Agent skill

CLI-Anything for Reasonix

by HKUDS in HKUDS/CLI-Anything

Adapts the CLI-Anything methodology so Reasonix can build, refine, test and validate a command-line harness for an existing GUI application or source repository.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedDevelopment

Install CLI-Anything for Reasonix

skills CLI
$ npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything --skill cli-anything -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install HKUDS/CLI-Anything cli-anything --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/reasonix-skill .claude/skills/cli-anything && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
cli-anything
GitHub stars
52k
Token cost
~1.8k tokens
SKILL.md length
836 words
Files
5 (incl. scripts)
Skills in repo
78
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Adapts the CLI-Anything methodology so Reasonix can build, refine, test and validate a command-line harness for an existing GUI application or source repository.

  • Works in 4 steps: If the current workspace is the… → If Reasonix is running from this adapter… → If neither local file is available,… → …
  • Building a CLI harness for an existing GUI application using Reasonix
  • SKILL.md covers Inputs, Reasonix Tool Bindings, Step Budget and Modes, plus 5 more sections
  • Runs PowerShell and Shell scripts from its folder; calls pip

What it does

Before doing any work, it tries to pull the authoritative methodology from the actual CLI-Anything project: reading a local `HARNESS.md` if the current workspace is that repository or sits next to it, otherwise cloning or downloading the plugin folder from GitHub, and only falling back to a condensed, bundled version of the rules when neither local file nor network access is available.

Input is either a local source path or a GitHub repository URL, with the target software's name derived from its directory name after any needed clone. Reasonix's own built-in tools are mapped onto the harness-building workflow: `bash` for shell commands and tests, `write_file` and `edit_file` for generating and adjusting the Python CLI code, `grep` and `glob` for finding APIs and CLI entry points across the source tree, and an optional CodeGraph pair of tools for deeper symbol and architecture analysis when that integration is enabled.

The generated harness itself stays in a fixed Python format regardless of this adapter, so the Reasonix-specific guidance covers only how the agent gets there, starting with a survey-and-analysis phase before any code is written.

When your agent uses it

  • Building a CLI harness for an existing GUI application using Reasonix
  • Adapting a source repository into an agent-friendly command-line interface
  • Testing or validating an already-generated CLI-Anything harness
  • Surveying a codebase's API surface before scaffolding a CLI wrapper

Example prompts

  • “Build a CLI-Anything harness for the GIMP source tree using Reasonix.”
  • “Validate the existing harness for ./my-app and fix any failing commands.”
  • “Survey this repository's API surface before we scaffold a CLI wrapper.”

Requirements

  • Reasonix
  • Python
  • Network access or a local CLI-Anything checkout for the methodology source

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. If the current workspace is the CLI-Anything repository, read cli-anything-plugin/HARNESS.md.
  2. If Reasonix is running from this adapter directory, also check ../cli-anything-plugin/HARNESS.md.
  3. If neither local file is available, clone or download cli-anything-plugin from https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything/tree/main/cli-anything…
  4. Only if local and network retrieval both fail, follow the condensed rules below.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 34f5195. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 2 files in scripts/ (PowerShell and Shell), which the agent can run.

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • pip

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use pip, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

CLI-Anything for Reasonix loads about 1.8k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 63 tokens; SKILL.md has 836 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~63
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.8k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from HKUDS/CLI-Anything at commit 34f5195, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© HKUDS). 836 words, ~1,802 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/cli-anything/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 4 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
cli-anything
description
Use when the user wants Reasonix to build, refine, test, or validate a CLI-Anything harness for a GUI application or source repository. Adapts the CLI-Anything methodology to Reasonix without changing the generated Python harness format.
runAs
subagent

CLI-Anything for Reasonix

Use this skill when the user wants Reasonix to act like the CLI-Anything builder.

Before implementation, use the full methodology source of truth when available:

  1. If the current workspace is the CLI-Anything repository, read cli-anything-plugin/HARNESS.md.
  2. If Reasonix is running from this adapter directory, also check ../cli-anything-plugin/HARNESS.md.
  3. If neither local file is available, clone or download cli-anything-plugin from https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything/tree/main/cli-anything-plugin, then use HARNESS.md and the resources around it from that folder.
  4. Only if local and network retrieval both fail, follow the condensed rules below.

