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CLI Reference

Complete reference for every command in Agents CLI in Agent Platform (the agents-cli binary).

agents-cli

Agents CLI — Agent Development Lifecycle toolchain.

Build, evaluate, and deploy ADK agents with a single unified CLI.

Quick start: agents-cli setup Install skills to your coding agent agents-cli create my-agent Create a new agent project agents-cli playground Start the local playground agents-cli eval generate Run agent inference over eval cases agents-cli eval grade Grade generated traces agents-cli scaffold enhance . Add deployment/CI-CD to a project agents-cli deploy Deploy the agent

Usage:

agents-cli [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options:

  --version  Show the version and exit.
  --help     Show this message and exit.

cmd-info

Show project configuration, paths, and CLI version.

Usage:

agents-cli cmd-info [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --json  Output as JSON.
  --help  Show this message and exit.

create

Create GCP-based AI agent projects from templates.

Usage:

agents-cli create [OPTIONS] [PROJECT_NAME]

Options:

  -a, --agent TEXT                Template identifier to use. Can be a local
                                  agent name (e.g., `chat_agent`), a local
                                  path (`local@/path/to/template`), an `adk-
                                  samples` shortcut (e.g., `adk@data-
                                  science`), or a remote Git URL. Both
                                  shorthand (e.g.,
                                  `github.com/org/repo/path@main`) and full
                                  URLs from your browser (e.g., `https://githu
                                  b.com/org/repo/tree/main/path`) are
                                  supported. Lists available local templates
                                  if omitted.
  -o, --output-dir PATH           Output directory for the project (default:
                                  current directory)
  --agent-guidance-filename TEXT  Filename for agent guidance (e.g.,
                                  GEMINI.md, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md)
  -bt, --base-template TEXT       Base template to use (overrides template
                                  default, only for remote templates)
  --bq-analytics                  Include BigQuery Agent Analytics Plugin for
                                  observability
  -dir, --agent-directory TEXT    Name of the agent directory (overrides
                                  template default)
  -d, --deployment-target [agent_runtime|cloud_run|gke|none]
                                  Deployment target name
  --cicd-runner [google_cloud_build|github_actions|skip]
                                  CI/CD runner to use
  -p, --prototype                 Create minimal project without CI/CD or
                                  Terraform infrastructure
  -ds, --datastore [agent_platform_search|agent_platform_vector_search]
                                  Type of datastore to use for data ingestion
  --session-type [in_memory|cloud_sql|agent_platform_sessions]
                                  Type of session storage to use
  --debug                         Enable debug logging
  -i, --interactive               Enable interactive prompts for human use
  -y, --auto-approve, --yes       Non-interactive: skip prompts and use
                                  defaults
  --region TEXT                   GCP region for deployment (default: us-
                                  east1)
  -s, --skip-checks               Skip verification checks for GCP and Vertex
                                  AI
  -ag, --agent-garden             Deployed from Agent Garden - customizes
                                  welcome messages
  -k, --google-api-key, --api-key TEXT
                                  Use Google AI Studio API key instead of
                                  Vertex AI. If provided without a value,
                                  generates a .env file with a placeholder.
  --adk                           Quickstart mode: adk + agent_runtime +
                                  prototype, skips prompts
  --help                          Show this message and exit.

data-ingestion

Run data ingestion for RAG agents.

For agent_platform_vector_search: submits the ingestion pipeline. For agent_platform_search: syncs the data connector.

Regions: --vector-search-location (defaults to us-central1) sets both the Vector Search collection region and the BQ ingestion dataset region, kept colocated to avoid cross-region data movement.

Usage:

agents-cli data-ingestion [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --project TEXT                 GCP project ID.
  --region TEXT                  GCP region.
  --vector-search-location TEXT  Vector Search 2.0 location (defaults to us-
                                 central1). Also sets the BQ ingestion dataset
                                 region to keep it colocated with the
                                 collection.
  --collection-id TEXT           Collection ID for the data connector.
  --remote                       Submit pipeline to Vertex AI Pipelines
                                 instead of running locally.
  --help                         Show this message and exit.

deploy

Deploy the agent.

