The CLI

elbi init <name>     Scaffold a new project (offline).
elbi serve           Serve the chat UI and MCP together on localhost.
elbi mcp             Serve derivations over MCP only, no chat UI.
elbi validate        Validate the project and derivations against the spec.
elbi cache status    Show the local cache location and entry count.
elbi cache clear     Clear the cache (optionally --tag <tag>).
elbi --version       Print the version.

init

elbi init acme-data-context [--template standard|minimal] [--force]

Scaffolds a project and runs offline: nothing is sent anywhere.

serve

elbi serve [--host 127.0.0.1] [--port 7700] [--model <model>] [--directory .]

The default way to run a project: a chat UI plus the same MCP endpoint mcp serves, in one process. Requires the elbi app package; if it is not installed, prints how to add it.

mcp

elbi mcp [--host 127.0.0.1] [--port 7878] [--path /mcp] [--directory .]

Discovers derivations, resolves local data bindings, and serves the project over MCP only -- no chat UI, no elbi app package needed. Compute runs on your machine; the serve contract is applied per derivation.

validate

elbi validate [--directory .]

Loads the project, imports every derivation (which validates its manifest against the spec), and warns about dataset inputs not declared in elbi.yaml. Exits non-zero on any failure.

certificate

elbi certificate issue <name> [--version <prefix>] [--issuer <id>] [-o <file>]
elbi certificate verify <file> [--public-key <key-or-.pub-file>]
elbi certificate chain [--path <audit.jsonl>]
elbi certificate public-key

Issues, verifies, and inspects signed verification certificates and the hash-chained audit log. verify and chain run fully offline, no project needed.

update

elbi update

elbi update --apply    # run the upgrade instead of printing it
elbi update --pre      # consider pre-releases
elbi update --quiet    # silent when current, exit 1 when not

Asks PyPI whether a newer release exists, and prints the command that upgrades this particular install: uv tool upgrade, pipx upgrade, pip install --upgrade, or the compose command inside a container. Where the project publishes release notes, it links them, so you can see what changed before deciding.

--apply runs the command, handing the process to the installer with exec so nothing of Elbi is running while its files are replaced. It refuses a command that needs a shell and prints it instead.

Other commands reach the network too. sync, pull, plan, upload and run all talk to your running app. This is the only one that contacts anything outside your own infrastructure, and it does so only when you type it: nothing checks at startup or on a timer. --quiet prints nothing when you are current and exits non-zero when you are not, for use in a script.

See Upgrading for the whole picture.