Skip to main content

Reference

Find a Kin command.

Use this reference to look up a command and the options it accepts. If you are new to Kin, start with the quickstart and return here when you need a specific command.

How this works in Kin

This page is read out of the Kin binary rather than written by hand, so it lists what the release actually ships and what each command actually accepts. Run any command with --help for the same text at your own version.

Where this came from

Generated on 2026-09-09 from Kin v0.7.6, by reading the command list out of kin --help and then each command's own help. It lists 86 commands. Profiling flags, which every command carries and which say nothing about any of them, are left out. Current release: v0.7.19. This page shows the text the release printed.

Two commands below read the record of who changed what. Kin records the author a change declares: authorship is declared, not verified.

Commands

  • kin admit

    Admit the complete exact working tree into graph authority now

    kin admit [OPTIONS]
  • kin agent

    Run a task through Kin's own agent loop, or check that it can start

    kin agent [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin allow

    Approve one blocked sensitive artifact for publication

    kin allow [OPTIONS] --reason <REASON> <PATH>
    1 option
    • --reason <REASON>

      Why this artifact is safe to publish, read by whoever reviews it

  • kin approvals

    Manage change approvals

    kin approvals [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin assistant

    Manage assistant adapters

    kin assistant [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin audit

    Show audit trail

    kin audit [OPTIONS]
    5 options
    • --actor <ACTOR>

      Filter by actor ID

    • --limit <LIMIT>

      Maximum number of events [default: 50]

    • --action <ACTION>

      Filter by action type

    • --since <SINCE>

      Filter events since date (ISO 8601)

    • --scope <SCOPE>

      Filter by target scope

  • kin auth

    Authenticate with KinLab for native remotes

    kin auth [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin backup

    Back up and restore complete native repository state

    kin backup [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin bench

    Run benchmarks (delegates to kin-bench binary)

    kin bench [OPTIONS] [ARGS]...
  • kin blame

    Show blame (version history) for an entity

    kin blame [OPTIONS] <ENTITY>
    2 options
    • --ref <REF>

      Resolve blame against a specific ref. Accepts `HEAD`, `HEAD~N`, branch names, `branch:<name>`, imported Git commits as `git:<sha>` or bare 40-hex SHAs, and semantic changes as `kin:<id>`, `change:<id>`, or bare change IDs

    • --all-revisions

      List every file-level revision, including ones that did not change this entity

  • kin branch

    Repository-v6 branch operations (see subcommand readiness)

    kin branch [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin cache

    Inspect and bound the on-disk embedding cache

    kin cache [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin capabilities

    Show which Git-replacement commands are ready on repository-v6

    kin capabilities [OPTIONS]
    2 options
    • --json

      Output the versioned capability inventory as JSON

    • --verbose

      Add the per-command notes under each matrix row

  • kin checkout

    Restore an exact path or subtree from immutable repository-v6 history

    kin checkout [OPTIONS] [PATH]
    2 options
    • --path-hex <PATH_HEX>

      Byte-exact repository path as canonical lowercase hexadecimal

    • --change <CHANGE>

      Change ID (defaults to current branch head)

  • kin clone

    Clone a repository

    kin clone [OPTIONS] <URL> [PATH]
    1 option
    • --repository <REPOSITORY>

      Native repository identity when URL is a peer daemon HTTP endpoint

  • kin commit

    Create an exact semantic and artifact commit

    kin commit [OPTIONS]
    3 options
    • -m, --message <MESSAGE>

      Commit message; amend preserves the existing message when omitted

    • --amend

      Replace the current change with the full working state, preserving its parents

    • -q, --quiet

      Suppress progress output (only print final summary)

  • kin completions

    Generate shell completions for bash, zsh, or fish

    kin completions [OPTIONS] <SHELL>
  • kin conflicts

    Show the durable merge transaction held for this workspace

    kin conflicts [OPTIONS]
    2 options
    • --json

      Emit the machine-readable merge transaction record

    • --show

      Print each conflict subject's three sides as source, diffed against the common ancestor

  • kin context

    Build a context pack for one entity, several, or a question

    kin context [OPTIONS] [ENTITY]...
    5 options
    • --question <TEXT>

      Build the pack from the entities this question ranks for, through kin's own locate ranking

    • -b, --budget <BUDGET>

      Token budget (8k, 16k, 32k, or custom number) [default: 8k]