Dispatches by deployment target configured in agents-cli-manifest.yaml: agent_runtime → Agent Runtime deployment cloud_run → gcloud beta run deploy gke → terraform + docker build + kubectl apply

Use --list to show existing deployments: agents-cli deploy --list

Use --no-wait to start a deployment and return immediately: agents-cli deploy --no-wait

Use --status to check on a --no-wait deployment: agents-cli deploy --status

Usage:

agents-cli deploy [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --project TEXT              GCP project ID.
  --region TEXT               GCP region.
  --secrets TEXT              Comma-separated ENV=SECRET pairs.
  --agent-identity            Enable agent identity.
  --update-env-vars TEXT      Comma-separated KEY=VALUE env vars.
  --iap                       Enable Identity-Aware Proxy (Cloud Run).
  --port INTEGER              Container port (Cloud Run).
  --memory TEXT               Memory limit (Cloud Run). Default: 4Gi.
  --service-account TEXT      Service account email.
  --image TEXT                Container image URI (Cloud Run / GKE). Skips
                              source build.
  --cluster-name TEXT         Cluster name (GKE).
  -n, --dry-run, --dryrun     Print what would be executed without running it.
  --list                      List existing deployments and exit.
  --no-wait                   Start the deployment and return immediately.
  --status                    Check the status of a pending --no-wait
                              deployment.
  -i, --interactive           Enable interactive prompts for underlying
                              tooling (gcloud, etc).
  --no-confirm-project        Skip project confirmation prompt.
  --network-attachment TEXT   Network attachment resource name for PSC
                              interface (Agent Runtime). Enables private VPC
                              connectivity. Format: projects/PROJECT/regions/R
                              EGION/networkAttachments/NAME
  --dns-peering-domain TEXT   DNS peering domain suffix, e.g. 'my-
                              internal.corp.' (Agent Runtime, requires
                              --network-attachment).
  --dns-peering-project TEXT  Project ID hosting the Cloud DNS managed zone
                              for DNS peering (Agent Runtime, requires
                              --network-attachment).
  --dns-peering-network TEXT  VPC network name in the target project for DNS
                              peering (Agent Runtime, requires --network-
                              attachment).
  --help                      Show this message and exit.

eval

Evaluate agents and compare results.

Subcommands: generate Run agent inference over eval cases grade Grade generated traces run Chain generate + grade in one command dataset Manage evaluation traces metric Discover and manage evaluation metrics compare Compare two eval result JSON files analyze Analyze loss clusters from results optimize Optimize agent prompts using the GEPA framework submit Submit an E2E cloud-side evaluation run on Vertex AI Eval Service results Fetch results from a completed cloud evaluation run

Usage:

agents-cli eval [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options:

  --help  Show this message and exit.
analyze

Analyze failure clusters from an evaluation run result JSON file. Results are always saved to a file.

Usage:

agents-cli eval analyze [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --eval-result FILE           Required. Path to the evaluation results JSON
                               file.  [required]
  --top-k INTEGER              Optional. Maximum number of loss clusters to
                               identify.
  --metric TEXT                Optional. Evaluation metric name to run
                               analysis against. Currently supported:
                               multi_turn_task_success,
                               multi_turn_tool_use_quality
  --output FILE                Optional. Path where the results should be
                               saved. Defaults to saving to the 'artifacts'
                               directory.
  --output-format [json|html]  Format of the saved output file.  [default:
                               json]
  --project TEXT               GCP project ID. Overrides GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
                               and ADC.
  --help                       Show this message and exit.
compare

Compare two eval result JSON files.

Reads BASELINE and CANDIDATE JSON files and produces a diff. No subprocess calls — purely in-process comparison.

Usage:

agents-cli eval compare [OPTIONS] BASELINE CANDIDATE

Options:

  --help  Show this message and exit.
dataset

Manage evaluation traces.

Usage:

agents-cli eval dataset [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options:

  --help  Show this message and exit.
synthesize

Synthesize evaluation traces (eval cases with full agent runs).

