Cascade - Multi-Repo Change Propagator

Cline CLI as Infrastructure | DevWeek Hackathon 2026

One API change. Multiple repos. Zero manual hunting.

Cascade takes a single change description and propagates it across all connected repositories using the real Cline CLI as parallel worker agents. Each repo gets its own branch with adapted code, passing tests, and a self-reviewed diff.

The Problem

In cross-platform applications, a single API change (rename a field, add a parameter, change a response shape) ripples across every consumer -- web frontend, SDK, CLI tool, docs. Engineers manually hunt down every reference in every repo, adapt each one for its language and framework, and hope they didn't miss anything. This takes hours and is error-prone.

The Solution

"The /users endpoint now returns full_name instead of first_name and last_name"
     |
     v
  Cascade
     |
     +---> [cline -y] Backend API      --> branch + adapted code
     +---> [cline -y] Web Dashboard    --> branch + adapted code
     +---> [cline -y] Python SDK       --> branch + adapted code
     +---> [cline -y] CLI Client       --> branch + adapted code

Each repo is handled by an independent Cline agent that:

Adapts the code using cline -y -c <repo> (headless, auto-approve)
Tests using the repo's configured test command
Fixes failures by piping test output back to cline -y
Self-reviews using git diff | cline --json
Commits to an isolated branch
Creates PRs on GitHub using the gh CLI (for GitHub repos)

Cline CLI Integration

Cascade uses Cline as a programmable component -- not a coding assistant, but infrastructure. Every interaction uses documented flags from the Cline CLI Reference:

Step	Command	Purpose
Discover	`cline --json -c <repo> "List files affected by: <change>"`	Find impacted files per repo
Adapt	`cline -y -c <repo> --timeout 600 "Apply this change: <change>"`	Implement adaptation headlessly
Verify	`git diff \| cline --json "Review these changes"`	Self-review the diff
Fix	`<test output> \| cline -y -c <repo> "Fix these failures"`	Auto-fix if tests break

Authentication

Cascade authenticates with Cline using an API key from app.cline.bot/dashboard/account:

# 1. Get your API key from https://app.cline.bot/dashboard/account?tab=api-keys
# 2. Add it to .env
echo "CLINE_API_KEY=sk_your_key_here" > .env

# Docker auto-authenticates on container startup using:
cline auth --provider cline --apikey $CLINE_API_KEY --modelid "anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet"

Architecture

System Overview

flowchart TB
    subgraph User["👤 User"]
        UI["Dashboard UI<br/><i>localhost:8450</i>"]
        CLI["Cascade CLI<br/><code>python -m cascade</code>"]
    end

    subgraph Dashboard["🖥️ FastAPI Dashboard"]
        WS["WebSocket<br/>Real-time Events"]
        API["REST API<br/>/api/*"]
    end

    subgraph Core["⚙️ Cascade Core"]
        DET["Detector<br/><i>Schema drift scanning</i>"]
        PROP["Propagator<br/><i>Parallel orchestration</i>"]
        GIT["Git Ops<br/><i>Branch, commit, diff</i>"]
        GH["GitHub Ops<br/><i>Clone, push, PR</i>"]
    end

    subgraph Cline["🤖 Cline CLI"]
        AUTH["cline auth<br/><i>API key from cline.bot</i>"]
        ADAPT["cline -y<br/><i>Headless adaptation</i>"]
        REVIEW["cline --json<br/><i>Self-review</i>"]
        FIX["cline -y<br/><i>Test failure repair</i>"]
    end

    subgraph Repos["📦 Repositories"]
        SRC["Source Repo<br/><i>e.g. backend-api</i>"]
        C1["Consumer Repo 1<br/><i>e.g. web-dashboard</i>"]
        C2["Consumer Repo 2<br/><i>e.g. python-sdk</i>"]
        C3["Consumer Repo N<br/><i>e.g. cli-client</i>"]
    end

    subgraph External["☁️ External Services"]
        GITHUB["GitHub<br/><i>Repos & PRs</i>"]
        CLINE_API["Cline API<br/><i>app.cline.bot</i>"]
    end

    UI -->|HTTP / WS| Dashboard
    CLI --> Core

    API --> DET
    API --> PROP
    API --> GH
    WS -.->|Live events| UI

    DET -->|Scan fields| Repos
    PROP -->|Per-repo pipeline| GIT
    PROP -->|Invoke agents| Cline
    GH -->|Clone / Push| GITHUB
    GH -->|gh pr create| GITHUB

    ADAPT -->|Modify code| Repos
    REVIEW -->|Review diff| Repos
    FIX -->|Fix tests| Repos
    AUTH -->|Authenticate| CLINE_API

    GIT -->|Branch & commit| Repos

    style User fill:#e0e7ff,stroke:#6366f1,color:#1e1b4b
    style Dashboard fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#3b82f6,color:#1e3a5f
    style Core fill:#d1fae5,stroke:#10b981,color:#064e3b
    style Cline fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#f59e0b,color:#78350f
    style Repos fill:#f3e8ff,stroke:#8b5cf6,color:#3b0764
    style External fill:#fce7f3,stroke:#ec4899,color:#831843

