CLI reference

Reference for the prism terminal UI — flags, slash commands, keyboard shortcuts, and the settings file. For a guided tour, see Terminal UI.

prism [flags]

Flags

Flag	Description
--resume	Show a picker of previous conversations to resume, instead of starting fresh.
--version, -v	Print the version and exit.
--help, -h	Print help and exit.

Connecting to the runtime

prism talks to a prism-server over HTTP and a WebSocket. By default it uses http://localhost:3003. Override it with the PRISM_HTTP_URL environment variable or the httpUrl key in ~/.prism/settings.json. There's no authentication for the bundled single-agent runtime — the TUI talks to it directly on localhost.

Slash commands

Type / in the chat input to open the command popup; filter by typing, Tab to complete, Enter to run.

Command	Arguments	Description
/help	—	List all commands.
/copy	—	Copy the most recent message to the clipboard.
/attach	<PATH>	Stage a file (≤10 MB) to send with the next message. Offers path completion.
/detach	—	Remove all staged attachments.
/save	[DIR\|FILE]	Save files shared by the agent's most recent message to disk (current dir by default).
/rename	<NAME>	Rename the agent (1–64 characters).
/model	<ID> | reset	Set the agent's model, or reset to the server default.
/heartbeat-model	<ID> | reset	Set the heartbeat model, or reset to inherit the main model.
/cron-model	<ID> | reset	Set the scheduled-task model, or reset to inherit the main model.
/heartbeat	status | start | stop | trigger | every <N>m|<N>h	Control the heartbeat (interval 1 min – 7 days).
/goal	<OBJECTIVE> | status | list | pause | resume | stop	Set or manage a background goal the agent pursues across turns.
/skills	[list] | run <NAME>	List installed skills, or run one.
/schedules	—	Open the scheduled-tasks panel.
/config	—	Open the identity and config viewer panel.
/exit	—	Shut down the TUI.

Keyboard shortcuts

Chat

Key	Action
Enter	Send the message (or run the slash command). Works while the agent is responding — the message is handed to the running turn.
Esc	Cancel the in-flight response while the agent is thinking. Leaves what you have typed alone.
Ctrl+O	Expand or collapse tool calls in the latest agent message.
Up / Down	Walk back and forward through your message history (from an empty input).
Ctrl+C	Quit.

Command popup

Key	Action
Up / Down	Move the selection.
Tab	Complete the selected command or path.

Resume picker

Key	Action
Up / Down	Move between threads.
Enter	Resume the selected thread.
Esc	Cancel and exit.

Schedules panel

Key	Action
Up / Down	Navigate the list.
n	Create a new schedule.
d	Delete the selected schedule (y to confirm).
Tab / arrows	Move between fields in the create form.
Enter	Submit the form.
Esc	Close the panel or cancel.

Config panel

Key	Action
Tab / ← →	Move between the file list and the content pane.
Up / Down	Select a document or scroll content.
Page Up / Page Down	Page through content.
Esc	Close the panel.

Settings file

~/.prism/settings.json configures the TUI. All keys are optional; missing keys fall back to defaults, and a malformed file is ignored.

{
  "agentName": "Prism",
  "modelId": "us.anthropic.claude-opus-5",
  "heartbeatModelId": "us.anthropic.claude-haiku-4-5",
  "cronModelId": "us.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-6",
  "httpUrl": "http://localhost:3003",
  "hideCursor": false,
  "hideStatusBar": false
}

Key	Description	Default
agentName	Display name in the header and chat.	Prism
modelId	Model label shown in the status bar until the runtime reports the model it actually ran, which then takes over; also seeds the main model when the runtime first bootstraps an agent.	runtime default
heartbeatModelId	Seeds the heartbeat model when the runtime first bootstraps an agent.	unset (inherits main model)
cronModelId	Seeds the scheduled-task model when the runtime first bootstraps an agent.	unset (inherits main model)
httpUrl	Runtime base URL.	http://localhost:3003
hideCursor	Hide the input cursor (accessibility).	false
hideStatusBar	Hide the bottom status bar (accessibility).	false

PRISM_HTTP_URL overrides httpUrl when set. The runtime (sharing ~/.prism/) reads modelId, heartbeatModelId, and cronModelId from this file only when it first creates an agent — see Bootstrap model defaults.