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6a7089a | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 | # CLI Overview
`pinchtab` has two normal usage styles:
- interactive menu mode
- direct command mode
Use menu mode when you want a guided local control surface.
Use direct commands when you want a faster shell workflow or want to script PinchTab.
## Interactive Menu
When you run `pinchtab` with no subcommand in an interactive terminal, it shows the startup banner and main menu.
Typical flow:
```text
listen running 127.0.0.1:9867
str,plc simple,fcfs
daemon ok
security [■■■■■■■■■■] LOCKED
Main Menu
1. Start server
2. Daemon
3. Start bridge
4. Start MCP server
5. Config
6. Security
7. Help
8. Exit
```
What each entry does:
- `Start server` starts the full PinchTab server
- `Daemon` shows background service status and actions
- `Start bridge` starts the single-instance bridge runtime
- `Start MCP server` starts the stdio MCP server
- `Config` opens the interactive config screen
- `Security` opens the interactive security screen
- `Help` shows the command help tree
## Direct Commands
You can always bypass the menu and call commands directly.
Common examples:
```bash
pinchtab server
pinchtab daemon
pinchtab config
pinchtab security
pinchtab nav https://example.com
pinchtab snap -i -c
pinchtab click e5
pinchtab text
```
Direct commands are the better fit when:
- you are scripting PinchtTab
- you want repeatable shell history
- you are calling PinchtTab from another tool
- you already know which command you want
## Core Local Commands
These are the main local-control commands surfaced in the menu:
| Command | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| `pinchtab` | Open the interactive menu in a terminal, or start the server in non-interactive use |
| `pinchtab server` | Start the full server and dashboard |
| `pinchtab daemon` | Show daemon status and manage the background service |
| `pinchtab config` | Open the interactive config overview/editor |
| `pinchtab security` | Review or change the current security posture |
| `pinchtab completion <shell>` | Generate shell completion scripts for `bash`, `zsh`, `fish`, or `powershell` |
| `pinchtab bridge` | Start the single-instance bridge runtime |
| `pinchtab mcp` | Start the stdio MCP server |
## Shell Completion
Use the built-in completion command to generate shell-specific scripts:
```bash
# Generate and install zsh completions
pinchtab completion zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_pinchtab"
# Generate bash completions
pinchtab completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/pinchtab
# Generate fish completions
pinchtab completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/pinchtab.fish
```
## Browser Shortcuts
The most common browser control shortcuts are top-level commands:
| Command | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| `pinchtab nav <url>` | Navigate to a URL |
| `pinchtab quick <url>` | Navigate and analyze the page |
| `pinchtab snap` | Get an accessibility snapshot |
| `pinchtab click <ref>` | Click an element ref |
| `pinchtab type <ref> <text>` | Type into an element |
| `pinchtab fill <ref|selector> <text>` | Fill an input directly |
| `pinchtab text` | Extract page text |
| `pinchtab screenshot` | Capture a screenshot |
| `pinchtab pdf` | Export the current page as PDF |
| `pinchtab health` | Check server health |
## Config From The CLI
`pinchtab config` now acts as the main interactive config screen.
It shows:
- instance strategy
- allocation policy
- default stealth level
- default tab eviction policy
- config file path
- dashboard URL when the server is running
- the masked server token
- a `Copy token` action for clipboard/manual copy
For exact config commands and schema details, see [Config](./config.md).
## Security From The CLI
`pinchtab security` is the main interactive security screen.
Use it to:
- review the current posture
- inspect warnings
- edit individual security controls
- apply `security up`
- apply `security down`
The direct subcommands also exist:
```bash
pinchtab security up
pinchtab security down
```
For broader security guidance, see [Security Guide](../guides/security.md).
## Daemon From The CLI
`pinchtab daemon` shows status, recent logs, and available actions.
The command is supported on:
- macOS via `launchd`
- Linux via user `systemd`
It will fail fast when the current environment cannot manage a user service, for example:
- Linux shells without a working `systemctl --user` session
- macOS sessions without an active GUI `launchd` domain
For operational details, see [Background Service (Daemon)](../guides/daemon.md).
## Full Command Tree
Use the built-in help for the current command tree:
```bash
pinchtab --help
```
For per-command reference pages, start at [Reference Index](./index.md).
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