Install the Slate CLI globally using npm:

npm i -g @randomlabs/slatecli

After installation, run slate to begin using the interactive interface.

The Slate CLI is an interactive terminal interface for working with the slate agent.

Slate (agent) supports general software engineering workflows including writing code, interacting with infrastructure, and debugging.

-q, --question QUESTION
Start interactive mode with an initial question. This allows you to begin a conversation immediately.

-c, --continue
Continue from the latest chat session in the current workspace.

-r, --recent
List and select from recent chat sessions in the current workspace.

-d, --debug
Enable debug logging for troubleshooting and development.

-h, --help
Show help information and available options.

--version
Display version information.

Basic Usage

• Reference files using @path/to/file.ts syntax to give Slate context
• Navigate through conversation history with arrow keys
• Use Esc twice to search through previous chat messages
• Press Esc to clear input or exit current mode

Shell Mode

• Type ! to enter bash mode and run shell commands directly
• Use Ctrl+R in bash mode to search through command history
• Use ↑/↓ arrows to navigate through shell command history

Editor Features

• Use Ctrl+X to open your external editor for composing long prompts
• Use Ctrl+G to toggle between smart and normal agent modes
• Automatic file drag-and-drop support for file references

Session Management

• Sessions are automatically saved per workspace
• Use --continue to resume the latest session
• Use --recent to select from multiple previous sessions

Agent Preset Modes

Slate supports three agent presets that adjust reasoning depth and available tools: normal, smart, and extended. You can switch presets any time using a slash command:

/mode normal [ Model: Sonnet, useful for simple clear tasks ]
/mode smart [ Model: Opus, useful for hard tasks, complex discovery, and high ambiguity ]
/mode extended [ Model: Gpt-5, useful for long running tasks with more information to track ]

Tip: Ctrl+G toggles between normal, smart and extended.

slatecli
Start interactive mode

slatecli -q "Help me debug this React component"
Start interactive mode with an initial question

slatecli -c
Continue from the latest session in this workspace

slatecli -r
Show a list of recent sessions to continue from

slatecli -d
Start interactive mode with debug logging enabled

In interactive mode, you can use slash commands for quick actions:

/sessions
Switch to a different session

/workspace
Manage workspace directories (add/remove/list/clear)

/add-dir
Add a workspace directory (shorthand for /workspace add)

/auth
Login via the cli

/logout
Logout via the cli

/quit
Exit the application

/version
Check the CLI version

/man
View the man page

/help
Show help information and available commands

~/.slate/
Configuration and data directory

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Success

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General error or invalid usage

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User interrupted (Ctrl+C)