Generates synthetic multi-turn conversations by inspecting the project's ADK agent (read from agent_directory in agents-cli-manifest.yaml) and running it with a model-based user simulator.

Examples: # Basic — synthesize 3 scenarios with up to 5 turns each: agents-cli eval dataset synthesize

# Custom count, turns, and instruction: agents-cli eval dataset synthesize -n 10 --max-turns 8 \ --instruction "Scenarios where users change destination"

Requires: - A local ADK agent project with agents-cli-manifest.yaml - Google Cloud authentication (agents-cli login)

Usage:

agents-cli eval dataset synthesize [OPTIONS]

Options:

  -n, --count INTEGER RANGE   Number of conversation scenarios to generate.
                              [default: 3; x>=1]
  --instruction TEXT          Natural-language instruction guiding scenario
                              generation. Example: 'Generate scenarios where
                              the user changes their mind.'
  --environment-context TEXT  Environment context injected into each scenario.
                              Example: 'Today is Monday. Flights to Paris are
                              available.'
  --model TEXT                Optional. Custom model used for scenario
                              generation.Example: gemini-3-flash-preview.
  --max-turns INTEGER RANGE   Maximum conversation turns per scenario during
                              user simulation.  [default: 5; x>=1]
  -o, --output TEXT           Output path for the synthesized traces. If an
                              existing directory is given, a timestamped file
                              is written inside it; otherwise the value is
                              treated as a file path. Defaults to a
                              timestamped file under 'artifacts/traces/' so
                              that `agents-cli eval grade` can consume it
                              directly.
  --project TEXT              GCP project ID. Overrides GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
                              and ADC.
  --region TEXT               GCP region for the Vertex eval service. Defaults
                              to 'global'.
  --help                      Show this message and exit.
generate

Generate agent traces by running inference over eval cases.

Reads an evaluation dataset, runs the project's local ADK agent (read from agent_directory in agents-cli-manifest.yaml) over each eval case, and writes the populated traces (agent responses + tool calls) ready for downstream scoring with agents-cli eval grade.

Each eval case must provide one of: * a top-level prompt field (single user message), or * agent_data whose turns end with a user message — for continued conversations where the next agent response should be appended (the "N+1" pattern).

Example: agents-cli eval generate --dataset eval_cases.json --output artifacts/traces/

Usage:

agents-cli eval generate [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --dataset TEXT     Path to a JSON dataset file of eval cases ready for
                     inference. Each case must provide one of: a top-level
                     'prompt' field (single user message), or 'agent_data'
                     whose turns end with a user message (continued
                     conversation; appends the next agent response). Defaults
                     to 'tests/eval/datasets/basic-dataset.json' (the file
                     scaffolded by `agents-cli create`).
  -o, --output TEXT  Output path for the populated traces. If an existing
                     directory is given, a timestamped file is written inside
                     it; otherwise the value is treated as a file path.
                     Defaults to a timestamped file under 'artifacts/traces/'
                     so that `agents-cli eval grade` can consume it directly.
  --project TEXT     GCP project ID. Overrides GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT and ADC.
  --region TEXT      GCP region. Overrides agents-cli-manifest.yaml region and
                     the GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION env var.
  --help             Show this message and exit.
grade

Score populated agent traces against one or more metrics.

Usage:

agents-cli eval grade [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --traces PATH       File or directory of populated traces JSON (output of
                      `eval generate` or `eval dataset synthesize`).
  --output DIRECTORY  Directory to save evaluation results and artifacts.
  --metrics TEXT      Comma-separated list of metrics to evaluate (e.g.,
                      'final_response_quality,grounding').
  --config FILE       Path to a JSON or YAML file containing metrics to run
                      and custom metrics configuration.
  --project TEXT      GCP project ID. Overrides GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT and ADC.
  --region TEXT       GCP region for the Vertex eval service. Defaults to
                      'global'.
  --help              Show this message and exit.
metric

Discover and manage evaluation metrics.

Usage:

agents-cli eval metric [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options:

  --help  Show this message and exit.
list

List available out-of-the-box (OOTB) evaluation metrics.

