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Command-line reference

Common read and write commands, exit codes and revision-aware scripts.

Discover your installed commands

kabacus-cli --help
kabacus-cli report --help
kabacus-cli commands

The installed help is authoritative for flags in your release. The CLI source currently provides info, new, report, import, export, history, run, commands, mcp, completions and man. Reads support --json. Help exits 0, usage errors exit 2, and operation failures exit 1.

Read local books

kabacus-cli info household.kabacus --json
kabacus-cli report household.kabacus cash-on-hand
kabacus-cli report household.kabacus register --account assets:bank:checking
kabacus-cli history household.kabacus
kabacus-cli history household.kabacus --diff 42

Create and migrate

kabacus-cli new household.kabacus --name Household --currency USD
kabacus-cli import household.kabacus main.journal
kabacus-cli import household.kabacus main.journal --save

Import previews by default. Inspect its report before using --save, and import only into empty books. The CLI’s current export writes a journal; it is not a database backup with complete history.

Run a script

kabacus-cli run changes.json --books household.kabacus
kabacus-cli run changes.json --books household.kabacus --head 42 --save

Use commands to discover action identifiers and schemas rather than guessing them. Each step selects a command; as names a result, and a later {"$ref": "name"} references it. The script is all-or-nothing and saves one revision. --head pins the expected revision; a stale revision conflicts. Without --save it is a dry run.

Automation boundaries

kabacus-cli mcp --books household.kabacus --read-only
kabacus-cli mcp --attach 9234

The port here is an example; it must match the app’s enabled Automation channel. Do not combine --attach and --books. A browser tab has no attached control channel. Headless MCP opens only the files explicitly supplied; --books can repeat. Rewrite operations require explicit --allow-rewrites in headless mode.