Error	Exit Code	Likely Cause	Quick Fix
ClaudeNotFound	2	`claude` binary not in PATH	Install Claude Code CLI
ClaudeNotAuthenticated	2	Not logged in	Run `claude auth login`
CodexNotFound	2	`codex` binary not in PATH	Install Codex CLI
CodexNotAuthenticated	2	No auth for codex	Set `OPENAI_API_KEY` or run `codex login`
CursorNotFound	2	`agent` binary not in PATH	Install Cursor CLI
ApiKeyMissing	2	Required env var not set	Set `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` or `OPENAI_API_KEY`
CodexCliModelRequiresApiKey	2	ChatGPT OAuth with explicit model	Set `OPENAI_API_KEY` (OAuth only supports default model)
CreditBalanceTooLow	3	Insufficient API credits	Add credits to account
ApiError	3	API request failed	Check API URL, network, credentials
ApiResponseError	3	Unexpected API response	Check API status, retry
RunnerFailed	1	Runner process errored	Check runner output, logs
RunnerOutputParse	1	Could not parse runner output	Check model compatibility
RunnerTimeout	1	Runner exceeded time limit	Increase `invocation_timeout_secs`
ConfigError	1	Invalid config file	Check YAML syntax, run `actual config show`
AnalysisEmpty	1	No analysis results	Check project path, repo content
TailoringValidationError	1	Tailored output invalid	Retry, or use `--no-tailor`
IoError	5	File I/O failure	Check permissions, disk space
UserCancelled	4	User cancelled operation	(intentional)

For full error details with hints and diagnosis steps, see references/error-catalog.md.

Exit Code Categories

Code	Category	Errors
1	General / runtime	RunnerFailed, RunnerOutputParse, ConfigError, RunnerTimeout, AnalysisEmpty, TailoringValidationError, InternalError, TerminalIOError
2	Auth / setup	ClaudeNotFound, ClaudeNotAuthenticated, CodexNotFound, CodexNotAuthenticated, CursorNotFound, ApiKeyMissing, CodexCliModelRequiresApiKey
3	Billing / API	CreditBalanceTooLow, ApiError, ApiResponseError
4	User cancelled	UserCancelled
5	I/O	IoError

Config Quick Reference

Config file: ~/.actualai/actual/config.yaml (override with ACTUAL_CONFIG or ACTUAL_CONFIG_DIR env vars).

Most-used config keys:

Key	Default	Purpose
`runner`	claude-cli	Which runner to use
`model`	claude-sonnet-4-6	Model for Anthropic runners
`output_format`	claude-md	Output format: claude-md, agents-md, cursor-rules
`batch_size`	15	ADRs per batch (min 1)
`concurrency`	10	Parallel requests (min 1)
`invocation_timeout_secs`	600	Runner timeout in seconds (min 1)
`max_budget_usd`	(none)	Spending cap (positive, finite)

For all 18 config keys with validation rules, see references/config-reference.md.

Output Formats

Format	File	Header
claude-md (default)	`CLAUDE.md`	`# Project Guidelines`
agents-md	`AGENTS.md`	`# Project Guidelines`
cursor-rules	`.cursor/rules/actual-policies.mdc`	YAML frontmatter (`alwaysApply: true`)

Managed sections use markers:  / .

Merge behavior:

New root file: header + managed section
New subdir file: managed section only (no header)
Existing with markers: replace between markers, preserve surrounding content
Existing without markers: append managed section

For full format details and merge internals, see references/output-formats.md.

Reference Files

Load these only when you need deeper detail on a specific topic:

File	When to Load
`references/sync-workflow.md`	Debugging sync failures, understanding sync internals
`references/runner-guide.md`	Setting up a runner, model compatibility, runner-specific behavior
`references/error-catalog.md`	Troubleshooting a specific error with full diagnosis steps
`references/config-reference.md`	Looking up config keys, validation rules, dotpath syntax
`references/output-formats.md`	Output format questions, managed section behavior, merge logic

Actual AI CLI