    • --assistant <ASSISTANT>

      Assistant hint for tuning context pack strategy

    • --max-focals <N>

      Most focal entities a question may resolve to

    • --json

      Emit the resolved targets and the whole context pack as JSON

  • kin daemon

    Inspect Kin daemons, stop them gracefully, or ask one to enrich

    kin daemon [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin dead-code

    Find dead code (whole-repo scan, or seeded by semantic query)

    kin dead-code [OPTIONS]
    3 options
    • --seed <QUERY>

      Seeded mode: run semantic_search(query) → classify each top-N candidate by incoming references → return dead-first ranked JSON. Closes the find-dead-code accuracy gap on large repos where the agent burns the tool-call cap looping search → find_references

    • --limit <N>

      Max candidates to classify in seeded mode (default 20, max 200). Ignored when --seed is not set

    • --name-pattern <SUBSTRING>

      Optional case-insensitive substring filter on the candidate entity name. Lets callers pre-narrow to a known prefix or suffix (e.g., a planted-secret tag like "_eaca1f07") without burning extra tool-call rounds

  • kin deps

    Show this repository's recorded cross-repo dependencies

    kin deps [OPTIONS]
    2 options
    • --all

      Report every registered repository instead of this one

    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON

  • kin diff

    Show exact repository-v6 artifact and semantic changes

    kin diff [OPTIONS] [BASE] [HEAD]
    2 options
    • --json

      Output the exact authority-backed report as JSON

    • --full-bodies

      Carry each changed artifact's full old and new body, not just hunks

  • kin doctor

    Probe first-run health and optionally apply safe repairs

    kin doctor [OPTIONS]
    6 options
    • --fix

      Apply safe automatic repairs (shell hook, MCP configs, config dirs)

    • --install-language-servers

      Install the missing language servers this build enriches with

    • --json

      Emit the machine-readable health report as JSON

    • --drift

      Compare an explicit projection observation with graph truth

    • --heal

      Rematerialize the derived projection from graph truth, DISCARDING uncommitted changes to tracked files that diverge from it

    • --reclaim-staging

      Delete the staged stores a crashed `kin init` left beside this directory and its parent

  • kin eject

    Verify graph-derived projection, install exact Git, and detach Kin

    kin eject [OPTIONS]
    1 option
    • --yes

      Skip the typed "eject" confirmation

  • kin embed

    Build embeddings for the current repository's entity graph

    kin embed [OPTIONS]
    4 options
    • --batch-size <BATCH_SIZE>

      Embedding batch size (entities per inference pass) for THIS pass only. Defaults to 64, or the throughput resource plan's per-chunk budget when KIN_RESOURCE_PROFILE=throughput is set. It does not change the daemon's own background queue and does not survive a daemon restart; record a durable one with `kin resources set --embed-batch-size N`

    • --max-seconds <SECONDS>

      Stop after this many seconds, persist completed vectors, and leave the rest pending

    • --rebuild

      Drop the existing vector index and re-embed every entity at the current model's dimension. Use this to migrate a repo indexed with an older model (e.g. a 384-dim index that fails against the 768-dim default)

    • --json

      Output JSON status instead of progress text

  • kin exec

    Run a command in an exact graph-derived session workspace

    kin exec [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>...
    5 options
    • --shell

      Interpret the command through the platform shell instead of preserving argv boundaries

    • --keep

      Keep the session workspace after the run and defer reconcile

    • --discard

      Discard all workspace changes after the run (no reconcile)

    • --strategy <STRATEGY>

      Materialization strategy

    • --scope <SCOPE>

      Scope filter

  • kin feature

    Create a feature (alias for `kin work create --kind feature`)

    kin feature [OPTIONS] <TITLE>
    1 option
    • -d, --description <DESCRIPTION>

      Optional description

  • kin git

    Exact Git interoperability projections

    kin git [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin graph

    Inspect and validate the semantic graph

    kin graph [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin help

    Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)

    kin [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • Show entity history

    kin history [OPTIONS] <ENTITY>
    2 options
    • --ref <REF>

      Resolve history against a specific ref. Accepts `HEAD`, `HEAD~N`, branch names, `branch:<name>`, imported Git commits as `git:<sha>` or bare 40-hex SHAs, and semantic changes as `kin:<id>`, `change:<id>`, or bare change IDs

