---
title: CLI Reference
description: Complete command reference for the Multica CLI and agent daemon.
---

The `multica` CLI connects your local machine to Multica. It handles authentication, workspace management, issue tracking, and runs the agent daemon that executes AI tasks locally.

## Authentication

### Browser Login

```bash
multica login
```

Opens your browser for OAuth authentication, creates a 90-day personal access token, and auto-configures your workspaces.

### Token Login

```bash
multica login --token
```

Authenticate by pasting a personal access token directly. Useful for headless environments.

### Check Status

```bash
multica auth status
```

Shows your current server, user, and token validity.

### Logout

```bash
multica auth logout
```

Removes the stored authentication token.

## Agent Daemon

The daemon is the local agent runtime. It detects available AI CLIs on your machine, registers them with the Multica server, and executes tasks when agents are assigned work.

### Start

```bash
multica daemon start
```

By default, the daemon runs in the background and logs to `~/.multica/daemon.log`.

To run in the foreground (useful for debugging):

```bash
multica daemon start --foreground
```

### Stop

```bash
multica daemon stop
```

### Status

```bash
multica daemon status
multica daemon status --output json
```

Shows PID, uptime, detected agents, and watched workspaces.

### Logs

```bash
multica daemon logs              # Last 50 lines
multica daemon logs -f           # Follow (tail -f)
multica daemon logs -n 100       # Last 100 lines
```

### Supported Agents

The daemon auto-detects these AI CLIs on your PATH:

| CLI | Command | Description |
|-----|---------|-------------|
| [Claude Code](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code) | `claude` | Anthropic's coding agent |
| [Codex](https://github.com/openai/codex) | `codex` | OpenAI's coding agent |
| [Gemini CLI](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli) | `gemini` | Google's coding agent |
| OpenCode | `opencode` | Open-source coding agent |
| OpenClaw | `openclaw` | Open-source coding agent |
| Hermes | `hermes` | Nous Research coding agent |

You need at least one installed. The daemon registers each detected CLI as an available runtime.

### How It Works

1. On start, the daemon detects installed agent CLIs and registers a runtime for each agent in each watched workspace
2. It polls the server at a configurable interval (default: 3s) for claimed tasks
3. When a task arrives, it creates an isolated workspace directory, spawns the agent CLI, and streams results back
4. Heartbeats are sent periodically (default: 15s) so the server knows the daemon is alive
5. On shutdown, all runtimes are deregistered

### Configuration

Daemon behavior is configured via flags or environment variables:

| Setting | Flag | Env Variable | Default |
|---------|------|--------------|---------|
| Poll interval | `--poll-interval` | `MULTICA_DAEMON_POLL_INTERVAL` | `3s` |
| Heartbeat interval | `--heartbeat-interval` | `MULTICA_DAEMON_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL` | `15s` |
| Agent timeout | `--agent-timeout` | `MULTICA_AGENT_TIMEOUT` | `2h` |
| Max concurrent tasks | `--max-concurrent-tasks` | `MULTICA_DAEMON_MAX_CONCURRENT_TASKS` | `20` |
| Daemon ID | `--daemon-id` | `MULTICA_DAEMON_ID` | hostname |
| Device name | `--device-name` | `MULTICA_DAEMON_DEVICE_NAME` | hostname |
| Runtime name | `--runtime-name` | `MULTICA_AGENT_RUNTIME_NAME` | `Local Agent` |
| Workspaces root | — | `MULTICA_WORKSPACES_ROOT` | `~/multica_workspaces` |

Agent-specific overrides:

| Variable | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| `MULTICA_CLAUDE_PATH` | Custom path to the `claude` binary |
| `MULTICA_CLAUDE_MODEL` | Override the Claude model used |
| `MULTICA_CODEX_PATH` | Custom path to the `codex` binary |
| `MULTICA_CODEX_MODEL` | Override the Codex model used |
| `MULTICA_OPENCODE_PATH` | Custom path to the `opencode` binary |
| `MULTICA_OPENCODE_MODEL` | Override the OpenCode model used |
| `MULTICA_OPENCLAW_PATH` | Custom path to the `openclaw` binary |
| `MULTICA_OPENCLAW_MODEL` | Override the OpenClaw model used |
| `MULTICA_HERMES_PATH` | Custom path to the `hermes` binary |
| `MULTICA_HERMES_MODEL` | Override the Hermes model used |
| `MULTICA_GEMINI_PATH` | Custom path to the `gemini` binary |
| `MULTICA_GEMINI_MODEL` | Override the Gemini model used |