Propagation Pipeline (per repo)

flowchart LR
    A["🔀 Branch<br/><code>git checkout -b cascade/repo</code>"] --> B["🤖 Adapt<br/><code>cline -y -c repo 'change'</code>"]
    B --> C{"🧪 Test<br/><code>test_cmd</code>"}
    C -->|Pass| E["🔍 Review<br/><code>git diff ∣ cline --json</code>"]
    C -->|Fail| D["🔧 Fix<br/><code>output ∣ cline -y 'fix'</code>"]
    D -->|Retry| C
    E --> F["💾 Commit<br/><code>git commit</code>"]
    F --> G{"GitHub?"}
    G -->|Yes| H["📤 Push & PR<br/><code>git push + gh pr create</code>"]
    G -->|No| I["✅ Done"]
    H --> I

    style A fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#3b82f6
    style B fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#f59e0b
    style C fill:#d1fae5,stroke:#10b981
    style D fill:#fee2e2,stroke:#ef4444
    style E fill:#f3e8ff,stroke:#8b5cf6
    style F fill:#e0e7ff,stroke:#6366f1
    style G fill:#f5f5f5,stroke:#6b7280
    style H fill:#fce7f3,stroke:#ec4899
    style I fill:#d1fae5,stroke:#10b981

Dashboard UI Flow

flowchart LR
    subgraph Tabs["Dashboard Tabs"]
        T1["ℹ️ About<br/><i>Default tab</i>"]
        T2["🔄 Cascade"]
        T3["📊 Analytics"]
    end

    subgraph CascadeTab["Cascade Sub-nav"]
        DM["Demo Mode<br/><i>Local repos</i>"]
        GHM["GitHub Repos<br/><i>Import from GitHub</i>"]
    end

    T2 --> CascadeTab

    DM --> DET2["Detect Drift"]
    DM --> SIM["Simulate Change"]
    DM --> PROP2["Propagate"]

    GHM --> IMP["Import & Scan"]
    GHM --> GHDET["Detect Drift"]
    GHM --> GHPROP["Propagate"]
    GHM --> PRS["Create PRs"]

    style Tabs fill:#e0e7ff,stroke:#6366f1
    style CascadeTab fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#3b82f6
    style T1 fill:#d1fae5,stroke:#10b981
    style T2 fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#f59e0b
    style T3 fill:#f3e8ff,stroke:#8b5cf6

Project Structure

cascade/
  __init__.py, __main__.py
  cli.py                  # Typer CLI: run, status, dashboard, init
  core/
    cline.py              # Real Cline CLI subprocess wrapper
    config.py             # cascade.yaml loader
    detector.py           # Schema drift detection (regex-based)
    discovery.py          # Discover affected files per repo
    propagator.py         # Parallel dispatch + pipeline orchestration
    git_ops.py            # Branch, commit, diff operations
    github_ops.py         # Clone, push, PR creation via gh CLI
    reporter.py           # Summary generation
  prompts/
    discover.md           # Discovery prompt template
    adapt.md              # Adaptation prompt template
    verify.md             # Self-review prompt template
    fix_tests.md          # Test-fix prompt template
  dashboard/
    app.py                # FastAPI + WebSocket server
    templates/
      index.html          # Live monitoring dashboard
demo/
  cascade.yaml            # Config pointing to demo repos
  run-demo.sh             # One-command demo script
  repos/
    backend-api/          # Python FastAPI backend (source)
    web-dashboard/        # HTML/JS frontend (consumer)
    python-sdk/           # Python SDK (consumer)
    cli-client/           # Python CLI tool (consumer)

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ (for Cline CLI)
Python 3.11+
Git
Cline API key from app.cline.bot

Setup

# 1. Install Cline CLI
npm install -g cline

# 2. Authenticate Cline
cline auth --provider cline --apikey YOUR_CLINE_API_KEY --modelid "anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet"

# 3. Install Python dependencies
cd cline/
pip install -r requirements.txt

# 4. Run the demo
bash demo/run-demo.sh

CLI Commands

# Propagate a change across all repos
python -m cascade run "The /users endpoint returns full_name instead of first_name and last_name"

# Use a specific config file
python -m cascade run --config ./demo/cascade.yaml "change description"

# Dry-run (discovery only, no changes)
python -m cascade run --dry-run "change description"

# Launch live dashboard
python -m cascade dashboard

# Show last run results
python -m cascade status

# Initialize a new cascade.yaml
python -m cascade init

Docker

# 1. Add your Cline API key to .env
echo "CLINE_API_KEY=sk_your_key_here" > .env

# 2. Launch the dashboard (auto-authenticates Cline on startup)
docker compose up cascade

# 3. Open http://localhost:8450

The Docker container automatically:

Installs the Cline CLI (npm install -g cline)
Authenticates with your CLINE_API_KEY on first startup
Persists Cline auth across restarts via a named volume

# Run a propagation via CLI
docker compose run --rm cascade-run

# Or with a custom change
docker compose run --rm cascade-run run --config /app/demo/cascade.yaml "your change description"

Live Dashboard

Launch with python -m cascade dashboard or docker compose up cascade to get a real-time web UI at http://localhost:8450.

