CLI Anything: Make Any Software Agent-Native
CLI Anything transforms any software into an AI agent-controllable CLI interface with one command. No manual coding, no brittle GUI automation. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any agent framework.
⭐ 2k+ GitHub stars · 1,436 tests passing · 9 apps · Open Source
Why CLI Is the Universal Interface for AI Agents
CLI Anything bridges the gap between AI agents and real software — structured, composable, self-describing, and agent-first by design.
Structured & Composable
Text commands match LLM format naturally and chain together for complex, multi-step workflows. Agents can build powerful automation pipelines without fighting opaque GUIs or fragile UI automation scripts.
Self-Describing with --help
--help flags provide automatic documentation that AI agents can discover and use at runtime. No need for hand-written API specs — every generated CLI is fully introspectable and agent-discoverable.
Agent-First JSON Output
Built-in --json flag on every command delivers structured data for machine consumption. Agents parse clean JSON responses while humans use readable table output for debugging. Zero ambiguity, zero parsing hacks.
Deterministic & Production-Reliable
Consistent CLI results enable predictable agent behavior. 1,436 tests across 9 major applications — 100% pass rate — including unit tests, end-to-end tests, and real-software backend validation.
Get Started with CLI Anything in Minutes
From installation to a fully generated, production-ready CLI Anything harness — the entire workflow takes under 5 minutes.
Add the Marketplace
Add the CLI-Anything plugin marketplace to Claude Code with one command: /plugin marketplace add HKUDS/CLI-Anything
Install the Plugin
Install the cli-anything plugin in your Claude Code session: /plugin install cli-anything. No extra configuration required.
Run on Your Software
Point it at any software codebase or repository: /cli-anything ./gimp or /cli-anything https://github.com/blender/blender
Use Your New CLI
pip install -e . puts the CLI on your PATH. Agents and humans alike can run cli-anything-gimp, cli-anything-blender, and more — with full --help and --json support.
CLI Anything Works Across Every Software Category
CLI Anything generates agent-ready CLI interfaces for any software with a codebase — creative tools, AI platforms, office suites, dev tools, and beyond.
Creative & Media Tools
Control GIMP, Blender, Inkscape, Audacity, Kdenlive, Shotcut and OBS Studio programmatically — full rendering capabilities, zero UI automation fragility.
AI & ML Platforms
Automate Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI, InvokeAI, and other AI platforms through structured commands. Chain model inference, hyperparameter tuning, and output pipelines effortlessly.
Data & Analytics
Enable programmatic data processing for JupyterLab, Apache Superset, Metabase, DBeaver, and more — turn data workflows into agent-executable pipelines.
Development Tools
Streamline Jenkins, Gitea, Portainer, pgAdmin, SonarQube, and other dev tools via command interfaces that agents can call directly.
Office & Enterprise Apps
Convert LibreOffice, GitLab, Grafana, Mattermost, Odoo and other business tools into agent-accessible systems with full document generation capabilities.
Diagramming & Visualization
Create and manipulate Draw.io diagrams, Mermaid charts, PlantUML, and Excalidraw visuals programmatically — perfect for AI-generated documentation and architecture diagrams.
How CLI Anything Works Under the Hood
CLI Anything's fully automated 7-phase pipeline transforms any codebase into a production-grade, agent-native CLI interface.
Fully Automated 7-Phase Pipeline
Analyze → Design → Implement → Plan Tests → Write Tests → Document → Publish. The plugin handles architecture design, implementation, test planning, test writing, and documentation completely automatically.
Authentic Software Integration
Direct calls to real application backends — LibreOffice generates real PDFs, Blender renders actual 3D scenes, Audacity processes audio via sox. Zero toy implementations, zero compromises.
Smart Session Management
Persistent project state with undo/redo capabilities across commands. Unified REPL interface (ReplSkin) delivers a consistent interactive experience across all generated CLIs.
Zero-Config Installation
Simple pip install -e . puts the CLI directly on PATH. Agents discover tools via standard which commands. No setup scripts, no wrappers, no environment magic required.
Production-Grade Testing
Multi-layered validation: unit tests with synthetic data, end-to-end tests with real files and software backends, plus CLI subprocess verification of installed commands — 1,436 tests, 100% pass rate.
Clean Package Architecture
All CLIs organized under the cli_anything.* namespace — conflict-free, pip-installable, with consistent naming like cli-anything-gimp and cli-anything-blender.
Frequently Asked Questions About CLI Anything
Have a question about CLI Anything or want to contribute? Open an issue on GitHub or join the discussion.
CLI Anything (CLI-Anything) is an open-source Claude Code plugin that automatically generates production-ready CLI interfaces for any software with a codebase. Using a fully automated 7-phase pipeline, CLI Anything transforms applications like GIMP, Blender, LibreOffice, and hundreds more into agent-native tools that AI agents (Claude Code, Cursor, nanobot, etc.) can control via structured commands and JSON output.
Installing CLI Anything takes two commands in Claude Code: first run /plugin marketplace add HKUDS/CLI-Anything to add the marketplace, then /plugin install cli-anything to install the plugin. That's it — no configuration required. Then point it at any codebase with /cli-anything <path-or-repo>.
Any software with a codebase — open-source or internal. This includes creative tools (GIMP, Blender, Inkscape), AI platforms (Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI), office suites (LibreOffice), data tools (JupyterLab), and more. If there is a codebase, CLI Anything can analyze it and generate a full CLI harness.
CLI Anything generates native CLI interfaces that call real application backends directly — no screenshots, no pixel-clicking, no brittle UI parsing. Unlike RPA tools, CLI Anything results are consistent and deterministic, making it far more reliable for AI agent workflows at scale.
The pipeline runs: 1) Analyze — scans source code and maps GUI actions to APIs; 2) Design — architects command groups and state model; 3) Implement — builds Click CLI with REPL and JSON output; 4) Plan Tests — creates TEST.md; 5) Write Tests — implements comprehensive test suite; 6) Document — updates TEST.md; 7) Publish — creates setup.py and installs to PATH.
Every generated command supports a --json flag that returns structured JSON output for machine consumption. Agents also discover tool capabilities via standard --help flags and which commands — no custom integration required.
CLI-Anything is designed as a Claude Code plugin and works with Claude Code out of the box. The generated CLIs are standard Python packages installable anywhere, making them compatible with OpenClaw, nanobot, Cursor, and any agent framework that can run shell commands.
Highly reliable. CLI Anything has generated CLIs for 9 major applications with 1,436 passing tests — 1,011 unit tests and 425 end-to-end tests — at a 100% pass rate. Each CLI Anything harness includes real-software backend validation, not just synthetic data tests.
Yes! Use the plugin to generate a CLI for any software, then submit your harness following the process in cli-anything-plugin/PUBLISHING.md. Methodology improvements to HARNESS.md and plugin enhancements via pull requests are also welcome.
Yes — CLI-Anything generates interfaces to real software backends. The target application (e.g., GIMP, LibreOffice, Blender) must be installed on the system. This is by design: authentic integration means real capabilities, not toy reimplementations.
Start Using CLI Anything Today
CLI Anything transforms any codebase into a production-ready AI agent-controllable CLI with one command. Join 2,000+ developers using CLI Anything to build the agent-native software ecosystem.