Reference

Command reference

Reference for commands and options available in the Palabre CLI.

This page lists the main Palabre commands.

Startup commands

Command	Description
`palabre init`	Creates the global configuration and detects agents.
`palabre init --local`	Creates a configuration in the current folder.
`palabre doctor`	Displays a diagnostic by sections: configuration, local tools, agents, and items to check.
`palabre agents`	Lists declared agents and their local detection.
`palabre -a`	Shortcut for `palabre agents`.

Command	Description
`palabre config`	Opens the configuration assistant.
`palabre config --set-defaults codex claude`	Sets the default agents.
`palabre config -t 4`	Sets the default number of turns.
`palabre config --summary-agent claude`	Sets the default summary agent.
`palabre config --summary-agent none`	Removes the default summary agent.
`palabre config --clear-defaults`	Removes default settings.
`palabre config --sync-agents`	Adds missing detected agents.

Command	Description
`palabre new`	Opens the debate creation assistant.
`palabre -s "Subject" -t 4`	Launches with default agents.
`palabre codex-claude "Subject" -t 4`	Launches with a preset.
`palabre run --subject "Subject" --agent-a codex --agent-b claude`	Launches with explicit agents.

Option	Description
`-h`, `--help`	Displays help.
`-v`, `--version`	Displays the version.
`--config <path>`	Uses an explicit configuration file.
`--plain`	Uses raw terminal rendering. Also useful with `palabre doctor` for logs.

Option	Description
`-s`, `--subject <text>`	Debate subject.
`--topic <text>`	Compatible alias for `--subject`.
`--preset <name>`	Selects an agent pair.
`--agent-a <name>`	First agent.
`--agent-b <name>`	Second agent.
`-t`, `--turns <number>`	Total number of turns, between 1 and 20.
`--no-early-stop`	Disables early stopping.
`--model-a <model>`	Model passed to agent A.
`--model-b <model>`	Model passed to agent B.
`--pull-models`	Allows Ollama to download a missing model.
`--summary-agent <name>`	Summary agent.
`--summary-model <model>`	Summary model.
`--no-summary`	Disables the final summary.
`--files <paths...>`	Injects specific files.
`--context <paths...>`	Scans text files or folders.
`--show-prompt`	Displays the first turn prompt without calling any agent.

Command	Description
`palabre update`	Displays update instructions.
`palabre update --apply`	Applies the update from a git checkout.

Advanced JSON

Edit the configuration JSON directly for advanced use cases and custom agents.

Configuration file reference

Reference for the palabre.config.json format, agents, defaults, and advanced options.