Lytos CLI

The command-line tool for Lytos — a human-first method for working with AI coding agents.

Documentation — lytos.org · The method · Lire en français

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Do you develop with AI?

You switch models. You open a new session. You go from Claude to Codex. And each time, the same ritual: re-supply the context, repeat the conventions, correct the same drifts.

Meanwhile, the debt sets in. Today's generated code no longer matches yesterday's. Conventions slip. The project grows faster than the AI's ability to find its way in it.

Many have come to accept this friction as normal. It isn't.

Lytos addresses this by anchoring the context where it belongs: in the repo.

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Who it's for

Profile	Typical setup	What Lytos brings
Vibe-coder / maker	Claude Code, Codex, AI apps + GitHub	A manifest the AI reads every session. Less re-explaining, a context that compounds.
Developer	IDE + Git (GitHub / GitLab) + AI as a tool	Versioned rules, a memory that builds, a board that traces the work — in the repo, not in a SaaS.
Team	IDE + Git + CI + reviews + product ticketing	Shared manifest, skills, rules. The AI produces in the project's style. Technical specs for the AI live in the repo, next to the code.

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Install

npm install -g lytos-cli
lyt init

Or without installing:

npx lytos-cli init

In 2 minutes, your repo has its manifest, rules, and board. From there, the AI knows your project.

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Commands

Command	What it does
lyt init	Scaffold .lytos/ in a project (interactive, detects the stack)
lyt board	Regenerate BOARD.md from issue YAML frontmatter
lyt lint	Validate .lytos/ structure and content
lyt doctor	Full diagnostic — broken links, stale memory, missing skills, health score
lyt show [ISS-XXXX]	Display issue detail with progress bar, or all in-progress issues
lyt start ISS-XXXX	Start an issue — move to in-progress, create branch, update board
lyt close ISS-XXXX	Close one issue — promote to 5-done from 4-review (or explicitly from in-progress), warns about unchecked items
lyt close	Batch-close every issue in 4-review/ → 5-done/ (asks to confirm; --yes skips the prompt; --dry-run previews)
lyt update	Update lytos-cli to the latest version

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What lyt init generates

project/
└── .lytos/
    ├── manifest.md              # Intent — project identity and constraints
    ├── LYTOS.md                 # Method reference
    ├── config.yml               # Language and profile preferences
    ├── skills/                  # Design — Lytos protocol + agentskills.io task skills
    │   ├── session-start.md     # Lytos bootstrap protocol (flat)
    │   ├── code-structure/SKILL.md
    │   ├── code-review/SKILL.md
    │   ├── testing/SKILL.md
    │   ├── documentation/SKILL.md
    │   ├── git-workflow/SKILL.md
    │   ├── deployment/SKILL.md
    │   ├── security/SKILL.md
    │   └── api-design/SKILL.md  # 8 task skills (agentskills.io format)
    ├── rules/                   # Standards — quality criteria
    │   └── default-rules.md
    ├── issue-board/             # Progress — kanban board
    │   ├── BOARD.md
    │   ├── 0-icebox/
    │   ├── 1-backlog/
    │   ├── 2-sprint/
    │   ├── 3-in-progress/
    │   ├── 4-review/
    │   └── 5-done/
    ├── memory/                  # Memory — accumulated knowledge
    │   ├── MEMORY.md
    │   └── cortex/
    └── templates/               # Issue and sprint templates

lyt init also detects the project's stack (language, framework, test runner, package manager) and pre-fills the manifest. It generates the appropriate adapter file for the chosen AI tool — CLAUDE.md, .cursor/rules/lytos.mdc, AGENTS.md, .github/copilot-instructions.md, GEMINI.md, or .windsurfrules.

A pre-commit hook is installed to enforce branch naming conventions (type/ISS-XXXX-slug). This prevents untracked work on main — regardless of which AI tool or model is used.

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Works with any AI tool

Tool	What lyt init generates
Claude Code	CLAUDE.md at project root
Cursor	.cursor/rules/lytos.mdc (modern Cursor rule with YAML front-matter)
Codex (OpenAI)	AGENTS.md at project root
GitHub Copilot	.github/copilot-instructions.md
Gemini CLI	GEMINI.md at project root
Windsurf	.windsurfrules at project root
Others	The .lytos/ directory is plain Markdown — any LLM can read it

"Choose your AI. Don't belong to it."

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Design principles

• Offline-first — lyt lint, lyt doctor, lyt board, lyt show, lyt start, lyt close never need network
• Zero lock-in — plain Markdown files, portable across any AI tool
• No telemetry — no tracking, no analytics, ever. Opt-out for update check: LYT_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1
• Human-first — the human defines the method, the AI follows it
• Fail with context — when something is wrong, the CLI says what, where, and how to fix it

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Built with Lytos

This CLI is developed using Lytos itself. The .lytos/ directory in this repository contains the real manifest, sprint, issues, and memory — not templates. Every feature was tracked as an issue, started with lyt start, and closed with lyt close.

Browse the issue board →

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Links

• Documentation — lytos.org
• Tutorial — lytos-learn — learn by doing in 7 steps
• The method — github.com/getlytos/lytos-method
• npm — npmjs.com/package/lytos-cli

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Author

Created by Frederic Galliné

• GitHub: @FredericGalline
• X: @fred

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License

MIT — see LICENSE

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