MacroCLI CLI

What It Is

The MacroCLI converts valuable GUI workflows into parameterized, CLI-callable macros. Agents never touch the GUI directly — they call macros through this stable CLI, and the runtime routes execution to the best available backend (native plugin/API, file transformation, semantic UI control, or precompiled GUI macro replay).

Installation

cd macrocli/agent-harness
pip install -e .

Requirements: Python 3.10+, PyYAML, click, prompt-toolkit.

Quick Start (for agents)

# 1. See what macros are available
cli-anything-macrocli macro list --json

# 2. Inspect a macro's parameters
cli-anything-macrocli macro info export_file --json

# 3. Dry-run to check params without side effects
cli-anything-macrocli --dry-run macro run export_file \
    --param output=/tmp/test.txt --json

# 4. Execute a macro
cli-anything-macrocli macro run export_file \
    --param output=/tmp/result.txt --json

# 5. See what backends are available
cli-anything-macrocli backends --json

Command Reference

Global Flags

macro group

session group

backends

cli-anything-macrocli backends --json
# Shows: native_api, file_transform, semantic_ui, gui_macro, recovery
# and whether each is available in the current environment.

Macro Parameters

Pass parameters with --param key=value. Repeat for multiple:

cli-anything-macrocli macro run transform_json \
    --param file=/path/to/data.json \
    --param key=settings.theme \
    --param value=dark \
    --json

Output Format (--json)

All commands output JSON when --json is set:

{
  "success": true,
  "macro_name": "export_file",
  "output": {
    "exported_file": "/tmp/result.txt"
  },
  "error": "",
  "telemetry": {
    "duration_ms": 312,
    "steps_total": 2,
    "steps_run": 2,
    "backends_used": ["native_api"],
    "dry_run": false
  }
}

On failure ("success": false), read the "error" field for the reason. Exit code is 1 on failure.

Execution Backends

Backends are selected automatically based on the macro step definition:

Writing Macros

Macros are YAML files in cli_anything/macrocli/macro_definitions/. Scaffold one with:

cli-anything-macrocli macro define my_macro --output \
    cli_anything/macrocli/macro_definitions/examples/my_macro.yaml

Minimal schema:

name: my_macro
version: "1.0"
description: What this macro does.

parameters:
  output:
    type: string
    required: true
    description: Where to write results.
    example: /tmp/result.txt

preconditions:
  - file_exists: /path/to/input

steps:
  - id: step1
    backend: native_api
    action: run_command
    params:
      command: [my-app, --export, "${output}"]
    timeout_ms: 30000
    on_failure: fail  # or: skip, continue

postconditions:
  - file_exists: ${output}
  - file_size_gt: [${output}, 100]

outputs:
  - name: result_file
    path: ${output}

agent_hints:
  danger_level: safe  # safe | moderate | dangerous
  side_effects: [creates_file]
  reversible: true

Agent Usage Rules

1. Always use --json for programmatic output.
2. Use --dry-run to validate params before executing side-effectful macros.
3. Check success field — do not assume success from exit code alone.
4. Read error field when success is false — it explains what failed.
5. Use macro info <name> to discover params before calling macro run.
6. Use absolute paths for all file parameters.

Example Workflow

# Step 1: What's available?
cli-anything-macrocli macro list --json

# Step 2: What params does transform_json need?
cli-anything-macrocli macro info transform_json --json

# Step 3: Test safely
cli-anything-macrocli --dry-run macro run transform_json \
    --param file=/tmp/config.json \
    --param key=theme \
    --param value=dark --json

# Step 4: Execute for real
cli-anything-macrocli macro run transform_json \
    --param file=/tmp/config.json \
    --param key=theme \
    --param value=dark --json

Version

1.0.0