Usage:

agents-cli eval metric list [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --help  Show this message and exit.
optimize

Optimize agent prompts using the GEPA framework.

This command runs 'adk optimize' under the hood to automatically improve your agent's instructions by iteratively refining the prompt.

How it works: - --dataset: Path to a JSON file in EvaluationDataset format. If not provided, it uses values from your config file. - --target-metric: The name of the evaluation metric to optimize for. If not provided, it uses values from your config file. - --config: Optional JSON file for advanced configuration. It can include: - eval_config (ADK EvalConfig) - train_dataset (Path to EvaluationDataset JSON file or dict in EvaluationDataset format) - validation_dataset (Path to EvaluationDataset JSON file or dict in EvaluationDataset format) - optimizer_config (ADK GEPARootAgentPromptOptimizerConfig) - log_level (string, e.g., 'DEBUG', 'INFO', 'WARNING', 'ERROR', 'CRITICAL'). Default is 'WARNING'. - print_detailed_results (boolean). Set to true to enable printing detailed results. Default is false. - Default Paths: By default, it looks for a JSON config file in tests/eval/optimization_config.json.

Usage:

agents-cli eval optimize [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --dataset TEXT        Path to an EvaluationDataset JSON file. Overrides
                        datasets in the config file.
  --target-metric TEXT  The evaluation metric to optimize for. Overrides
                        evaluation settings in the config file.
  --config TEXT         Path to a combined JSON config file for advanced
                        settings.
  --help                Show this message and exit.
results

Fetch results from a completed cloud evaluation run.

Usage:

agents-cli eval results [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --run-id TEXT       Evaluation run resource ID/name.  [required]
  --output DIRECTORY  Directory to save evaluation results and artifacts.
  --project TEXT      GCP project ID. Overrides GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT and ADC.
  --region TEXT       GCP region for the Vertex eval service. Defaults to
                      'global'.
  --help              Show this message and exit.
run

Chain eval generate and eval grade in one command.

Thin alias for the common path: runs inference over the dataset to produce traces in the default artifacts/traces/ directory, then grades those traces and writes results.

For custom intermediate trace locations, use the two-step form (eval generate then eval grade) instead.

Example: agents-cli eval run --dataset eval_cases.json --metrics final_response_quality

Usage:

agents-cli eval run [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --dataset TEXT      Path to a JSON dataset file of eval cases ready for
                      inference. Forwarded to `eval generate`. Defaults to the
                      file scaffolded by `agents-cli create`.
  --output DIRECTORY  Directory to save final evaluation results and
                      artifacts. Forwarded to `eval grade`. Defaults to
                      `artifacts/grade_results/`.
  --metrics TEXT      Comma-separated list of metrics to evaluate (e.g.,
                      'final_response_quality,grounding'). Forwarded to `eval
                      grade`.
  --config FILE       Path to a JSON or YAML file containing metrics to run
                      and custom metrics configuration. Forwarded to `eval
                      grade`.
  --project TEXT      GCP project ID. Overrides GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT and ADC.
  --region TEXT       GCP region. Overrides agents-cli-manifest.yaml region
                      and the GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION env var.
  --help              Show this message and exit.
submit

Submit an E2E cloud-side evaluation run on Vertex AI Eval Service.

Usage:

agents-cli eval submit [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --resource-name TEXT  Agent engine resource name (e.g.
                        projects/.../locations/.../reasoningEngines/...).
  --dataset FILE        Path to evaluation dataset file (JSON trace etc.).
                        [required]
  --dest TEXT           GCS output bucket URI prefix staging path (e.g.,
                        gs://my-bucket).  [required]
  --metrics TEXT        Comma-separated list of metrics to evaluate (e.g.,
                        'final_response_quality,grounding').
  --config FILE         Path to a JSON or YAML file containing metrics to run
                        and custom metrics configuration.
  --project TEXT        GCP project ID. Overrides GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT and
                        ADC.
  --region TEXT         GCP region for the Vertex eval service. Defaults to
                        'global'.
  --help                Show this message and exit.

infra

Provision infrastructure for your agent project.

