> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://arka-agent-mintlify-f21cea86.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Arka CLI command and flag reference

> Reference for the arka command-line interface, including primary commands, the agent alias, subcommands, and flags for terminal usage.

The `arka` command is the main entry point. `agent` is an alias for the same router.

<Note>
  **Always prefix with `arka`.** Subcommands, skills, and natural-language requests all go through `arka …` or `arka "…"`. Fish-only shortcuts (`chart`, `stock news`, `route_learn`) work in a Fish shell, but every doc example uses `arka` for consistency.
</Note>

## Install the CLI (no build from source)

You do not need to clone the repo to use `arka` from your terminal. Install the **`arka-agent`** package:

```bash theme={null}
# Recommended — isolated CLI on PATH
pipx install "arka-agent[chat]"
arka setup
arka doctor

# PyPI not available yet? Install from GitHub without cloning:
pipx install "arka-agent[chat] @ git+https://github.com/Sumit884-byte/arka.git"
```

Then open a new terminal and run `arka help`. Only clone the repo if you are [contributing to Arka](https://github.com/Sumit884-byte/arka) or need editable installs (`pip install -e ".[chat]"`).

<Note>
  Config and cache live outside the install directory, typically in `~/.config/arka/` (Linux), `~/Library/Application Support/arka/` (macOS), or `%APPDATA%\arka\` (Windows). Upgrading with `pipx upgrade arka-agent` keeps your keys and learned routes.
</Note>

## Primary commands

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka <request>` | Route natural language to the best skill |
| `agent <request>` | Same router (alias) |
| `arka ask <question>` | Web + AI answer |
| `arka route <request>` | Preview routing without executing |
| `arka goal <goal>` | Autonomous multi-step agent loop |
| `arka setup` | Seed config dirs and dependencies |
| `arka doctor` | Install diagnostics |
| `arka reload` | Re-read `.env` and `config.fish` |
| `arka backup all` | Compressed backup of all config + cache files (includes `.env`) |
| `arka refetch --install` | Git pull + sync + reinstall |
| `arka help` | Skill overview |

## Web dashboard

Full guide: [Web dashboard](/guides/web-dashboard)

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka serve` | Start remote API on port 8765 |
| `arka backend status` | Check local or hosted backend health |
| `arka backend ask "<prompt>"` | Call `/v1/agent` from the terminal |
| `cd web && python3 bridge.py` | Bridge + session history on port 8766 |
| `cd web && npm run dev` | Vite dev UI on port 5173 |

Session history for the dashboard uses channel `web`:

```bash theme={null}
arka session list
arka session resume web <chat-id>
arka session reset web <chat-id>
```

## Media capture

See [Browser video capture](/guides/video-capture) and [Meme templates](/guides/meme-templates).

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka capture video <url>` | Record walkthrough WebM + step PNGs |
| `arka capture video --walkthrough` | Preset for the web dashboard |
| `arka meme vibe-coding` | Built-in meme preset |
| `arka meme drake --reject "…" --accept "…"` | Drake hotline bling layout |
| `arka generate music "lo-fi beat"` | AI music (instrumental or with `--lyrics`) |

See [Generate music](/guides/generate-music).

## Charts and prediction

Full guide: [Charts](/guides/charts)

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka chart line AAPL --range 1y` | Stock line chart |
| `arka chart predict AAPL --days 30` | Stock price forecast chart |
| `arka chart models --type scatter` | LLM latency vs benchmark score |
| `arka chart table sales.csv` | Render CSV/TSV/JSON as PNG table image |
| `arka predict future "…" --chart` | Weather, rainfall, Kaggle, CSV forecasts |
| `arka benchmark run --dry-run` | Populate data for `arka chart models` |

Natural language (always prefix with `arka`):

```bash theme={null}
arka "compare Apple and Tesla stock last year"
arka "predict monsoon rainfall in Mumbai next 2 weeks"
arka "chart AI model characteristics with data points"
arka "forecast kaggle dataset heptapod/titanic next 30 days"
```

## Developer loop

Unified local workflow — see the full [Developer loop](/guides/dev) guide.