### Self-Hosted Server

When connecting to a self-hosted Multica instance, point the CLI to your server before logging in:

```bash
export MULTICA_APP_URL=https://app.example.com
export MULTICA_SERVER_URL=wss://api.example.com/ws

multica login
multica daemon start
```

Or set them persistently:

```bash
multica config set app_url https://app.example.com
multica config set server_url wss://api.example.com/ws
```

### Profiles

Profiles let you run multiple daemons on the same machine — for example, one for production and one for a staging server.

```bash
# Set up a staging profile
multica setup self-host --profile staging --server-url https://api-staging.example.com --app-url https://staging.example.com

# Start its daemon
multica daemon start --profile staging

# Default profile runs separately
multica daemon start
```

Each profile gets its own config directory (`~/.multica/profiles/<name>/`), daemon state, health port, and workspace root.

## Workspaces

### List Workspaces

```bash
multica workspace list
```

Watched workspaces are marked with `*`. The daemon only processes tasks for watched workspaces.

### Watch / Unwatch

```bash
multica workspace watch <workspace-id>
multica workspace unwatch <workspace-id>
```

### Get Details

```bash
multica workspace get <workspace-id>
multica workspace get <workspace-id> --output json
```

### List Members

```bash
multica workspace members <workspace-id>
```

## Issues

### List Issues

```bash
multica issue list
multica issue list --status in_progress
multica issue list --priority urgent --assignee "Agent Name"
multica issue list --limit 20 --output json
```

Available filters: `--status`, `--priority`, `--assignee`, `--limit`.

### Get Issue

```bash
multica issue get <id>
multica issue get <id> --output json
```

### Create Issue

```bash
multica issue create --title "Fix login bug" --description "..." --priority high --assignee "Lambda"
```

Flags: `--title` (required), `--description`, `--status`, `--priority`, `--assignee`, `--parent`, `--due-date`.

### Update Issue

```bash
multica issue update <id> --title "New title" --priority urgent
```

### Assign Issue

```bash
multica issue assign <id> --to "Lambda"
multica issue assign <id> --unassign
```

### Change Status

```bash
multica issue status <id> in_progress
```

Valid statuses: `backlog`, `todo`, `in_progress`, `in_review`, `done`, `blocked`, `cancelled`.

### Comments

```bash
# List comments
multica issue comment list <issue-id>

# Add a comment
multica issue comment add <issue-id> --content "Looks good, merging now"

# Reply to a specific comment
multica issue comment add <issue-id> --parent <comment-id> --content "Thanks!"

# Delete a comment
multica issue comment delete <comment-id>
```

### Execution History

```bash
# List all execution runs for an issue
multica issue runs <issue-id>
multica issue runs <issue-id> --output json

# View messages for a specific execution run
multica issue run-messages <task-id>
multica issue run-messages <task-id> --output json

# Incremental fetch (only messages after a given sequence number)
multica issue run-messages <task-id> --since 42 --output json
```

## Configuration

### View Config

```bash
multica config show
```

Shows config file path, server URL, app URL, and default workspace.

### Set Values

```bash
multica config set server_url wss://api.example.com/ws
multica config set app_url https://app.example.com
multica config set workspace_id <workspace-id>
```

## Other Commands

```bash
multica version              # Show CLI version and commit hash
multica update               # Update to latest version
multica agent list           # List agents in the current workspace
```

## Output Formats

Most commands support `--output` with two formats:

- `table` — human-readable table (default for list commands)
- `json` — structured JSON (useful for scripting and automation)

```bash
multica issue list --output json
multica daemon status --output json
```
