Command Line Options

Command-line options

Also on the Cuebot Docs site.

Most people never need this page. Command-line options are extra words you add when you start Cuebot, to change how it starts. For example, on Windows you can add them to a shortcut: right-click the shortcut, choose Properties, and add them at the end of Target.

Option	What it does
--minimized	Start hidden in the tray (or minimized when there is no tray). Same as the Start minimized box on the Settings page.
--headless	Start with no window at all. Everything else runs, and the log is written to the terminal and the log file. Good for a computer without a screen. Stop it with Ctrl + C.
--data <folder>	Use another data folder. For a second setup or a USB stick.
--reset-window	Forget where the window was and how big it was. Use it when the window is off-screen.
--shutdown	Close a Cuebot that is already running.
--mcp-stdio	For AI apps: lets an app like Claude Desktop talk to a running Cuebot. See AI tools.
--backend=wayland / --backend=x11	Linux only: choose how the window is drawn. See Linux.
--help	List the options.

Every option also works with / instead of --, like Streamer.bot's /headless and /resetwindow. The one exception is --backend=… on Linux: it only works with --.

Environment variables

These are settings you put in your computer's environment instead of on the command line.

Variable	What it does
CUEBOT_DATA	The data folder, like --data. --data wins if you use both.
CUEBOT_BACKEND	Linux: wayland or x11.
CUEBOT_WAYLAND_TIMEOUT	Linux: seconds to wait for a Wayland window before trying X11 (20 if not set).

Only one Cuebot at a time

If you start Cuebot while it is already running, the running window comes to the front and the new one closes. That way two copies can never write the same files. Copies with different data folders can run side by side.