AnimaWorks CLI Complete Reference

All AnimaWorks operations are performed via the animaworks command. This skill is a complete reference for all subcommands, arguments, and examples.

For operational concepts and rules, see common_knowledge/:

• Messaging rules → communication/messaging-guide.md
• Task management → operations/task-management.md
• Tool system → operations/tool-usage-overview.md
• Organization structure → reference/organization/structure.md
• Model selection and config → reference/operations/model-guide.md

Server Operations (Generally Avoid)

animaworks start                         # Start server (default: 0.0.0.0:18500)
animaworks start --port 8080             # Specify port
animaworks start --foreground            # Foreground mode (for debugging)
animaworks stop                          # Stop server
animaworks restart                       # Restart server
animaworks status                        # Check system state (processes, Anima list)
animaworks reset                         # Delete runtime directory + reinitialize
animaworks reset --restart               # Reset then auto-start server

Anima Management (anima subcommand)

List, Status, and Info

animaworks anima list                    # List all Anima (name, enabled, model, supervisor)
animaworks anima list --local            # Scan filesystem directly (no API)
animaworks anima status                  # All Anima process states (State, Model, PID, Uptime)
animaworks anima status {name}           # Specific Anima process state
animaworks anima info {name}             # Detailed config (model, role, credential, voice, etc.)
animaworks anima info {name} --json      # JSON output

anima info output includes:

• Anima name, Enabled, Role, Model, Execution Mode
• Credential, Fallback Model, Max Turns, Max Chains
• Context Threshold, Max Tokens, LLM Timeout
• Thinking settings, Supervisor, Mode S Auth
• Voice settings (tts_provider, voice_id, speed, pitch)

Create

# Create from character sheet (MD) — recommended
animaworks anima create --from-md {file} [--role {role}] [--name {name}]

# Create from template
animaworks anima create --template {template_name} [--name {name}]

# Create blank
animaworks anima create --name {name}

Enable, Disable, Delete

animaworks anima enable {name}           # Enable (return from pause)
animaworks anima disable {name}          # Disable (pause)
animaworks anima delete {name}           # Delete (after ZIP archive)
animaworks anima delete {name} --no-archive  # Delete without archive
animaworks anima delete {name} --force   # Delete without confirmation
animaworks anima restart {name}          # Restart process
animaworks anima audit {name}            # Comprehensive audit of subordinate's recent activity (default: 1 day)
animaworks anima audit {name} --days 7   # Audit last 7 days

Change Model

animaworks anima set-model {name} {model_name}
animaworks anima set-model {name} {model_name} --credential {credential_name}
animaworks anima set-model --all {model_name}   # Change all Anima at once

Requires anima restart {name} when server is running.

Change Role

# Change role (reapply template + auto restart)
animaworks anima set-role {name} {role}

# Change status.json role field only (do not touch template)
animaworks anima set-role {name} {role} --status-only

# Update files only, no restart
animaworks anima set-role {name} {role} --no-restart

Files updated by set-role:

• status.json — role, model, max_turns updated from role template defaults
• specialty_prompt.md — replaced with role-specific guidelines
• permissions.json — replaced with role-specific tool and command permissions

Valid roles: engineer, researcher, manager, writer, ops, general

Hot Reload

animaworks anima reload {name}           # Reload model config from status.json (no process restart)
animaworks anima reload --all            # Reload all Anima

Model Information (models subcommand)

animaworks models list                   # List known models (name, mode, context window, note)
animaworks models list --mode S          # Filter by execution mode (S/C/D/G/A/B)
animaworks models list --json            # JSON output
animaworks models info {model_name}      # Resolved info (execution mode, context window, threshold, source)
animaworks models show                   # Show current models.json contents
animaworks models show --json            # Raw JSON output

Details → reference/operations/model-guide.md

Chat and Messaging

# Chat with an Anima (human → Anima)
animaworks chat {name} "message"
animaworks chat {name} "message" --from {sender_name}
animaworks chat {name} "message" --local  # Direct execution (no API)

# Send message between Animas
animaworks send {sender} {recipient} "message"
animaworks send {sender} {recipient} "message" --intent report
animaworks send {sender} {recipient} "message" --intent question
animaworks send {sender} {recipient} "message" --reply-to {message_id}
animaworks send {sender} {recipient} "message" --thread-id {thread_id}