    • --all-revisions

      List every file-level revision, including ones that did not change this entity

  • kin hosted-release

    Manage hosted releases

    kin hosted-release [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • Show downstream impact of an entity

    kin impact [OPTIONS] <ENTITY>
    5 options
    • -d, --depth <DEPTH>

      Maximum depth [default: 3]

    • --file <FILE>

      Exact repo-relative file qualifier for stable identity resolution

    • --kind <KIND>

      Exact entity-kind qualifier (for example: function or method)

    • --signature <SIGNATURE>

      Whitespace-normalized declaration signature for overload resolution

    • --json

      Emit the ranked graph-evidence report as JSON; ambiguous identities fail closed

  • Initialize a new Kin repository

    kin init [OPTIONS] [PATH]
    3 options
    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON status instead of human text

    • --no-enrich

      Skip the cross-file enrichment phase

    • --adopt-repository-id <ID>

      Adopt an existing repository's identity instead of minting a new one

  • kin intent

    Manage agent intents (locks on scopes)

    kin intent [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin languages

    List the languages Kin extracts semantics from

    kin languages [OPTIONS]
    1 option
    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON

  • kin locate

    Locate files relevant to an issue or problem description

    kin locate [OPTIONS] [TEXT]
    16 options
    • --query <QUERY>

      Additional query variant(s) for multi-query fan-out (repeatable). The primary text plus each variant are retrieved independently and their rankings RRF-fused into one deduped result. Diverse variants (identifiers, behavior, subsystem) recover more relevant files than any single phrasing. Omit for a normal single-query locate

    • --file <FILE>

      Read problem text from file

    • --stdin

      Read from stdin

    • --json

      Output JSON

    • --explain

      Include graph-native projection reasons in the output

    • --diagnose

      Diagnostic mode: enables --json --explain, adds per-stage scoring detail, entity seed dump, and timing breakdown. Compares against --gold files if provided. Use this for debugging locate quality

    • --gold <GOLD>

      Gold file paths for diagnostic comparison (comma-separated). With --diagnose, shows where each gold file appears/disappears in the scoring pipeline and why

    • --max-files <MAX_FILES>

      Max files to return (omit for adaptive sizing)

    • --ref <REF>

      Resolve locate against a specific ref. Accepts `HEAD`, `HEAD~N`, branch names, `branch:<name>`, imported Git commits as `git:<sha>` or bare 40-hex SHAs, and semantic changes as `kin:<id>`, `change:<id>`, or bare change IDs

    • --snippets

      Attach a bounded inline source snippet (signature + first body lines) to each top definition symbol. Default ON for `--json` (the agent surface), so an agent can act on the first locate without a follow-up read; force it on for any output with this flag

    • --no-snippets

      Suppress inline snippets even on the `--json` surface

    • --next

      Fetch the NEXT page of ranked entities from the previous query, reading the cursor persisted in `.kin/locate-cursor`. No retrieval re-run; pages the daemon's cached ranking. Query text is not required

    • --cursor <CURSOR>

      Fetch a specific entity page using an explicit cursor token (from a prior result's `next_cursor`). Lower-level alternative to `--next`

    • --page-size <PAGE_SIZE>

      Entities per page for the graph-native `entities` surface (`KIN_LOCATE_ENTITY_CAP` otherwise)

    • --include-tests

      Rank test-role entities alongside source. Off by default: locate demotes tests unless the query text itself reads as being about them, which is right for "where does this feature live" and wrong when you already know you are asking for a test. The response says how many test paths a default run withheld

    • --surface <SHAPE>

      Which JSON shape `--json` emits: `full` (every field, the default) or `compact` (the agent surface: id, name, kind, file, line, signature and score per hit, ranked file paths, and a `_kin` envelope naming the embedding coverage behind the ranking).