Tabs

Tab	Description
About (default)	Project overview, features, workflow diagram, tech stack, and references
Cascade	Combined tab with Demo Mode and GitHub Repos sub-navigation
Analytics	Session metrics, activity timeline, event breakdown, and repo performance

Cascade Tab

The Cascade tab has two modes accessible via a sub-navigation toggle:

Demo Mode -- Simulate schema changes on local demo repos with one click, run drift detection, and trigger propagation
GitHub Repos -- Import repos from GitHub URLs, detect drift across them, propagate changes using Cline CLI, and create PRs

Features

Animated cascade logo with gradient glow
Light/dark theme toggle with auto-persist
Auto-detect frequency (manual, 10s, 30s, 1min, 5min)
WebSocket-powered real-time event streaming
Per-repo progress cards with status, branch, files changed, test results
Event log with timestamped pipeline events
Session analytics with metric cards, activity timeline, and event breakdown

GitHub Integration

Cascade can clone repositories directly from GitHub, detect schema drift, propagate changes using Cline CLI, and create pull requests automatically.

Setup

# Authenticate GitHub CLI (required for PR creation)
gh auth login

The Docker container mounts your local ~/.config/gh directory for GitHub CLI authentication.

Usage (Dashboard)

Go to the Cascade tab and select GitHub Repos
Paste GitHub repository URLs (one per line, e.g. owner/repo or full URL)
Select the source (origin) repo
Click Import & Scan -- repos are cloned, language auto-detected, and drift analysis runs
If drift is detected, click Propagate Changes -- Cline agents adapt each consumer repo
Click Create All PRs -- branches are pushed and PRs are created on GitHub

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
`GET`	`/api/detect`	Scan demo repos for schema drift
`POST`	`/api/simulate`	Apply demo schema change to source repo
`POST`	`/api/reset`	Reset demo repos to initial state
`POST`	`/api/run`	Trigger propagation on demo repos
`GET`	`/api/status`	Current run status
`POST`	`/api/github/import`	Clone repos from GitHub URLs
`POST`	`/api/github/detect`	Run drift detection on imported repos
`POST`	`/api/github/run`	Trigger propagation on GitHub repos
`POST`	`/api/github/prs`	Push branches and create PRs
`GET`	`/api/github/status`	Current GitHub integration state
`POST`	`/api/github/update-role`	Change a repo's role (source/consumer)

Demo Walkthrough

The included demo simulates a cross-platform application with 4 repos:

Repo	Language	Role	Description
`backend-api`	Python	Source	FastAPI backend with `/users`, `/posts` endpoints
`web-dashboard`	JavaScript	Consumer	HTML/JS frontend displaying user names
`python-sdk`	Python	Consumer	SDK wrapping the API with dataclasses
`cli-client`	Python	Consumer	CLI tool formatting user output

All repos use first_name and last_name fields. The demo change is:

"The /users endpoint now returns full_name instead of separate first_name and last_name fields."

Running bash demo/run-demo.sh will:

Initialize each demo repo as a git repository
Run baseline tests (all pass)
Launch Cascade to propagate the change across all 4 repos in parallel
Show a Rich live table with real-time status per repo
Print a summary of branches created, files changed, and test results

Configuration

The cascade.yaml file defines your repos and settings:

name: my-project

repos:
  - name: backend
    path: ./backend
    role: source
    language: python
    test_cmd: "python -m pytest -v"

  - name: frontend
    path: ./frontend
    role: consumer
    language: javascript
    test_cmd: "npm test"

settings:
  max_parallel: 4          # Max concurrent Cline agents
  timeout_per_repo: 600    # Seconds per repo
  auto_branch: true        # Create branches automatically
  branch_prefix: "cascade/"
  retry_on_test_fail: true # Retry with test output on failure
  max_retries: 2

License

MIT

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 2 Commits
cascade		cascade
demo		demo
.gitignore		.gitignore
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
README.md		README.md
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml
greeting.txt		greeting.txt
hello.txt		hello.txt
requirements.txt		requirements.txt
setup.py		setup.py

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Repository files navigation

Cascade - Multi-Repo Change Propagator

The Problem

The Solution

Cline CLI Integration

Authentication

Architecture

System Overview

Propagation Pipeline (per repo)

Dashboard UI Flow

Project Structure

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Setup

CLI Commands

Docker

Live Dashboard

Tabs

Cascade Tab

Features

GitHub Integration

Setup

Usage (Dashboard)

API Endpoints

Demo Walkthrough

Configuration

License

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Repository files navigation

Cascade - Multi-Repo Change Propagator

The Problem

The Solution

Cline CLI Integration

Authentication

Architecture

System Overview

Propagation Pipeline (per repo)

Dashboard UI Flow

Project Structure

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Setup

CLI Commands

Docker

Live Dashboard

Tabs

Cascade Tab

Features

GitHub Integration

Setup

Usage (Dashboard)

API Endpoints

Demo Walkthrough

Configuration

License

About

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