CLI Commands

Complete reference for Isolate CLI commands.

Core Commands

These are the commands you need 90% of the time:

Command	Description
`isolate spawn <bead>`	Spawn isolated workspace for a task
`isolate work [bead] [name]`	Start work on a task
`isolate sync`	Sync workspace with main (auto-rebase)
`isolate done [name]`	Complete and merge work
`isolate abort [name]`	Abort and cleanup workspace
`isolate whereami`	Show current location
`isolate context`	Show full context

Session Management

Command	Description
`isolate add <name>`	Create session for manual work
`isolate list`	List all sessions
`isolate remove <name>`	Remove a session
`isolate clone <name>`	Clone a session
`isolate rename <old> <new>`	Rename a session
`isolate pause [name]`	Pause a session
`isolate resume [name]`	Resume a paused session

Object Commands

Task (Beads)

isolate task list              # List all tasks
isolate task show <id>         # Show task details
isolate task claim <id>        # Claim a task
isolate task yield <id>        # Yield a task
isolate task start <id>        # Start work on a task
isolate task done <id>         # Complete a task

Session

isolate session list           # List all sessions
isolate session add <name>     # Create new session
isolate session remove <name>  # Remove a session
isolate session spawn <bead>   # Spawn session for agent work
isolate session sync           # Sync with remote

Status

isolate status show            # Show current status
isolate status whereami       # Show current location
isolate status whoami         # Show current identity
isolate status context        # Show context information

Config

isolate config list            # List configuration values
isolate config get <key>      # Get a config value
isolate config set <key> <value>  # Set a config value
isolate config schema         # Show configuration schema

Doctor

isolate doctor check           # Run diagnostics
isolate doctor fix            # Fix detected issues
isolate doctor integrity      # Check system integrity
isolate doctor clean          # Clean up invalid sessions

Additional Commands

Command	Description
`isolate init`	Initialize isolate in a JJ repository
`isolate checkpoint [name]`	Create checkpoint
`isolate undo`	Undo last operation
`isolate revert`	Revert changes
`isolate claim <resource>`	Claim a resource
`isolate yield <resource>`	Yield a resource
`isolate lock <name>`	Acquire lock
`isolate unlock <name>`	Release lock
`isolate whoami`	Show current user/agent
`isolate diff`	Show changes
`isolate clean`	Clean up
`isolate validate`	Validate configurations

Common Flags

Flag	Description
`--json`	Output as JSON
`--verbose`, `-v`	Enable verbose output
`--dry-run`	Preview without executing
`--idempotent`	Succeed if already exists
`--force`, `-f`	Force operation

Aliases

Command	Alias
`isolate done`	`isolate submit`
`isolate checkpoint`	`isolate ckpt`
`isolate task claim`	`isolate task take`
`isolate task yield`	`isolate task release`
`isolate session sync`	`isolate session rebase`

Quick Reference

Start Working

isolate whereami           # Check you're on main
isolate work feature-123   # Start work

While Working

isolate sync              # Sync with main
isolate context           # Check status

Finish Work

isolate done              # Complete and merge
isolate abort             # Abort and cleanup

Exit Codes

0: Success
1: Validation error (user input)
2: Not found
3: System error
4: External command error
5: Lock contention

Keyboard shortcuts

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