  • kin locate-debug

    Debug locate results: show per-signal breakdown, rank gold files, and diagnose why targets were missed

    kin locate-debug [OPTIONS] [TEXT]
    4 options
    • --target <TARGET>

      Gold file to track (report rank and signal breakdown)

    • --task-file <TASK_FILE>

      Load query and gold files from a benchmark task JSON

    • --max-files <MAX_FILES>

      Max files to search (wider than default to find low-ranked targets) [default: 50]

    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON

  • kin log

    Show the immutable repository-v6 change log

    kin log [OPTIONS]
    2 options
    • -n, --count <COUNT>

      Maximum number of entries [default: 10]

    • --json

      Output the exact authority-backed report as JSON

  • kin mcp

    MCP server commands

    kin mcp [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin merge

    Merge semantic and exact-tree changes from another branch

    kin merge [OPTIONS] <BRANCH>
    1 option
    • --json

      Emit the machine-readable merge report

  • kin migrate

    Migrate an existing Git repository into graph-owned Kin truth

    kin migrate [OPTIONS] [SOURCE]
    1 option
    • --target <TARGET>

      Distinct destination (defaults to an in-place migration)

  • kin note

    Manage annotations (comments, warnings, instructions, reasoning)

    kin note [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin notify

    Send a user-facing notification through Kin's own identity

    kin notify [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]
    7 options
    • --title <TITLE>

      Notification title

    • --body <BODY>

      Notification body

    • --level <LEVEL>

      Urgency: info (silent), warn (silent), or urgent (sound, breaks through Focus) [default: info] [possible values: info, warn, urgent]

    • --key <KEY>

      Suppression and replacement identity; reposting under the same key replaces the previous notification instead of stacking another

    • --cooldown <COOLDOWN>

      With --key: re-notify only after this many seconds have passed

    • --latch

      With --key: notify once, then stay quiet until `kin notify clear`

    • --json

      Emit the outcome as JSON

  • kin open

    Launch an editor over an exact graph-derived session workspace

    kin open [OPTIONS] <EDITOR>
  • kin overview

    Show a quick codebase overview (entity counts by kind, language, top files)

    kin overview [OPTIONS]
    2 options
    • --compact

      Compact mode: only show counts, no entity listings

    • --json

      Output all entities as JSON (for programmatic use)

  • kin path

    Find the shortest routes from one entity to another over the graph's call, instantiation, reference, import and include edges

    kin path [OPTIONS] <FROM> <TO>
    8 options
    • --from-file <FILE>

      Pin the source to the entity of that name in this file (path or path suffix)

    • --to-file <FILE>

      Pin the target the same way

    • --max-depth <N>

      Hops walked between the two ends (default 6, ceiling 12); containment hops are not counted

    • --limit <K>

      Routes printed, shortest first (default 3, ceiling 25)

    • --direction <DIR>

      `forward` (from reaches to), `reverse` (to reaches from), or `either` (default; forward first, reports which held)

    • --include-type-edges

      Walk through type-annotation edges too

    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON, `_kin` envelope included

    • --compact

      One line per hop and nothing else, sized for a prompt

  • kin pipeline

    Manage CI/CD pipelines

    kin pipeline [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin publish

    Package and upload crate(s) to the kin-daemon registry

    kin publish [OPTIONS]
    3 options
    • -p, --package <PACKAGES>

      Package(s) to publish (can be repeated: -p foo -p bar)

    • --registry <REGISTRY>

      Registry URL (default: http://localhost:4219, or KIN_REGISTRY_URL env var) [default: http://localhost:4219]

    • --dry-run

      Don't actually publish, just package and show what would be uploaded

  • kin pull

    Admit exact repository-v6 history from a native Kin remote and move the workspace onto it [alias: fetch]

    kin pull [OPTIONS]
    4 options
    • --remote <REMOTE>

      Remote name (defaults to the configured default native-kin remote)

    • --url <URL>

      Peer transfer base URL, overriding any configured remote

    • --ref <REFERENCE>

      Ref to admit (defaults to the repository default ref)

    • --json

      Print the negotiated outcome as JSON

  • kin purge-ignored

    Retire tracked paths that ignore rules now cover. Reports without changing anything unless --confirm is given

    kin purge-ignored [OPTIONS]
    2 options
    • --confirm

      Publish the removal instead of only reporting it

    • --confirm-mass-deletion

      Accept a purge that removes more than 75% of a non-trivial tree

  • kin push

    Publish exact repository-v6 history to a native Kin remote

    kin push [OPTIONS]
    4 options
    • --remote <REMOTE>

      Remote name (defaults to the configured default native-kin remote)

    • --url <URL>

      Peer transfer base URL, overriding any configured remote

    • --ref <REFERENCE>

      Ref to publish (defaults to the repository default ref)

