Praxis CLI
Run Praxis from your terminal or CI, and how it differs from raptor, the separate Facets Control Plane CLI.
The Praxis CLI is a terminal client for Praxis. It logs you in through your browser, then connects to the same Praxis agent and tools you use in the web app. Anything you can ask Praxis to do in chat, you can drive from your terminal, a script, or a CI job. It is the right choice when you would rather stay in your shell, wire Praxis into an editor or another AI tool, or run the same operations without a browser.
Under the hood, the CLI is a thin client. It does not run the agent on your machine. It talks to the Praxis MCP gateway, the single server endpoint that exposes Praxis's tools. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way to make a set of tools available to an agent. For how the gateway isolates each organization and audits every call, see How Praxis works.
Install and log in
The Praxis CLI is two binaries: praxis, the terminal client, and raptor, the Facets Control Plane CLI the Praxis agent runs for you. Install both and log in once: a single browser login covers both binaries, and you use an API key for unattended automation (see Running Praxis from CI or cron below).
For the install commands, browser and token login, running against more than one control plane, and upgrading, see Install Praxis CLI, the single source of truth for setup.
Talking to Praxis from the terminal
Once you are logged in, you work with Praxis the same way you would in chat: describe what you want, and the agent plans and runs the work server-side. The CLI also loads Praxis's built-in skills, the same on-demand capabilities the web app uses, so the agent behaves consistently wherever you reach it. That covers the full range of what Praxis can do, from investigating infrastructure to running module and blueprint work, without leaving your shell.
The confirmed entry point for scripting is the praxis mcp command, which lists the tools Praxis exposes through the gateway and calls them by name. This is how scripts and other AI tools reach the same capabilities available in the web app.
The Praxis CLI ships its own complete, current command reference. Check the CLI's built-in help for the full list of commands. This page covers what the CLI is and how it connects, not an exhaustive command catalog.
Running Praxis from CI or cron
Interactive login needs a browser, which a pipeline does not have. For CI, cron, and other unattended jobs, authenticate with a Praxis API key instead.
Create an API key in your Praxis settings. Keys are prefixed sk_live_ or sk_test_, and the full value appears only once at creation, so copy it into your CI secret store right away. Your automation then sends the key as a bearer token, and every call runs through the same gateway as an interactive session.
Tip: You can also call the Praxis MCP gateway directly, without the CLI. See the API Reference for details.
For how API keys map to permissions and how Praxis protects credentials, see How Praxis works.
Praxis CLI vs raptor
These are two different tools, and older docs blur them. raptor is not the command binary of the Praxis CLI. They are separate binaries, with separate credentials, operating at different layers.
raptor is the Facets Control Plane CLI. It runs Facets infrastructure operations: reading projects and releases, applying resources, streaming release logs, and the like. It authenticates with a Facets personal access token (PAT), which is a different credential from your Praxis login.
You do not type raptor commands into Praxis. When a task needs a Facets control-plane operation, the Praxis agent runs raptor for you, server-side, through a gated internal tool that enforces your Facets permissions. Direct raptor shell access is blocked. Keeping the two credentials separate is deliberate: your Praxis login authorizes the agent, while your Facets token authorizes the infrastructure actions the agent takes on your behalf.
| Aspect | Praxis CLI | raptor |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Terminal client for the Praxis agent | The Facets Control Plane CLI |
| You run it | Yes, from your terminal | No, the Praxis agent runs it for you |
| Credential | Praxis login or API key | Facets personal access token |
| Acts on | Praxis, over the MCP gateway | Facets infrastructure directly |
For raptor's own commands, see the Facets CLI reference.
Related
- How Praxis works - Where Praxis runs, the MCP gateway, and how it stays safe
- Build your own agent - Create custom agents you can also reach from the CLI
- Facets CLI reference - raptor's own command surface
Artifacts
The reports, status pages, and write-ups your Praxis agents produce, saved as versioned files you can browse, open, and share.
Catalog and Infrastructure Graph
A live inventory of everything your organization runs and how it connects, plus a versioned graph of a project's code and infrastructure that build pipelines can query.