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka dev init [path]` | Initialize scoped code project |
| `arka dev test [path]` | Changed-only CI gates (`--fix`, `--json`) |
| `arka dev review [path]` | Staged review with test-gap hints |
| `arka dev ship [path]` | Review + CI before commit |
| `arka dev tui [path]` | Coding TUI workspace |
| `arka dev doctor [path]` | Repo dev preflight (not platform `arka doctor`) |
| `arka dev pr babysit` | GitHub PR CI babysit loop |

## Developer tools

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka ci` | Run the local CI gate mirrored from GitHub Actions |
| `arka ci --full` | Run the fast gate plus the full pytest suite |
| `arka ci --fix` | Run CI, then hand the first failure to the goal agent |
| `arka review --staged` | Review staged changes with project-rule and test-gap hints |
| `arka review` | Review the current diff vs the default base branch |
| `arka route audit` | Compare symbolic routes, fish hooks, and NL coverage tests |
| `arka skill new my_tool --template dev` | Scaffold a new plugin skill with manifest, runner, and docs stub |

Natural language examples:

```bash theme={null}
arka dev ship
arka dev test --fix
arka ci
arka ci --full
arka "babysit this pr"
arka "check repo health"
arka "review staged"
arka "review vs main"
arka route audit
arka skill new my_tool --template dev
```

## YouTube commands

See the full [YouTube guide](/guides/youtube).

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka youtube research <query>` | Search + transcript research digest |
| `arka download <id-or-url>` | Download video, Shorts, or playlist |
| `arka summarize youtube <id>` | Summarize video or playlist |
| `arka youtube_download <url>` | Single video download (fish) |
| `arka youtube_bulk download <url>` | Bulk playlist/channel download |

## Stock commands

See the full [Stock intelligence guide](/guides/stocks).

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka stock news` | Market news feeds |
| `arka stock prices [TICKER…]` | Live prices |
| `arka stock analyze TICKER` | AI backtest + ML signal |
| `arka stock fundamentals TICKER…` | Ratios vs peers |
| `arka stock invest <question>` | Deep investment research |
| `arka predictions --domain stocks <topic>` | Opportunity analysis |

## Voice and services

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka listen` | Wake-word listener ("hey arka, …") |
| `arka start` / `arka stop` | Background services |
| `arka serve` | Remote server for phone STT/TTS |
| `arka backend status` | Check a local or hosted Arka backend |
| `arka backend ask "<prompt>"` | Call `/v1/agent` directly from the terminal |
| `arka backend media <file>` | Upload media to `/v1/media` |
| `arka site_summary <url>` | Summarize a bounded whole-site crawl while skipping social/offsite links |
| `arka speak-lang hi-IN` | Set voice language |
| `arka reload --listen` | Reload config and restart listener |

Use `ARKA_BACKEND_URL` plus `ARKA_BACKEND_TOKEN` or `REMOTE_TOKEN` for hosted
backends:

```bash theme={null}
export ARKA_BACKEND_URL="https://your-arka.up.railway.app"
export ARKA_BACKEND_TOKEN="$REMOTE_TOKEN"
arka backend ask "init https://github.com/org/repo as a workspace"
```

Whole-site summary examples:

```bash theme={null}
arka site_summary https://example.com --max-pages 12 --depth 1
arka "summarize entire site https://example.com"
```

`site_summary` follows same-site links only and skips common social platforms
such as X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Discord, and TikTok.

## LLM management

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka ai-models` | List providers and default models |
| `arka ai-skill-model` | Per-skill model configuration |
| `arka ai-skill-model profiles` | Task profiles (route, chat, summarize) |
| `arka orchestrate --benchmark <request>` | Route using live benchmark winners for the routed task |
| `arka select_model` | Hardware-based model recommendations |
| `arka select_model --apply` | Apply recommendations to skill profiles |

See [Hardware-aware model selection](/guides/select-model).