Subcommands: single-project Optional — custom infrastructure for a single GCP project cicd Set up CI/CD pipelines and multi-environment infrastructure datastore Provision datastore infrastructure for RAG agents

Usage:

agents-cli infra [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options:

  --help  Show this message and exit.
datastore

Provision datastore infrastructure for RAG agents.

Reads datastore_type from project config and runs the appropriate Terraform targets to set up the data backend.

Usage:

agents-cli infra datastore [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --project TEXT  GCP project ID.
  --region TEXT   GCP region.
  --help          Show this message and exit.
setup-cicd

Set up CI/CD pipelines and Terraform infrastructure for your agent project.

Provisions GitHub Actions or Cloud Build pipelines with staging and production environments. Requires staging, prod, and CI/CD project IDs as flags. Pass --interactive to be guided through missing values interactively.

By default, runs terraform plan to preview changes. Use --apply to apply. Note: plan mode still writes local config files (env.tfvars, Terraform templates) and verifies cloud prerequisites (GitHub auth, Cloud Build connections) as these are required for an accurate plan.

Usage:

agents-cli infra setup-cicd [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --dev-project TEXT              Development project ID
  --staging-project TEXT          Staging project ID
  --prod-project TEXT             Production project ID
  --cicd-project TEXT             CICD project ID (defaults to prod project if
                                  not specified)
  --region TEXT                   GCP region (auto-detects from Terraform vars
                                  if not specified)
  --repository-name TEXT          Repository name (optional)
  --repository-owner TEXT         Repository owner (optional, defaults to
                                  current GitHub user)
  --host-connection-name TEXT     Host connection name (optional)
  --github-pat TEXT               GitHub Personal Access Token for
                                  programmatic auth
  --github-app-installation-id TEXT
                                  GitHub App Installation ID for programmatic
                                  auth
  --local-state                   Use local Terraform state instead of remote
                                  GCS backend (defaults to remote)
  --debug                         Enable debug logging
  -i, --interactive               Enable interactive prompts for human use.
  --create                        Create a new GitHub repository (default: use
                                  existing).
  --cicd-runner [google_cloud_build|github_actions]
                                  CI/CD runner to use
  --apply                         Apply changes. Without this flag, only a
                                  plan is shown.
  --help                          Show this message and exit.
single-project

Provision single-project infrastructure (optional).

Not required for basic deployments — agents-cli deploy works out of the box using smart defaults (default Compute Engine service account, on-the-fly resource provisioning). Run this when you need custom setup such as a dedicated service account, pre-provisioned secrets, or specific IAM bindings.

By default, runs terraform init + terraform plan to preview changes. Use --apply to apply the changes.

Usage:

agents-cli infra single-project [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --project TEXT  GCP project ID.
  --apply         Apply changes. Without this flag, only a plan is shown.
  --help          Show this message and exit.

install

Install project dependencies.

Runs: uv sync

Usage:

agents-cli install [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --clean  Clean and fix the uv virtual environment. (For example, if the
           project folder is moved or renamed).
  --help   Show this message and exit.

lint

Run code quality checks.

Runs: uv run ruff check . uv run ruff format . --check uv run codespell (unless --skip-codespell) uv run ty check . (unless --skip-ty) uv run mypy . (if --mypy)

Usage:

agents-cli lint [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --fix             Auto-fix linting issues.
  --mypy            Also run mypy type checking.
  --skip-codespell  Skip codespell spell checking.
  --skip-ty         Skip ty type checking.
  --help            Show this message and exit.

login

Authenticate with Google Cloud or AI Studio. Requires --interactive (-i).

Usage:

agents-cli login [OPTIONS]

Options:

  -i, --interactive  Enable interactive authentication (required for login).
  --status           Show authentication status.
  --help             Show this message and exit.

playground

Start the local agent playground.