Inputs

Accept either:

  • A local source path such as ./gimp or /path/to/software
  • A GitHub repository URL

Derive the software name from the local directory name after cloning if needed.

Reasonix Tool Bindings

Reasonix agents build harnesses by combining these built-in tools:

Reasonix ToolRole in Harness Workflow
bashRun shell commands, install packages, execute CLI tools, run tests, clone repos
write_fileGenerate Python files (Click CLI, backend modules, tests, setup.py)
edit_fileMake targeted edits to generated code (single replacement)
multi_editApply multiple atomic edits to a single file in one pass
read_fileRead target software source files, existing harness code, test results
grepSearch for patterns across the target software codebase (APIs, CLI tools, data models)
globFind files matching patterns in the source tree (*.py, *.xml, *.json, etc.)
lsList directory contents to understand project structure
mcp__codegraph__search / mcp__codegraph__contextOptional code graph analysis when CodeGraph is enabled (Reasonix strips the codegraph_ raw prefix, so the model-visible names omit it)
web_fetchFetch documentation, API references, or remote files from the web

Phase 1 (Analysis) — Use ls + glob to survey the source tree, grep to find API surfaces and CLI entry points, and read_file to inspect key files. When CodeGraph is enabled and its tools are available, use mcp__codegraph__search and mcp__codegraph__context for deeper symbol and architecture analysis.

Phase 2-3 (Design & Implementation) — Use write_file to create new harness files, edit_file / multi_edit to refine generated code, and bash to run pip install -e . for installation.

Phase 4-6 (Testing) — Use bash to run pytest and capture results, read_file to inspect test output, and write_file to update TEST.md.

Phase 7 (Packaging) — Use write_file for setup.py, bash for pip install -e . and which cli-anything-<software> verification.

Step Budget

A full harness build typically requires 25–40 tool-call rounds (architecture inspection, 10+ file writes, installation, and multiple test runs). When invoked via run_skill, the subagent inherits a step budget derived from the parent agent's agent.max_steps setting in reasonix.toml:

  • If max_steps = 0 (the default, meaning unlimited), the subagent also runs with no step cap — this is the recommended configuration for the CLI-Anything workflow.
  • If max_steps is set to a finite value, the subagent receives half that budget (minimum 5), which may truncate a complex build before completion.

Users who have configured a finite max_steps should ensure it is set to 0 or a sufficiently high value (e.g., 64 or more) before running a CLI-Anything build, so the subagent has enough rounds to complete all seven phases.

Modes

Show full SKILL.md (336 more words)Show less
Build

Use when the user wants a new harness.

Produce this structure:

text
<repo-root>/
├── skills/
│   └── cli-anything-<software>/
│       └── SKILL.md
└── <software>/
    └── agent-harness/
        ├── <SOFTWARE>.md
        ├── setup.py
        └── cli_anything/
            └── <software>/
                ├── README.md
                ├── __init__.py
                ├── __main__.py
                ├── <software>_cli.py
                ├── core/
                ├── utils/
                ├── tests/
                └── skills/
                    └── SKILL.md

Implement a stateful Click CLI with:

  • one-shot subcommands
  • REPL mode as the default when no subcommand is given
  • --json machine-readable output
  • session state with undo/redo where the target software supports it
Refine

Use when the harness already exists.

First inventory current commands and tests, then do gap analysis against the target software. Prefer:

  • high-impact missing features
  • easy wrappers around existing backend APIs or CLIs
  • additions that compose well with existing commands

Do not remove existing commands unless the user explicitly asks for a breaking change.

Test

Plan tests before writing them. Keep both:

  • test_core.py for unit coverage
  • test_full_e2e.py for workflow and backend validation

When possible, test the installed command via subprocess using cli-anything-<software> rather than only module imports.

Validate

Check that the harness:

  • uses the cli_anything.<software> namespace package layout
  • has an installable setup.py entry point
  • supports JSON output
  • has a REPL default path
  • has matching canonical and package-local SKILL.md files
  • documents usage and tests

Backend Rules

Prefer the real software backend over reimplementation. Wrap the actual executable or scripting interface in utils/<software>_backend.py when possible. Use synthetic reimplementation only when the project explicitly requires it or no viable native backend exists.

