multica-cli

Multica CLI

Use the local multica CLI as the source of truth. This skill teaches an external agent how to drive Multica safely; it does not grant permissions. Permissions come only from the user's installed CLI, selected profile, workspace, and explicit approval to run commands.

Start Safely

1. Verify the CLI and account state before doing work:

multica version
multica auth status
multica config show

If multica auth status reports no active session, the CLI is not logged in. Stop and have the user authenticate; do not try to fake credentials:

multica login        # interactive auth + workspace setup
multica setup        # alternative: configure CLI, authenticate, start daemon

2. Use the correct workspace and profile. Discover what is available, then prefer explicit flags when the user names them:

multica workspace list --output json                 # which workspaces exist
multica workspace switch <workspace-id>              # set the default for this profile
multica --profile <profile> --workspace-id <workspace-id> issue list --output json

3. Prefer --output json whenever a command supports it. Parse JSON rather than scraping tables.

4. Never expose or store tokens, cookies, API keys, or CLI config secrets. Do not bypass workspace permissions by calling private HTTP APIs directly.

Command Reference

The flags below are the common ones for the issue workflow you will use most. You do not need --help for these. Run --help only to confirm a rejected flag or to explore the long-tail namespaces (project, agent, squad, runtime, repo, skill, autopilot, attachment), whose shapes vary and are not duplicated here. [ ] marks optional flags; | marks mutually exclusive ones.

# Read
multica issue get <id> --output json
multica issue list [--status <s>] [--assignee <name> | --assignee-id <uuid>] [--project <id>] [--priority <p>] [--limit N] [--metadata key=value] --output json
multica issue children <id> --output json
multica issue pull-requests <id> --output json
multica issue metadata list <id> --output json

# Comments (read)
multica issue comment list <id> --recent N --output json                    # N most active threads
multica issue comment list <id> --thread <comment-id> [--tail N] --output json  # one thread (root + replies)
multica issue comment list <id> --roots-only [--summary] --output json       # triage top-level threads
#   also: --since <RFC3339>, --before/--before-id <cursor> for pagination

# Create / update
multica issue create --title "..." [--description-file <path>] [--priority <p>] [--status <s>] [--assignee <name> | --assignee-id <uuid>] [--parent <id>] [--stage N] [--project <id>] [--due-date YYYY-MM-DD] [--attachment <path>] --output json
multica issue update <id> [--title "..."] [--description-file <path>] [--status <s>] [--priority <p>] [--assignee-id <uuid>] [--parent <id> | --parent ""] [--stage N] [--due-date YYYY-MM-DD]

# Status / assignment  (status values: backlog | todo | in_progress | in_review | done | blocked | cancelled)
multica issue status <id> <status>
multica issue assign <id> --to <name> | --to-id <uuid> | --unassign

# Comment (write) — body always via file, see Write Workflow below
multica issue comment add <id> [--parent <comment-id>] --content-file <path> [--attachment <path>]

# Metadata
multica issue metadata set <id> --key <k> --value <v> [--type string|number|bool]
multica issue metadata delete <id> --key <k>

Note issue assign uses --to / --to-id (not --assignee), while issue create / issue update use --assignee / --assignee-id.

Read Workflow

Use read commands first, then decide whether a write is needed.

multica issue get <issue-id-or-key> --output json
multica issue comment list <issue-id-or-key> --recent 10 --output json
multica issue metadata list <issue-id-or-key> --output json
multica issue pull-requests <issue-id-or-key> --output json

For large comment histories, prefer focused reads:

multica issue comment list <issue-id> --thread <comment-id> --tail 30 --output json
multica issue comment list <issue-id> --recent 10 --output json

For other resources, inspect the relevant namespace:

multica project --help
multica agent --help
multica squad --help
multica runtime --help
multica repo --help
multica skill --help
multica autopilot --help
multica attachment --help

Write Workflow

Treat writes as side-effecting. If the user did not clearly ask for the write, ask before running it. This includes creating comments, issues, status changes, assignments, reruns, agent mentions, squad mentions, webhook/autopilot changes, and repo checkout operations.

Issue Comments

For agent-authored comments, always write the body to a UTF-8 file and pass it with --content-file. Do not use inline --content for structured comments: shells can rewrite backticks, $() expressions, variables, quotes, and newlines before the CLI receives them.

# Create reply.md with real newlines first, then:
multica issue comment add <issue-id> --parent <comment-id> --content-file ./reply.md
rm ./reply.md

Keep the same --parent value as the comment being answered when replying to a thread. Do not write literal \n escapes to fake line breaks.

Issues and Metadata

Use files for long issue descriptions:

multica issue create --title "..." --description-file ./description.md
multica issue update <issue-id> --description-file ./description.md

Metadata is durable issue state, not a log. Read it on entry, but only write high-signal facts future runs will re-read, such as pr_url, pr_number, pipeline_status, deploy_url, external_issue_url, waiting_on, blocked_reason, or decision.

multica issue metadata set <issue-id> --key pr_url --value <url>
multica issue metadata delete <issue-id> --key stale_key

Mention Side Effects

Mention links are actions, not decoration:

[@Name](mention://agent/<agent-id>)   # enqueues that agent
[@Name](mention://squad/<squad-id>)   # enqueues the squad leader
[@Name](mention://member/<user-id>)   # renders a person link
[MUL-123](mention://issue/<issue-id>) # renders an issue link
[@all](mention://all/all)             # broadcast, no specific agent run

Only agent and squad mentions enqueue agent work. A member mention is a person link; an issue mention is a safe cross-reference.

Look up real UUIDs with JSON output before constructing mentions:

multica agent list --output json
multica squad list --output json
multica workspace member list --output json

Do not mention an agent just to thank, acknowledge, or sign off. Re-mentioning an agent in a reply can trigger another run and create loops.

Status and Assignment Side Effects

Status changes are not cosmetic. They can enqueue or stop work.

• backlog parks an agent-assigned issue.
• Moving backlog to todo or another active status can enqueue the assignee.
• done and cancelled are terminal states.
• in_review is useful while a PR or human review is pending, but it is still a write.

When creating sub-issues for ordered work, use stages and backlog for later steps:

multica issue create --title "Research" --parent <id> --assignee <agent> --stage 1 --status todo
multica issue create --title "Build" --parent <id> --assignee <agent> --stage 2 --status backlog
multica issue children <id> --output json

Pull Requests

When code changes are made for a Multica issue, include the routable issue key in the PR title, body, or branch so Multica can link it.

MUL-123: fix login redirect

Use close intent only when merging the PR should close the issue:

Closes MUL-123
Fixes MUL-123
Resolves MUL-123

Read linked PR state from Multica rather than guessing from GitHub search or metadata:

multica issue pull-requests <issue-id> --output json

External Agent Boundaries

External agents do not receive Multica runtime context automatically. If the user asks for work on a specific issue or comment, require or derive:

• issue id or issue key
• trigger comment id and parent thread, if replying
• intended workspace/profile, if more than one is configured
• whether writes are allowed
• whether mentions, status changes, reruns, or assignments are allowed

If any of these are missing and the operation would write state, ask before proceeding. For read-only investigation, gather context with JSON output and report what else is needed.