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EidosDocsRegistry

The CLI

eidos is the mechanical half of the standard as a program: one self-contained binary for macOS, Linux, and Windows, with nothing to install before it (no Node, no npm).

Terminal window
curl -fsSL https://eidosmd.com/install | sh      # macOS and Linux
irm https://eidosmd.com/install.ps1 | iex       # Windows, in PowerShell
eidos --help

The script checks the download against its published checksum, installs into your own folder with no administrator, and puts eidos on your PATH. In a CI job it never asks, and EIDOS_VERSION pins the version it installs. Eidos MD can put the same command on your PATH for you.

It is free, with no account and no service: it reads and writes plain files in your repository. So are the desktop app, the standard, every plugin, working offline, git, and your own agents. Eidos online is free to read and comment on without limit; you pay only to edit online past the free plan, or for extra storage. Plans → · Pricing →

What it does

Section titled “What it does”
Command Does
eidos install Create a project from a seed or a published framework, or pull pieces into one that exists
eidos new Scaffold a blueprint that is born conforming
eidos check Validate the project against its own framework: errors and warnings, never a refusal
eidos index Rebuild the index inside Framework.yaml
eidos framework, list, show Read the framework and the blueprints, --json for scripts
eidos export A collection’s blueprints as CSV or an Excel workbook
eidos property Get, set, or unset one blueprint’s property from the shell
eidos configure:<noun> Change the framework: a property, collection, folder, group, variant, term, doc, or role
eidos draft Start a blueprint before it has a collection, and publish it when it does
eidos plugin, setup Which plugins are on for the project, the users, who this machine acts as
eidos canvas, comments, backlog, assets, records, linter, agent, … The plugins’ own commands, each mounted while its plugin is on
eidos git version Record a named snapshot of the project, when asked
eidos version The versions of eidos on this machine: install one beside the others, choose yours, pin the project’s, update
eidos migrate Move a project to the standard the CLI carries
eidos roles, whoami The roles the framework ships, and who is in the seat
eidos instructions, agents The workflow an agent follows, and a pointer to it in AGENTS.md
CommandsEvery command, its options, and the exit codes.
Eidos MDThe page, in the desktop app: a workbench over the project: tables, a reader and editor, the canvas, comments, a backlog, and your agent.
PluginsThe premise every plugin is held to, the switch, and a page for each plugin that ships with Eidos.

How it implements the standard

Section titled “How it implements the standard”
  • The project is found by its marker. Every command finds the project by the .eidos/ inside it, looking up the tree from where you run it and then two levels down. --project <path> names one explicitly (--root, its older name, still works).
  • The framework is read from the project, never from a copy. Nothing about a collection, section, or property name is hardcoded. Framework →
  • Frontmatter is generated from the Properties table. new fills what it can and leaves the rest blank rather than guessed. Properties →
  • Validation surfaces, never blocks. check reports against your framework’s own table and templates. The output is a review a person acts on. What check reports →
  • The index is regenerated wholesale. index rewrites one key in Framework.yaml and nothing else.
  • The agent guidance is a command. eidos instructions prints the workflow, restated around the commands. Agents →

What it never does

Section titled “What it never does”

It never writes a sentence of a blueprint’s prose, decides scope, resolves an open question, or fills a blank property with a plausible value. Those are the owner’s.

License and versions

Section titled “License and versions”

The CLI and the desktop app are free to use for any purpose, personal or commercial, as they are: licensed under PolyForm Strict 1.0.0 with an added permission for commercial use, they may not be changed, made the basis of new works, or redistributed. The standard and the seeds are Buildable’s, Apache-2.0.

The CLI versions separately from the standard it carries. eidos --version names both. Nothing updates on its own: eidos version update moves you to the latest release when you ask, and eidos version pin holds a project, and every pipeline that runs it, on one version. Versioning →