Usage:

agents-cli playground [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --port INTEGER                  Port for the playground server.
  --host TEXT                     Host the server binds to.
  --reload_agents / --no-reload_agents
                                  Enable / disable live reload when agent code
                                  changes.
  --trace-to-cloud                Export traces to Google Cloud Trace.
  --help                          Show this message and exit.

publish

Publish agents to various targets.

Subcommands: gemini-enterprise Register an Agent Runtime to Gemini Enterprise

Usage:

agents-cli publish [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options:

  --help  Show this message and exit.
gemini-enterprise

Register a deployed agent with Gemini Enterprise.

All required parameters must be supplied as flags in programmatic mode. Pass --interactive to be guided through missing values interactively.

\b Use --list to list Gemini Enterprise apps in the current project: agents-cli publish gemini-enterprise --list

Usage:

agents-cli publish gemini-enterprise [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --agent-runtime-id TEXT         Agent Runtime resource name (e.g.,
                                  projects/.../reasoningEngines/...). If not
                                  provided, reads from
                                  deployment_metadata.json.
  --metadata-file TEXT            Path to deployment metadata file (default:
                                  deployment_metadata.json).
  --gemini-enterprise-app-id TEXT
                                  Gemini Enterprise app full resource name
                                  (e.g., projects/{project_number}/locations/{
                                  location}/collections/{collection}/engines/{
                                  engine_id}). If not provided, the command
                                  will prompt you interactively. Can also be
                                  set via ID or GEMINI_ENTERPRISE_APP_ID env
                                  var.
  --display-name TEXT             Display name for the agent.
  --description TEXT              Description of the agent.
  --tool-description TEXT         Description of what the tool does.
  --project-id TEXT               GCP project ID (extracted from agent-
                                  runtime-id if not provided).
  --authorization-id TEXT         OAuth authorization resource name (e.g., pro
                                  jects/{project_number}/locations/global/auth
                                  orizations/{auth_id}).
  --agent-card-url TEXT           URL to fetch the agent card for A2A agents
                                  (e.g., https://your-
                                  service.run.app/a2a/app/.well-known/agent-
                                  card.json). If provided, registers as an A2A
                                  agent instead of ADK agent.
  --deployment-target [agent_runtime|cloud_run|gke]
                                  Deployment target (agent_runtime, cloud_run,
                                  or gke).
  --project-number TEXT           GCP project number. Used as default when
                                  prompting for Gemini Enterprise
                                  configuration.
  --registration-type [a2a|adk]   Registration type: 'a2a' for A2A agents
                                  (requires agent card URL), 'adk' for ADK
                                  agents on Agent Runtime (requires agent
                                  engine ID). If not provided, auto-detected
                                  from metadata or prompted.
  -i, --interactive               Enable interactive prompts for human use.
  --list                          List Gemini Enterprise apps in the current
                                  project and exit.
  --help                          Show this message and exit.

run

Run the agent with a single prompt (non-interactive).

MESSAGE is the prompt to send to the agent.

Run from your project directory to query the agent locally. By default, the local server is shut down after the command completes. Use --start-server to keep the server running in the background, which improves efficiency for multiple requests and is required for local sessions. A running server persists until stopped with --stop-server. After 30 minutes idle, any request will restart the server.

Use --url to query a deployed agent instead. Requires --mode to choose the protocol:

a2a A2A protocol adk ADK SSE (/run_sse, or :streamQuery for Agent Runtime)

Supports --file for multimodal input and --session-id for conversation continuity. Local sessions require --start-server.

Binary artifacts (images, audio, files) returned by the agent are saved under '.google-agents-cli/artifacts/' in the project root and listed in an 'Artifacts:' footer at the end of the response. File references returned by URI are not downloaded.