# Manual heartbeat trigger
animaworks heartbeat {name}
animaworks heartbeat {name} --local      # Direct execution (no API)

Board (Shared Channels)

animaworks board read {channel}                         # Read channel messages
animaworks board read {channel} --limit 50              # Specify max messages
animaworks board read {channel} --human-only            # Human messages only
animaworks board post {sender} {channel} "text"         # Post to channel
animaworks board dm-history {self} {peer}               # Get DM history
animaworks board dm-history {self} {peer} --limit 50    # Specify max messages

Config Management (config subcommand)

animaworks config list                   # List all config values
animaworks config list --section system  # Filter by section
animaworks config list --show-secrets    # Show API key values
animaworks config get {key}              # Get specific value (dot notation: system.log_level)
animaworks config get {key} --show-secrets
animaworks config set {key} {value}      # Set a config value
animaworks config export-sections        # Export to template files
animaworks config export-sections --dry-run

Log Viewing (logs)

animaworks logs {name}                   # View specific Anima logs
animaworks logs --all                    # View server + all Anima logs
animaworks logs {name} --lines 100       # Specify line count (default: 50)
animaworks logs {name} --date 20260301   # View logs for specific date

Cost Tracking (cost)

animaworks cost                          # Token usage and cost for all Anima
animaworks cost {name}                   # Specific Anima cost
animaworks cost --today                  # Today only
animaworks cost --days 7                 # Last 7 days (default: 30)
animaworks cost --json                   # JSON output

Task Management (task subcommand)

animaworks task list                     # List tasks
animaworks task list --status pending    # Filter by status (pending/in_progress/done/cancelled/blocked)
animaworks task add --assignee {name} --instruction "task description"
animaworks task add --assignee {name} --instruction "desc" --source human --deadline 2026-03-10T18:00:00
animaworks task update --task-id {id} --status done
animaworks task update --task-id {id} --status done --summary "completion summary"

RAG Index Management

animaworks index                         # Incremental index update for all Anima
animaworks index --anima {name}          # Specific Anima only
animaworks index --full                  # Full reindex of all data
animaworks index --dry-run               # Preview changes only (no execution)

Asset Operations

Optimize Assets

animaworks optimize-assets                              # Optimize 3D assets for all Anima
animaworks optimize-assets --anima {name}               # Specific Anima only
animaworks optimize-assets --dry-run                    # Preview only
animaworks optimize-assets --simplify                   # Mesh simplification
animaworks optimize-assets --texture-compress           # Texture compression
animaworks optimize-assets --texture-resize 512         # Texture resize

Remake Assets

animaworks remake-assets {name} --style-from {reference}   # Regenerate assets with style transfer
animaworks remake-assets {name} --style-from {ref} --steps portrait,fullbody
animaworks remake-assets {name} --style-from {ref} --dry-run
animaworks remake-assets {name} --style-from {ref} --no-backup

External Tool Execution (animaworks-tool)

Commands for Anima to use external services (Slack, Gmail, GitHub, etc.).

# Show help
animaworks-tool {tool_name} --help

# Execute
animaworks-tool {tool_name} {subcommand} [args...]

# Background execution (for long-running tools)
animaworks-tool submit {tool_name} {subcommand} [args...]

Examples

animaworks-tool web_search query "AnimaWorks framework"
animaworks-tool slack send --channel "#general" --text "Good morning"
animaworks-tool github issues --repo owner/repo
animaworks-tool submit image_gen pipeline "1girl, ..." --anima-dir $ANIMAWORKS_ANIMA_DIR

For submit details → common_knowledge/operations/background-tasks.md

Background Task Monitoring (Anima Internal Tools)

To check progress of tasks submitted via submit, use these internal tools:

• list_background_tasks — List running and completed tasks
• check_background_task(task_id) — Get status and result for a specific task

These are not CLI commands but MCP tools used by Anima during conversation.

Initialization and Migration

animaworks init                          # Initialize runtime directory (~/.animaworks/)
animaworks init --force                  # Re-initialize, overwriting existing config
animaworks init --skip-anima             # Skip Anima creation
animaworks migrate-cron                  # Convert cron.md from Japanese format to standard cron

Global Options

animaworks --gateway-url http://host:port {command}   # Specify server URL
animaworks --data-dir /path/to/data {command}         # Specify runtime directory