## Route learning

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka route_learn learn <phrase> <skill>` | Teach a phrase → skill mapping |
| `arka route_learn learn --from-trace --correct <skill>` | Fix last routing mistake |
| `arka route_learn list` | List learned routes |
| `arka route_learn delete <id>` | Remove a learned route |
| `arka route_learn test <phrase>` | Preview routing for a phrase |

See [Teaching custom routes](/guides/route-learn).

## Competitions

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `competitions sources` | List hackathon/ML competition sources |
| `competitions search <topic>` | Search all sources |
| `competitions search <topic> --source kaggle` | Search one platform |

See [Hackathons and ML competitions](/guides/competitions).

## Daily brief

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `daily_brief` | Personalized morning tech headlines |

Natural language: `arka daily brief`, `arka morning tech brief`. See [Daily and tech brief](/guides/daily-brief).

## Gemini CLI

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka gemini` | Interactive Google Gemini CLI |
| `arka gemini <prompt>` | One-shot prompt |
| `arka gemini status` | Install and auth check |

See [Google Gemini CLI integration](/guides/gemini-cli).

## Social & media

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka post_x <url>` | Fetch, shorten, and post to X/Twitter |
| `arka ascii_art <text>` | Render ASCII art banner |
| `arka ascii_art --image <path>` | Convert image to ASCII |

## Google Workspace

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka google setup` | Configure Google OAuth |
| `arka google login` | Authenticate Gmail + Calendar |
| `arka google gmail --unread` | Fetch unread emails |
| `arka google calendar --today` | Today's calendar events |

## Plugins

| Command | Description |
| - | - |
| `arka skills list` | List installed plugins |
| `arka skills install <url>` | Install from git URL |
| `arka skills refresh` | Reload plugin registry |

## Council and deliberation

Full guide: [Arka Council](/guides/council)

| Skill | Example |
| - | - |
| `council` | `arka council "should I learn Rust?"` |
| `council` | `ask the council about switching careers` |
| `council list` | `arka council list` |

## Learning

Full guide: [Daily reading](/guides/daily-reading)

| Skill | Example |
| - | - |
| `daily_reading` | `arka daily_reading init "world history"` |
| `daily_reading` | `arka daily_reading today --minutes 45` |
| `health_reading` | `arka health_reading today` |
| `health_reading` | `arka health_reading status` |

Full guide: [Quiz practice](/guides/quiz-practice)

| Skill | Example |
| - | - |
| `quiz_practice` | `arka quiz python` |
| `quiz_practice` | `practice quiz biology mitosis` |
| `quiz_practice list` | `arka quiz_practice list` |

## Goal agent

Run autonomous multi-step tasks with a step budget:

```bash theme={null}
arka goal set up a venv, install requests, and run pytest
arka goal -y -n 30 debug why nginx fails
```

Default step budget: `GOAL_MAX_STEPS=25`.

## Self-improve

Analyze and improve the Arka codebase:

```bash theme={null}
arka self improve
arka self improve routing --apply
arka self memory
```

If you want Arka to route a phrase, send it through `arka` first. Plain shell commands are not intercepted automatically.

See [Self-improve loop](/guides/self-improve).

## Operation modes

```bash theme={null}
arka mode debug    # show routing and LLM traces
arka mode agent    # default clean output
arka mode list
```

See [Operation modes](/guides/operation-modes).

## Provider selection

```bash theme={null}
arka provider list
arka provider show
arka provider set gemini
arka provider set groq
arka provider set openrouter --refresh
arka provider set groq --no-keep-model
```

## Fish shell helpers

When using fish, these functions are available:

```fish theme={null}
arka route "play bohemian rhapsody"   # preview routing
arka route # last routing decision
arka route # explain skill choice
```

## Apply config changes

```bash theme={null}
arka reload              # re-read .env + config.fish
arka reload --listen     # also restart wake listener
```


## Related topics

- [Arka — AI terminal agent documentation](/index.md)
- [Skills catalog: 70+ built-in Arka commands](/guides/skills.md)
- [MCP integration for Cursor and Claude](/guides/mcp.md)
- [Quickstart: install Arka and run your first command](/quickstart.md)
- [Command aliases, subcommand synonyms, and skill names](/reference/aliases.md)


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