Packaging Rules

  • Use find_namespace_packages(include=["cli_anything.*"])
  • Keep cli_anything/ as a namespace package without a top-level __init__.py
  • Expose cli-anything-<software> through console_scripts
  • Include cli_anything.<software>/skills/SKILL.md in package data

Workflow

  1. Acquire the source tree locally (clone or use existing path).
  2. Analyze architecture, data model, existing CLIs, and GUI-to-API mappings.
  3. Design command groups and state model.
  4. Implement the harness.
  5. Write TEST.md, then tests, then run them.
  6. Update README usage docs and generate both skills/cli-anything-<software>/SKILL.md and cli_anything/<software>/skills/SKILL.md.
  7. Verify local installation with pip install -e .

Existing Harnesses (Reference)

For an up-to-date list of supported harnesses and their backend patterns, locate registry.json at the CLI-Anything repository root when it is available.

Output Expectations

When reporting progress or final results, include:

  • target software and source path
  • files added or changed
  • validation commands run
  • open risks or backend limitations

© HKUDS, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 4 other files (scripts) in reasonix-skill of HKUDS/CLI-Anything.

  • SKILL.md
  • README.md
  • agents/reasonix.yaml
  • scripts/install.ps1
  • scripts/install.sh

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 34f5195

Compare with similar skills

CLI-Anything for Reasonix next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

CLI-Anything for Reasonix compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
CLI-Anything for Reasonix this skillHKUDS/CLI-Anything52k—~1.8kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
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README and DESIGN Generatorfengshao1227/ccg-workflow5.9k—~410Automated safety check: NotesMIT
Project Scaffolderpretend1111/claude-desktop-app4941 repos~498Automated safety check: PassCustom licence
Light Project StructureLight0305/Light-skills641—~3kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
Python Packagingwshobson/agents40k12 repos~911Automated safety check: PassMIT

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Works with

Categories

Questions about CLI-Anything for Reasonix

What does CLI-Anything for Reasonix do?

Adapts the CLI-Anything methodology so Reasonix can build, refine, test and validate a command-line harness for an existing GUI application or source repository. md` if the current workspace is that repository or sits next to it, otherwise cloning or downloading the plugin folder from GitHub, and only falling back to a condensed, bundled version of the rules when neither local file nor network access is available.

When should I use CLI-Anything for Reasonix?

CLI-Anything for Reasonix fits situations like: building a CLI harness for an existing GUI application using Reasonix; adapting a source repository into an agent-friendly command-line interface; testing or validating an already-generated CLI-Anything harness; surveying a codebase's API surface before scaffolding a CLI wrapper.

How do I install CLI-Anything for Reasonix in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything --skill cli-anything -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (reasonix-skill in HKUDS/CLI-Anything) into .claude/skills/cli-anything in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install CLI-Anything for Reasonix in Codex?

Run `npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything --skill cli-anything -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (reasonix-skill in HKUDS/CLI-Anything) into .agents/skills/cli-anything in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use CLI-Anything for Reasonix in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add HKUDS/CLI-Anything --skill cli-anything -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/cli-anything, .gemini/skills/cli-anything, .github/skills/cli-anything and .opencode/skills/cli-anything in your project.

What does CLI-Anything for Reasonix need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, CLI-Anything for Reasonix needs PowerShell and a shell for the scripts in its folder and the command-line tools its instructions call (pip). Our summary lists: Reasonix; Python; Network access or a local CLI-Anything checkout for the methodology source.

Does CLI-Anything for Reasonix access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use pip, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is CLI-Anything for Reasonix safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does CLI-Anything for Reasonix use?

CLI-Anything for Reasonix is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does CLI-Anything for Reasonix use?

About 1.8k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to CLI-Anything for Reasonix?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with CLI-Anything for Reasonix: Mirage VFS Adapter Authoring (strukto-ai/mirage, 3.7k stars), README and DESIGN Generator (fengshao1227/ccg-workflow, 5.9k stars), Project Scaffolder (pretend1111/claude-desktop-app, 494 stars) and Light Project Structure (Light0305/Light-skills, 641 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains CLI-Anything for Reasonix?

HKUDS (a GitHub organization) maintains it in HKUDS/CLI-Anything, which has 51,696 GitHub stars. The repository holds 78 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 22, 2026.

Source: HKUDS/CLI-Anything on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.