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CLI Reference

Hector ships a smaller CLI surface focused on running and inspecting agents. Legacy client/task commands are removed.

Commands (current)

  • hector version — show build version.
  • hector serve — start the A2A server (zero-config or config file).
  • hector info — list agents or show one (requires config).
  • hector validate — validate a config file.
  • hector schema — emit JSON Schema for the config builder UI.

Global flags

Flag Type Description Default
--config PATH string Config file path (required for config mode; auto-created if missing and not zero-config) auto path
--log-level string debug, info, warn, error info
--log-file string Log file path (empty = stderr) empty
--log-format string simple, verbose, or custom simple

hector serve

Start the A2A server with zero-config flags or a config file.

Zero-config flags (no --config): - LLM: --provider (anthropic|openai|gemini|ollama), --model, --api-key, --base-url, --temperature, --max-tokens - Behavior: --instruction, --role, --tools (comma list or all), --approve-tools, --no-approve-tools, --thinking, --thinking-budget, --[no-]stream - RAG: --docs-folder, --embedder-model, --rag-watch, --mcp-url, --mcp-parser-tool - Storage/obs: --storage (inmemory|sqlite|postgres|mysql), --storage-db, --observe - Server: --port (default 8080), --studio (enables builder UI + watch), --watch (config reload when loader present)

Config mode: - Provide --config path (auto-created if missing and not zero-config). - --port can override server.port in config.

Examples: - Zero-config RAG: hector serve --model gpt-4o --docs-folder ./docs --tools - Zero-config + MCP parsing: hector serve --docs-folder ./docs --mcp-url http://localhost:8000/mcp --mcp-parser-tool convert_document_into_docling_document - Config mode: hector serve --config config.yaml --port 9000 - Studio mode: hector serve --studio --model gpt-4o

hector info

  • Lists agents when no name is provided.
  • hector info assistant --config config.yaml

hector validate

  • Validate a config file: hector validate config.yaml
  • Formats: --format=compact|verbose|json
  • Optional: --print-config to see the expanded config.

hector schema

  • Emit JSON Schema for the config builder UI: hector schema > config.schema.json
  • --compact to disable indentation.

Environment variables

  • OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY — provider keys
  • HECTOR_CONFIG — default config path
  • LOG_LEVEL, LOG_FILE, LOG_FORMAT — logging overrides

Notes

  • No client/task commands in v2; the CLI focuses on running the local server and inspecting configs/agents.
  • Zero-config is preferred for quick starts; config files for repeatable setups and persistence.