Usage:

agents-cli run [OPTIONS] MESSAGE

Options:

  --url TEXT         URL of a remote agent to query. If specified, no local
                     server is started.
  --mode [a2a|adk]   Protocol for --url queries: 'a2a' or 'adk'. Required when
                     using --url. Local runs always use ADK SSE.
  --app-name TEXT    Agent name for remote ADK SSE / A2A endpoints. Defaults
                     to the local project's agent_directory; specify to query
                     a different agent or to run from outside a project.
  -f, --file PATH    Attach a file (image, PDF, audio, video). Repeatable.
  --session-id TEXT  Resume an existing session/conversation context. Requires
                     --start-server for local sessions.
  -H, --header TEXT  Custom HTTP header (format: 'Key: Value'). Repeatable.
                     Overrides auto-detected auth.
  --start-server     Keep the local server running after execution. The server
                     persists until stopped with --stop-server, resulting in
                     less overhead for subsequent run requests. Sessions
                     require this flag to persist state.
  --stop-server      Stop the local background server and exit.
  --trace-to-cloud   Export traces to Google Cloud Trace. Takes effect when
                     the local server starts; ignored with --url.
  -v, --verbose      Print full JSON event payloads.
  --help             Show this message and exit.

scaffold

Scaffold, enhance, and upgrade agent projects.

Subcommands: create Create a new agent project enhance Add deployment target or CI/CD to an existing project upgrade Upgrade project to a newer agents-cli version

Usage:

agents-cli scaffold [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options:

  --help  Show this message and exit.
create

Create GCP-based AI agent projects from templates.

Usage:

agents-cli scaffold create [OPTIONS] [PROJECT_NAME]

Options:

  -a, --agent TEXT                Template identifier to use. Can be a local
                                  agent name (e.g., `chat_agent`), a local
                                  path (`local@/path/to/template`), an `adk-
                                  samples` shortcut (e.g., `adk@data-
                                  science`), or a remote Git URL. Both
                                  shorthand (e.g.,
                                  `github.com/org/repo/path@main`) and full
                                  URLs from your browser (e.g., `https://githu
                                  b.com/org/repo/tree/main/path`) are
                                  supported. Lists available local templates
                                  if omitted.
  -o, --output-dir PATH           Output directory for the project (default:
                                  current directory)
  --agent-guidance-filename TEXT  Filename for agent guidance (e.g.,
                                  GEMINI.md, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md)
  -bt, --base-template TEXT       Base template to use (overrides template
                                  default, only for remote templates)
  --bq-analytics                  Include BigQuery Agent Analytics Plugin for
                                  observability
  -dir, --agent-directory TEXT    Name of the agent directory (overrides
                                  template default)
  -d, --deployment-target [agent_runtime|cloud_run|gke|none]
                                  Deployment target name
  --cicd-runner [google_cloud_build|github_actions|skip]
                                  CI/CD runner to use
  -p, --prototype                 Create minimal project without CI/CD or
                                  Terraform infrastructure
  -ds, --datastore [agent_platform_search|agent_platform_vector_search]
                                  Type of datastore to use for data ingestion
  --session-type [in_memory|cloud_sql|agent_platform_sessions]
                                  Type of session storage to use
  --debug                         Enable debug logging
  -i, --interactive               Enable interactive prompts for human use
  -y, --auto-approve, --yes       Non-interactive: skip prompts and use
                                  defaults
  --region TEXT                   GCP region for deployment (default: us-
                                  east1)
  -s, --skip-checks               Skip verification checks for GCP and Vertex
                                  AI
  -ag, --agent-garden             Deployed from Agent Garden - customizes
                                  welcome messages
  -k, --google-api-key, --api-key TEXT
                                  Use Google AI Studio API key instead of
                                  Vertex AI. If provided without a value,
                                  generates a .env file with a placeholder.
  --adk                           Quickstart mode: adk + agent_runtime +
                                  prototype, skips prompts
  --help                          Show this message and exit.
enhance

Enhance your existing project with deployment, CI/CD, or RAG scaffolding.

Applies agents-cli templates in-place to an existing project directory, adding infrastructure files without touching your agent logic.

Run from inside your project directory (pass . as the path) or point to it explicitly. Use --dry-run to preview changes before applying them.