    • --json

      Print the negotiated outcome as JSON

  • kin reconcile

    Admit one exact disposable-session observation into repository-v6 authority

    kin reconcile [OPTIONS] [SESSION]
    1 option
    • --confirm-mass-deletion

      Confirm an observation that removes more than 75% of a non-trivial tree

  • Show upstream callers/importers/references for an entity

    kin refs [OPTIONS] [ENTITY]
    5 options
    • --kind <KIND>

      Filter relation kinds: all, calls, imports, or references (or Any for bulk mode) [default: all]

    • --bulk-json

      Bulk mode: classify many entities by reachability in one daemon call. Outputs JSON to stdout. Requires --entities

    • --entities <ENTITIES>

      Comma-separated entity UUIDs for --bulk-json. Required when --bulk-json is set

    • --compact

      If true (default) emit compact bulk-mode rows ({entity_id, has_references, reference_count, receiver_name_candidate_count}). Set --no-compact for verbose rows with name/kind/file_path/matched_kinds

    • --no-compact

      Force verbose bulk-mode rows (overrides --compact). Required for clap to accept `--no-compact`

  • kin registry

    Show or manage the global Kin repository registry

    kin registry [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]
  • kin release

    Cross-repo release orchestration and per-repo release snapshots

    kin release [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin remote

    Manage native and compatibility remotes

    kin remote [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin rename

    Bounded graph-native rename; unsupported cases fail closed

    kin rename [OPTIONS] <SYMBOL> <NEW_NAME>
    4 options
    • --file <FILE>

      File hint to disambiguate the target entity

    • --line <LINE>

      1-based line hint in --file; required when --column is provided

    • --column <COLUMN>

      0-based UTF-8 byte column (tree-sitter coordinate), requires --line

    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON for editor integrations

  • kin resolve

    Resolve repository-v6 merge conflicts

    kin resolve [OPTIONS] <--ours <SELECTOR>|--theirs <SELECTOR>|--base <SELECTOR>|--remove <SELECTOR>|--keep-path <PATH=ARTIFACT>|--file <PATH> <FILE>|--all-ours|--all-theirs|--do-continue|--abort>
    11 options
    • --ours <SELECTOR>

      Keep your (target branch) version of a conflicting identity

    • --theirs <SELECTOR>

      Keep the incoming (source branch) version of a conflicting identity

    • --base <SELECTOR>

      Keep the merge base version of a conflicting identity

    • --remove <SELECTOR>

      Settle a conflicting identity by dropping it from the merge

    • --keep-path <PATH=ARTIFACT>

      Settle a contested path by naming the artifact that keeps it

    • --all-ours

      Resolve all remaining conflicts keeping your version

    • --all-theirs

      Resolve all remaining conflicts keeping the incoming version

    • --do-continue

      Complete the merge after all conflicts are resolved

    • --abort

      Abort the merge and discard conflict state

    • --expect <HASH>

      Require the merge transaction to still be the one this identity names

    • --json

      Emit the machine-readable merge transaction record

  • kin resources

    Inspect host/accelerator/memory resources and per-profile budgets

    kin resources [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • Run semantic review on changes, or manage review state

    kin review [OPTIONS] [CHANGE] [COMMAND]
    4 options
    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON for editor integrations

    • --entities <ENTITIES>

      Comma-separated entity IDs to review

    • --files <FILES>

      Comma-separated file paths to review

    • --changes <CHANGES>

      Comma-separated change IDs to combine into one review

  • kin rollback

    Publish an exact restoration of a previous change [alias: revert]

    kin rollback [OPTIONS] [CHANGE_ID]
    1 option
    • --feature <FEATURE>

      Roll back every change the named work item records

  • kin scope

    Set, show, or clear a temporal scope for the current session

    kin scope [OPTIONS] [REF_STRING]
    3 options
    • --clear

      Clear the current scope

    • --show

      Show the current scope

    • --session <SESSION>

      Session ID (or set KIN_SESSION_ID env var)

  • kin search

    Search entities in the graph

    kin search [OPTIONS] <PATTERN>
    6 options
    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON for editor integrations

    • -k, --kind <KIND>

      Filter by entity kind

    • -l, --language <LANGUAGE>

      Filter by language

    • --show-body

      Show entity source body inline

    • --limit <LIMIT>

      Max lines per entity body (with --show-body)

