CLI Commands

OpenBoot’s main commands are install, which adds things to your Mac, and snapshot, which captures what’s on it. Supporting commands handle authentication, diagnostics, and updates.

openboot install [source] # install from preset, file, or cloud config
openboot snapshot         # capture your environment
openboot doctor           # check system health and diagnose issues
openboot update           # upgrade the openboot binary itself
openboot login / logout   # openboot.dev auth
openboot version          # print version

v1.0 removed these commands: pull, push, diff, clean, log, restore, init, setup-agent, list, edit, delete. OpenBoot no longer uninstalls packages or tracks revision history — install is add-only, and snapshot --publish overwrites. Manage configs on the dashboard. See the project CHANGELOG for migration.

openboot install

Install and configure your Mac.

openboot install [source]

Behavior with no [source] and no flags:

• If this machine has a saved sync source (from a previous install), resume it. OpenBoot fetches the config, shows a diff of what’s missing, and asks to apply it.
• Otherwise, the interactive TUI opens.

The sync-source header looks like:

→ Syncing with @alice/dev-setup (last synced 2 days ago)

If the last sync was more than 90 days ago, the header turns yellow as a warning.

Source resolution

The positional [source] argument is identified by pattern:

Examples:

openboot install                   # resume last sync (or interactive)
openboot install alice/dev-setup   # cloud config by user/slug
openboot install ./backup.json     # local config or snapshot file
openboot install developer         # built-in preset
openboot install myalias           # alias configured on the dashboard
openboot install --dry-run         # preview without installing
openboot install alice/dev-setup --pick node,ripgrep   # install only named packages
openboot install alice/dev-setup --dry-run             # list available package names

Explicit flags (--from, --user/-u, -p/--preset) always override the positional argument.

For private configs, run openboot login first.

Install flags

install is add-only. It never uninstalls packages or removes settings — if a package is in your local system but not in the config, it stays. To remove packages, run brew uninstall directly.

openboot snapshot

Capture your Mac’s Homebrew packages, npm globals, macOS preferences, shell config (Oh-My-Zsh theme + plugins), git identity, and dev tool versions.

openboot snapshot

Destination by flag or context

openboot snapshot              # TTY: interactive menu. Pipe: JSON to stdout.
openboot snapshot --local      # save to ~/.openboot/snapshot.json
openboot snapshot --publish    # upload to openboot.dev
openboot snapshot --json       # JSON to stdout

Flags combine — openboot snapshot --local --publish saves locally and uploads.

When stdout is not a terminal (e.g. piped), snapshot emits JSON automatically:

openboot snapshot | jq '.packages.formulae'
openboot snapshot > my-setup.json

Publishing

openboot snapshot --publish

• If this machine is already synced to a config, --publish updates that config in place (no prompts for name/description/visibility).
• Otherwise you’re asked to name the config and pick visibility, then it’s created.

Target a specific existing config by slug:

openboot snapshot --publish --slug my-config

Restoring from a snapshot

openboot snapshot --import my-setup.json
openboot snapshot --import https://example.com/snapshot.json
openboot snapshot --import my-setup.json --dry-run

A review editor appears before any changes are made, so you can deselect items. What gets applied:

Snapshot flags

Authentication

openboot login

Authenticate with openboot.dev through your browser. Required to install private configs and to publish snapshots.

openboot login

The token is saved at ~/.openboot/auth.json.

openboot logout

Remove the stored authentication token from this machine.

openboot logout

openboot version

Print the OpenBoot version.

openboot version

openboot doctor

Run read-only diagnostic checks on your development environment and get a pass/warn/fail summary.

openboot doctor

Checks performed:

All checks are read-only — doctor never modifies your system.

openboot update

Upgrade the openboot binary itself.

openboot update            # upgrade to the latest release
openboot update --dry-run  # print what would be done, change nothing

Both install methods (the one-line installer and brew install) put OpenBoot under Homebrew. On these installs, openboot update refreshes the openbootdotdev/tap repository and runs brew upgrade openbootdotdev/tap/openboot. You can also upgrade with Homebrew directly.

If you installed a release binary by hand instead of through Homebrew, update downloads from GitHub and keeps a backup of the previous binary:

openboot update --version 1.0.5   # pin to an exact version
openboot update --rollback        # restore the most recent backup
openboot update --list-backups    # list backups under ~/.openboot/backup

Backups live in ~/.openboot/backup/; the 5 most recent are kept. --version and --rollback are refused on Homebrew-managed installs — use brew for those.

install also checks for updates before it runs. By default, it only notifies you when a newer version is available. Automatic upgrades are opt-in: set "autoupdate": "true" in ~/.openboot/config.json to enable them, or "autoupdate": "false" to disable checks. Set OPENBOOT_DISABLE_AUTOUPDATE=1 to skip the check regardless of that preference.

Removing packages

OpenBoot doesn’t uninstall — by design. To remove a package, run Homebrew directly:

brew uninstall <package>
brew autoremove          # prune orphaned dependencies

For a history of what was installed on this machine, see ~/.openboot/install_state.json.

See also: Config Options for the config schema, Environment Variables for env vars, and the project CHANGELOG for the full v1.0 migration.