Usage:

agents-cli scaffold enhance [OPTIONS] [TEMPLATE_PATH]

Options:

  -n, --name TEXT                 Project name for templating (defaults to
                                  current directory name)
  --agent-guidance-filename TEXT  Filename for agent guidance (e.g.,
                                  GEMINI.md, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md)
  -bt, --base-template TEXT       Base template to use (overrides template
                                  default, only for remote templates)
  --bq-analytics                  Include BigQuery Agent Analytics Plugin for
                                  observability
  -dir, --agent-directory TEXT    Name of the agent directory (overrides
                                  template default)
  -d, --deployment-target [agent_runtime|cloud_run|gke|none]
                                  Deployment target name
  --cicd-runner [google_cloud_build|github_actions|skip]
                                  CI/CD runner to use
  -p, --prototype                 Create minimal project without CI/CD or
                                  Terraform infrastructure
  -ds, --datastore [agent_platform_search|agent_platform_vector_search]
                                  Type of datastore to use for data ingestion
  --session-type [in_memory|cloud_sql|agent_platform_sessions]
                                  Type of session storage to use
  --debug                         Enable debug logging
  -i, --interactive               Enable interactive prompts for human use
  -y, --auto-approve, --yes       Non-interactive: skip prompts and use
                                  defaults
  --region TEXT                   GCP region for deployment (default: us-
                                  east1)
  -s, --skip-checks               Skip verification checks for GCP and Vertex
                                  AI
  -ag, --agent-garden             Deployed from Agent Garden - customizes
                                  welcome messages
  -k, --google-api-key, --api-key TEXT
                                  Use Google AI Studio API key instead of
                                  Vertex AI. If provided without a value,
                                  generates a .env file with a placeholder.
  --adk                           Shortcut for --base-template adk
  --force                         Force overwrite all files (skip smart-merge
                                  comparison)
  --dry-run, --dryrun             Preview changes without applying them
                                  (requires saved metadata)
  --prefer-new                    Resolve conflicts in favor of the new
                                  template version
  --help                          Show this message and exit.
upgrade

Upgrade project to a newer agents-cli version.

Applies a 3-way merge between the old template, the new template, and your project: unmodified files are auto-updated, your customizations are preserved, and conflicts are surfaced for manual resolution (with --interactive) or kept as-is.

Usage:

agents-cli scaffold upgrade [OPTIONS] [PROJECT_PATH]

Options:

  --dry-run, --dryrun        Preview changes without applying them
  -y, --auto-approve, --yes  Auto-apply non-conflicting changes without
                             prompts
  -i, --interactive          Enable interactive prompts for human use
  --debug                    Enable debug logging
  --help                     Show this message and exit.

setup

Install agents-cli and skills to detected coding agents.

Installs the agents-cli tool (via uv tool install) and detects installed coding agents (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.) to install ADK development skills via npx skills.

By default, skills are installed globally for all detected agents. Use --workspace to install at the project level instead. Use --agent to specify specific coding agents (e.g. --agent claude-code --agent cursor) or 'all'. Use --dry-run to preview what would happen without executing. Use --dev to install agents-cli as editable from the local repo (for contributors). Use --interactive / -i to enable interactive authentication if not already logged in.

Usage:

agents-cli setup [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --workspace           Install to project/workspace scope instead of global.
                        Skills are installed relative to the current
                        directory.
  --skip-auth           Skip the authentication step.
  --dry-run, --dryrun   Show what would be done without making changes.
  --dev                 Install as editable from the local repo (for
                        contributors).
  -i, --interactive     Enable interactive authentication prompt if not
                        already authenticated.
  --skills-source TEXT  Skills source: local path, GitHub owner/repo, or URL.
                        Overrides the bundled skills.
  --agent TEXT          Specify the agent to install skills to (e.g. --agent
                        claude-code --agent cursor). Use 'all' to install for
                        all supported agents.
  --help                Show this message and exit.

update

Force reinstall agents skills to all detected coding agents.

Updates all installed skills to their latest versions via npx skills.

Usage:

agents-cli update [OPTIONS]

Options:

  --workspace                Update workspace-level skills instead of global.
  -i, --interactive          Enable interactive confirmation prompt.
  -y, --yes, --auto-approve  Skip confirmation prompt.
  --help                     Show this message and exit.