omnigraph/docs/user/cli-reference.md

CLI Reference (omnigraph)

A reference for the omnigraph binary's command surface and omnigraph.yaml schema. For a quick-start guide, see cli.md.

17 top-level command families, 40+ subcommands. All commands accept either a positional URI, --uri, or a --graph <name> resolved against omnigraph.yaml.

Top-level commands

Command	Purpose
init	--schema <pg> → initialize a graph (also scaffolds omnigraph.yaml if missing)
load	bulk load a branch (--mode overwrite|append|merge)
ingest	branch-creating transactional load (--from <base>)
query (alias: read)	run named read query; source via --query <path>, -e/--query-string <GQ>, or --alias <name> (exactly one). read is the deprecated previous name and prints a one-line warning to stderr
mutate (alias: change)	run mutation query; same --query / -e / --alias mutual-exclusion as query. change is the deprecated previous name and prints a one-line warning to stderr
snapshot	print current snapshot (per-table version + row count)
export	dump to JSONL on stdout (--type T, --table K filters)
branch create | list | delete | merge	branching ops
commit list | show	inspect commit graph
run list | show | publish | abort	transactional run ops
schema plan | apply | show (alias: get)	migrations
lint (alias: check)	offline / graph-backed query validation. Replaces query lint / query check, which are kept as deprecated argv-level shims that print a one-line warning and rewrite to omnigraph lint
queries validate | list	operate on the server-side stored-query registry (the queries: block). validate type-checks every stored query against the live schema offline (opens the selected graph; exits non-zero on any breakage), catching schema drift without restarting the server; list prints the selected registry's query names, MCP exposure, and typed params. For per-graph registries, pass --graph <graph> or set defaults.graph; with no graph selection, list shows only top-level queries:. Distinct from lint, which validates a single .gq file
optimize	non-destructive Lance compaction (skips tables with Blob columns; --json reports a skipped field)
cleanup --keep N --older-than 7d --confirm	destructive version GC
embed	offline JSONL embedding pipeline
policy validate | test | explain	Cedar tooling. Selects defaults.graph, else serve.graphs, else top-level policy.file
config view [--resolved] [--show-origin] [--json] [<graph>]	print the merged config; --show-origin labels each field with its source layer; --resolved <graph> prints the typed locator (embedded/remote)
use <graph>	set the active graph (writes ~/.omnigraph/state/active.yaml); a bare command then targets it
version / -v	print omnigraph 0.3.x

omnigraph.yaml schema

version: 1                          # omit for the legacy schema (lenient, deprecation-warned);
                                    # `1` = strict: unknown/typo'd keys, and the removed legacy
                                    #   keys (`project:`, `cli:`, `server:`, top-level
                                    #   `policy:`/`queries:`), are rejected at any depth
servers:                            # named remote endpoints (referenced by graphs.<>.server)
  <name>: { endpoint: <https://host:port> }
graphs:
  <name>:
    # Embedded XOR remote. Embedded → `storage:`; remote → `server:` (+ optional `graph_id:`).
    storage: <local|s3://>          # embedded; a bare string, or a block { uri, region, endpoint }
    # server: <name>                # remote: a `servers:` entry (mutually exclusive with storage)
    # graph_id: <id>                # the graph's id on that server (defaults to the entry key)
    # uri: <local|s3://|http(s)://> # DEPRECATED legacy spelling of storage/server; warns at load
    bearer_token_env: <ENV_NAME>
    branch: <name>                  # optional default branch
    snapshot: <version>             # optional read-pinned snapshot
    policy: { file: <policy.yaml> } # per-graph Cedar policy (embedded graphs only)
    queries:                      # per-graph stored-query registry (server-role; multi-graph mode)
      <query-name>:               # key MUST equal the `query <name>` symbol inside the .gq
        file: <path-to-.gq>       # relative to this config's directory
        mcp:
          expose: true            # default true: listed in the MCP catalog (GET /queries); set false to hide (still HTTP-callable)
          tool_name: <name>       # optional MCP tool-name override (defaults to <query-name>;
                                  #   must be unique across exposed queries)
serve:                              # host-role serving config (was `server:`)
  graphs: [<name>]                  # served set; one entry = single-graph mode, omit = serve all
  bind: <ip:port>
  policy: { file: <server-policy.yaml> }   # server-level Cedar (management endpoints)
defaults:                           # CLI/client defaults (was `cli:`)
  graph: <name>
  branch: <name>
  output_format: json|jsonl|csv|kv|table
  table_max_column_width: 80
  table_cell_layout: truncate|wrap
query:
  roots: [<dir>, …]   # search path for .gq files
auth:
  env_file: ./.env.omni
aliases:
  <alias>:
    # accepted values: `read` / `query` (read alias), `change` / `mutate`
    # (write alias). `query` and `mutate` are recommended; `read` and
    # `change` remain accepted forever for back-compat.
    command: read|change|query|mutate
    query: <path-to-.gq>
    name: <query-name>
    args: [<positional-name>, …]
    graph: <name>
    branch: <name>
    format: <output-format>

Legacy spellings (honored only when version: is omitted; each emits a load-time deprecation warning, and is rejected under version: 1):

Legacy	v1
cli:	defaults:
server: (graph: scalar)	serve: (graphs: list)
top-level policy:	graphs.<name>.policy
top-level queries:	graphs.<name>.queries
project:	removed (no consumer)
uri:	storage: (embedded) / server: (remote)

Layered config (global-first)

The CLI reads up to three config layers and merges them, so it works from any directory with no project file (the kubectl/gh posture). Precedence, low → high:

built-in defaults < global < active-context state < project < env vars < CLI flags

Layer	Path	Notes
Global	~/.omnigraph/config.yaml	the primary, self-sufficient default; secret-free, machine-local
State	~/.omnigraph/state/active.yaml	written by omnigraph use; sets the active graph
Project	./omnigraph.yaml (or --config)	optional repo-scoped override + deployment manifest

Global dir resolution: OMNIGRAPH_CONFIG (explicit file) > OMNIGRAPH_HOME (dir) > $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/omnigraph (if set) > ~/.omnigraph. The global file is <dir>/config.yaml.

Merge semantics: settings-objects (defaults, serve) deep-merge per field; the named-resource maps (servers, graphs, aliases) union by key, with a higher layer's entry replacing the lower wholesale; lists and scalars replace. Relative paths (policy.file, queries.<>.file, storage, query.roots) resolve against the directory of the layer that defined them.

omnigraph config view --show-origin prints which layer each value came from; config view --resolved <graph> prints the final embedded/remote locator. The server does not layer the global config — it reads only the project/--config manifest.

Output formats (query command, alias: read)

• json — pretty-printed object with metadata + rows
• jsonl — one metadata line then one JSON object per row
• csv — RFC 4180-ish quoting
• table — fitted text table, honors table_max_column_width + table_cell_layout
• kv — grouped per-row key/value blocks

Param resolution

Precedence (high to low): explicit --params / --params-file, alias positional args, omnigraph.yaml defaults. JS-safe-integer handling is built in (is_js_safe_integer_i64, JS_MAX_SAFE_INTEGER_U64) so 64-bit ids round-trip safely through JSON clients.

Bearer token resolution (CLI)

1. graphs.<name>.bearer_token_env
2. OMNIGRAPH_BEARER_TOKEN global env
3. auth.env_file referenced .env

Duration parsing (cleanup)

s | m | h | d | w units, e.g. --older-than 7d.