CLI Commands and Flags

This page lists all startup flags of the qodercn command. Use qodercn --help to see the full list in your terminal. Basic invocation:

qodercn [options] [prompt text]

With no arguments, an interactive session starts. Passing prompt text or --print enters non-interactive mode.

General flags

Flag	Short	Type	Description
`--version`	`-v`	boolean	Print the version number and exit.
`--help`	`-h`	boolean	Show help and exit.
`--debug`	`-d`	boolean	Enable debug log output.
`--cwd`	`-w`	string	Specify the working directory (defaults to the current directory).
`--config-dir`		string	Override the user config directory (default `~/.qoder-cn`).
`--add-dir`		string[]	Add extra trusted directories for the current session (repeatable).
`--attachment`		string	Attach a file to the initial prompt (repeatable).
`--worktree`		`[name]`	Run isolated in a new Git worktree, with results merged back to the main branch; the name is optional and auto-generated when omitted.

Model and reasoning

Flag	Short	Type	Description
`--model`	`-m`	string	Specify the model identifier (such as `auto`, or a model name from the New tab like `Qwen3.8-Max`; use the modelID for BYOK).
`--reasoning-effort`		string	Override the reasoning effort for this session (such as `high`).
`--context-window`		number	Override the context window size for this session (in tokens).
`--list-models`		boolean	List available models and exit.
`--output-style`		string	The name of the active output style.

Session management

Flag	Short	Type	Description
`--continue`	`-c`	boolean	Continue the most recent session.
`--resume`	`-r`	`[id]`	Resume a previous session by identifier; without an id, pick from a list.
`--session-id`		string	Continue the session with the given ID.
`--fork-session`		boolean	Fork a new session from a resumed one (with `--resume`/`--session-id`).
`--name`	`-n`	string	Set or override the current session name.
`--list-sessions`		boolean	List all historical sessions and exit.
`--delete-session`		`<index>`	Delete a session by its index number.

Conflict rule: --continue, --resume, --remote, --remote-session, --teleport, and --remote-control cannot be used together.

Output and scripting modes

Flag	Short	Type	Description
`--print`	`-p`	boolean	Non-interactive mode: print one response and exit (for CI/scripts).
`--output-format`	`-o`	enum	Output format: `text` (default), `json`, `stream-json`.
`--input-format`		enum	Input format: `text` (default), `stream-json`.
`--max-turns`		number	Limit the maximum conversation turns per query (prevents infinite loops in automation).
`--max-output-tokens`		number	Set the model's maximum tokens per output.
`--prompt-interactive`	`-i`	string	Execute the given prompt first, then enter interactive mode.
`--no-session-persistence`		boolean	Do not write the session to disk; it cannot be resumed (only works with `--print`).

Permission control

Flag	Type	Description
`--permission-mode`	enum	Set the permission mode: `default` / `plan` / `auto` / `bypass_permissions` / `accept_edits` / `dont_ask`.
`--yolo`	boolean	Equivalent to `--permission-mode bypass_permissions` (dangerous: skips all permission confirmations).
`--dangerously-skip-permissions`	boolean	Same as `--permission-mode bypass_permissions` (dangerous: skips all permission confirmations).

Tools and MCP

Flag	Type	Description
`--tools`	string[]	Restrict available built-in tools; space- or comma-separated (`""` disables all, `default` enables all; use `-p` or `--` to separate from the query).
`--allowed-tools`	string[]	Allowlist of tools that may be used.
`--disallowed-tools`	string[]	Denylist of tools that may not be used.
`--mcp-config`	string	Path to an MCP configuration file (JSON).
`--strict-mcp-config`	boolean	Strict mode: load only the MCP servers specified by `--mcp-config`.
`--allowed-mcp-server-names`	string[]	Allowlist of MCP server names.
`--max-model-request-retries`	number	Maximum retries for Qoder and external-provider model requests.

Sandbox

Flag	Short	Type	Description
`--sandbox`	`-s`	boolean	Enable the sandbox (a boolean switch; does not accept a backend name). The backend is decided by `QODERCN_SANDBOX` or `tools.sandbox`.

Agent and system prompt

Flag	Type	Description
`--agent`	string	Specify the Agent used by the main thread.
`--agents`	json	Define custom Agents as a JSON object.
`--system-prompt`	string	Override the system prompt.
`--append-system-prompt`	string	Append content after the default system prompt.

Configuration overrides

Flag	Type	Description
`--settings`	string	A JSON file path or inline JSON object (parsed inline when starting with `{`), applied as the highest-precedence configuration.
`--setting-sources`	string[]	Specify the list of setting sources to load.
`--plugin-dir`	string	Additional plugin search directory.

Remote and collaboration

Flag	Type	Description
`--remote`	`[task]`	Create a cloud remote session and print its access URL (optionally with an initial task).
`--remote-session`	`<id>`	Cold-load and attach to an existing remote session.
`--teleport`	`<id>`	Load and attach to a remote session.
`--remote-control`	`<id>`	Run as a headless remote-control worker.

Editor integration

Flag	Short	Type	Description
`--acp`		boolean	Start as an ACP server for clients implementing the ACP protocol (such as Zed) to integrate over standard input/output.

Subcommands

Beyond the startup flags, qodercn also provides several subcommands of the form qodercn <subcommand>:

Subcommand	Description
`mcp`	Configure and manage MCP servers.
`plugins` (alias `plugin`)	Manage plugins.
`skills` (alias `skill`)	Manage Agent Skills.
`hooks` (alias `hook`)	Manage Hooks.
`agents` (alias `agent`)	Manage Agents.
`login`	Sign in to your account.
`commit`	Generate a commit message and commit changes.
`rollback`	Roll back to a previous version.
`update`	Update to the latest version.
`remote-control`	Start the remote-control daemon.
`status`	Show session status.
`security`	Scan source code for security issues (see Security Scanning).
`feedback`	Submit feedback.
`config`	View and modify CLI configuration (CN-exclusive, includes the `vpc_endpoint` setting).

Usage examples

# Start interactively
qodercn

# Specify a model
qodercn -m auto

# Non-interactive one-shot execution
qodercn -p "Explain what this code does"

# JSON output for script consumption
qodercn -p -o json "List the project dependencies"

# Continue the last session
qodercn -c

# Run in an isolated worktree
qodercn --worktree "Refactor the database layer"

# Fully automated mode + sandbox
qodercn --permission-mode auto -s docker "Run the tests and fix the failures"

Next steps

Slash commands in interactive mode: Slash Commands.
Settings files and environment variables: Settings, Environment Variables, and File Paths.
The detailed guide to non-interactive execution: Run in Scripts.

​General flags

​Model and reasoning

​Session management

​Output and scripting modes

​Permission control

​Tools and MCP

​Sandbox

​Agent and system prompt

​Configuration overrides

​Remote and collaboration

​Editor integration

​Subcommands

​Usage examples

​Next steps