    • --semantic

      Use semantic (vector similarity) search instead of name matching

  • kin secret

    Manage secrets (org and repo level)

    kin secret [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin security

    Scan entity graph for security patterns

    kin security [OPTIONS]
    1 option
    • --propagate

      Trace transitive dependency vulnerabilities

  • kin semver

    Analyze semver impact from immutable repository-v6 changes

    kin semver [OPTIONS] --base <BASE>
    3 options
    • --base <BASE>

      Explicit base endpoint: a ref, change, HEAD, or WORKSPACE

    • --head <HEAD>

      Explicit head endpoint (defaults to the committed workspace base) [default: HEAD]

    • --json

      Emit the machine-readable impact report as JSON

  • First-time setup and health checks for the Kin system

    kin setup [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]
    8 options
    • --intent <INTENT>

      First-run intent: local, agent, editor, hosted, or advanced

    • --mode <MODE>

      Repository mode: native or compatibility

    • --shell <SHELL>

      Shell to configure: zsh, bash, or powershell

    • --auto-daemon

      Auto-start kin-daemon when entering workspaces

    • --no-interactive

      Run non-interactively using defaults or provided flags

    • --skip-mcp-check

      Skip the MCP round trip that proves each configured AI client can actually call Kin (for a scripted install with no repository yet)

    • --install-language-servers

      Install the missing language servers this build enriches with

    • --check

      Skip the wizard and only run the first-run health check

  • kin shell

    Open a shell in an exact graph-derived session workspace

    kin shell [OPTIONS]
    1 option
    • --strategy <STRATEGY>

      Materialization strategy

  • kin spec

    Manage specs

    kin spec [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin stash

    Seal and restore exact graph-owned workspace state

    kin stash [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin status

    Show coherent repository-v6 workspace status

    kin status [OPTIONS]
    2 options
    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON for editor integrations

    • --wait-quiesce <SECONDS>

      Seconds to keep re-reading while embedding coverage is only momentarily unobservable, such as an embedding pass or a graph mutation batch spanning the sample. Never waits on a coverage that was observed, nor on an absence a re-read cannot clear. 0 reads once [default: 0]

  • kin support

    Show graph observability

    kin support [OPTIONS]
    1 option
    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON for editor integrations

  • kin tag

    Publish an exact repository-v6 tag ref

    kin tag [OPTIONS] <TAG>
    3 options
    • --require-proof

      Block release if entities lack linked passing tests

    • --require-approval

      Require known-human approval for every reachable non-root change

    • --force

      Force release even with low coverage

  • kin telemetry

    Manage local telemetry consent and the spool

    kin telemetry [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin todo

    Import inline TODOs as work items

    kin todo [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin trace

    Trace a focal entity in one shot: resolve it, show the body, and summarize nearby context

    kin trace [OPTIONS] <ENTITY>
    9 options
    • --file <FILE>

      Exact repo-relative file qualifier for stable identity resolution

    • --kind <KIND>

      Exact entity-kind qualifier (for example: function or method)

    • --json

      Output machine-readable JSON for editor integrations

    • --compact

      Render a smaller, cheaper trace tuned for assistant workflows

    • -b, --budget <BUDGET>

      Token budget (8k, 16k, 32k, or custom number) [default: 8k]

    • --assistant <ASSISTANT>

      Assistant hint for tuning context pack strategy

    • --max-lines <MAX_LINES>

      Max lines to print for any single source snippet [default: 40]

    • --nearby <NEARBY>

      Max nearby entries to print [default: 4]

    • --transitive <TRANSITIVE>

      Max transitive entries to print [default: 2]

  • kin trace-data-flow

    Trace the call/data-flow chain rooted at a focal entity

    kin trace-data-flow [OPTIONS] --focal <ENTITY>
    8 options
    • --focal <ENTITY>

      Focal entity to start tracing from. Accepts a UUID or an exact entity name (resolved via the same ranking path as `graph source`)

    • --depth <N>

      Maximum traversal depth from the focal (default 3, capped at 8)

    • --direction <DIR>

      Traversal direction: `calls`, `callers`, or `both` (default both)

    • --limit-per-step <M>

      Max relations expanded per step (default 5, capped at 25)

    • --target <ENTITY>

      A symbol you are trying to reach. Neighbors from which it is still reachable inside the requested depth survive the per-step cap ahead of ones that are not, so the question decides what a narrow walk keeps instead of proximity deciding it

    • --no-bodies

      Return the chain's shape - names, kinds, roles, spans, edges - without inlining any source body

    • --max-response-chars <C>

      Serialized characters this response may occupy before the tool cuts bodies, and then steps, to fit. Defaults to the same budget every retrieval tool answers under, and is clamped to the same ceiling; the numbers live in one place, `kin_mcp::budget`, rather than being written out here to go stale

    • --include-type-edges

      Walk through a type-annotation edge to a type this repository defines. Off by default, because a shared type name otherwise joins every entity that annotates with it to every other one. A target this repository does not define stays a leaf either way

  • kin traffic

    Show traffic (active intents) on a scope

    kin traffic [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin update

    Update Kin to the latest release

    kin update [OPTIONS]
    14 options
    • --skip-verify

      Skip SHA-256 checksum verification (NOT recommended)

    • --channel <CHANNEL>

      Release channel: `stable` (default) or `alpha` (latest pre-release, unstable). A mutating update saves the choice; check-only never writes it

    • --expect-version <SEMVER>

      Require the selected release to have this exact SemVer. This selects a release; it does not authenticate archive bytes. Automation must provide the complete pinned expectation tuple

    • --expect-sha <40HEX>

      Require the selected release tag to peel to this exact Kin commit. This selects the tag source; it does not authenticate archive bytes

    • --expect-archive-sha256 <64HEX>

      Require the downloaded platform archive to match this exact SHA-256. Supply it only after external cryptographic attestation verification pins firelock-ai/kin, release.yml, the release tag, and source commit

    • --check-only

      Check whether an update is available without downloading or installing it

    • --json

      Emit the check-only result as JSON

    • --ack-restart

      Verify the durable restart fence and exact installed binary identities for the release awaiting acknowledgement. Legacy markers may additionally require explicit replacement-session evidence

    • --runtime-session <KIND=PID>

      Legacy-marker live replacement proof: `daemon=PID`, `mcp=PID`, or `vfs=PID`. New stop-before-update markers reject these arguments and require no replacement session evidence

    • --set-policy <POLICY>

      Set how an available update should reach this machine and exit. `auto` (the default) installs unattended through the gated executor: it waits for a moment with no managed Kin process or agent session, defers at most a bounded window, and runs the full stop-install-acknowledge chain. `prompt` notifies with the remedy attached and waits to be told. `manual` never notifies; checks still run

    • --apply

      Bring this machine current in one gesture: install the release, acknowledge the restart fence, and repair agent configs, in that order. This is what the update notification's button runs

    • --dry-run

      With --apply: print the ordered steps and change nothing

    • --unattended

      Run the unattended executor (what the update watchdog invokes on a stale install with policy auto): evaluate the machine-activity gates, and on proceed stop every managed Kin process cooperatively and run the full --apply chain. Blocked runs persist a deferral clock instead of installing. The final stdout line is one JSON record (also appended to ~/.kin/update-ledger.jsonl) carrying the decision, reason, blocked_seconds, and window_seconds

    • --force-window

      With --unattended: apply despite the activity gates. For the watchdog once a deferred record shows blocked_seconds >= window_seconds (24h). Never overrides a recorded prompt or manual policy, only the executor's own activity gates

  • kin verify

    Verify test coverage for entities

    kin verify [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin vfs

    Engage, disengage, or report the filesystem projection for this repository

    kin vfs [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin with

    Launch an assistant in an exact graph-derived session workspace

    kin with [OPTIONS] <ASSISTANT> [-- <TASK>...]
    1 option
    • --semantic-only

      Deny the assistant's native discovery tools for this launch, leaving Kin's semantic tools as the only discovery surface; the enforcement tier is printed at launch and differs per assistant

  • kin work

    Manage work items (features, tasks, issues, debt, TODOs)

    kin work [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
  • kin xref

    Show federated cross-repo references (xrefs) for an entity

    kin xref [OPTIONS] <ENTITY>

Next action

Use the command in the task it belongs to.

A flag list is not a workflow. The task pages walk one question at a time, with the output each step prints and what to do when it looks wrong.

Find recorded callers