# Codescene CLI > Run CodeScene code health analyses locally with the `cs` CLI. Use this skill whenever the user wants to analyse non-committed or staged changes, compare branches or commits with a delta analysis, lint a file for code health issues, wire CodeScene into git hooks, editors, or CI, or validate or edit `.codescene/code-health-rules.json` from the command line. Triggers include `cs delta`, `cs review`, `cs check`, `cs check-rules`, `cs rules-config`, and requests to "run CodeScene locally" or "check code health before committing". - Skill: `leynos/codescene-cli` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add leynos/codescene-cli` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/leynos/codescene-cli/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: leynos (https://skillmd.com/u/leynos) - Updated: 2026-09-10 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/leynos/codescene-cli --- # CodeScene CLI (`cs`) The CodeScene CLI runs code health analyses where developers work: locally, in pre-commit/push hooks, and in CI. Core workflows: - **`cs delta`** — change-based analysis between the working tree, commits, or branches. Use before opening a PR to see the code health impact of a change. - **`cs review`** / **`cs check`** — file-focused feedback. `review` prints a JSON structure; `check` prints lint-style output for editor integration. - **`cs rules-config`** / **`cs check-rules`** — validate and edit custom code health rules from the command line. For the semantics of `.codescene/code-health-rules.json` itself (rule names, weights, thresholds, `@codescene` directives), use the `codescene-health-rules` skill; this skill covers the CLI tooling around it. ______________________________________________________________________ ## Installation For supported installation instructions, see the [CodeScene CLI documentation](https://docs.enterprise.codescene.io/latest/cli/index.html). Use its manual-installation method: download the platform binary, inspect it, make it executable, and place it on the `PATH`. ______________________________________________________________________ ## Choosing the Right Command | Task | Command | | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------ | | Analyse all non-committed changes | `cs delta` | | Analyse only staged content (pre-commit hook) | `cs delta --staged` | | Compare a feature branch against main | `cs delta main feat` | | Machine-readable findings for a single file | `cs review file.py` | | Lint-style output for an editor or quick check | `cs check file.py` | | See which custom rule set matches a file | `cs check-rules file.py` | | Validate or edit `code-health-rules.json` | `cs rules-config ` | | Emit a starter `code-health-rules.json` template | `cs docs code-health-rules-template` | ______________________________________________________________________ ## `cs delta` — Change-Based Analysis ```bash cs delta # analyse all non-committed changes cs delta --staged # examine only staged content cs delta --file src/Server.js # analyse one file cs delta main # analyse changes against the main branch cs delta main feat # analyse changes between two branches cs delta main~30 main # analyse the latest 30 commits on main cs delta --output-format json # machine-readable output ``` Key behaviour: - Specifying any `--output-format` (json or edn) reports **new issues only** — no improvements or explanations. Add `--pretty` to pretty-print. - `--interactive` forces user input for findings (see `cs docs interactive`). - `--git-hook` adapts the command for use in a git hook (see `cs docs git-hooks`). ### Git hook integration A pre-commit hook running `cs delta --staged --git-hook` catches code health regressions before they reach the remote. Generate a working example with: ```bash cs docs pre-commit-hook-example # plain pre-commit hook cs docs interactive-pre-commit-hook-example # interactive variant ``` ______________________________________________________________________ ## `cs review` and `cs check` — File-Focused Analysis Both accept a file path, a `:` git reference, or stdin: ```bash cs review test.c # working-tree file, JSON results cs review master:./test.c # the file as it is on master cs review 801b0c0f:./test.c # the file at a given commit cs review --file-name test.c < test.c # read file data from stdin cs check test.c # same targets, lint-like output cs check --file-name test.c < test.c ``` - `--file-name` is required when reading from stdin, so the CLI can infer the language from the extension. - `cs review` supports `--output-format json|edn` and `--pretty`. - `cs check` is designed for editor integration — see `cs docs vim` for a (neo)vim example. ______________________________________________________________________ ## `cs rules-config` — Edit Rules from the CLI Validates and edits `code-health-rules.json` without hand-editing JSON. Defaults to `.codescene/code-health-rules.json` in the current git repository; override with `--config-path `. ```bash cs rules-config validate cs rules-config validate --config-path /tmp/code-health-rules.json # Disable or enable a rule (single rule_set in the file) cs rules-config set-rule --rule-name "Complex Method" --enabled false # With multiple rule_sets, select one via its glob cs rules-config set-rule --matching-content-path "**/*.js" \ --rule-name "Complex Method" --enabled false # Set a threshold cs rules-config set-threshold \ --threshold-name function_lines_of_code_warning --value 120 # List the threshold names and defaults for a language cs rules-config list-thresholds --language Python --format json ``` Behavioural notes: - `--enabled true` stores weight `1.0`; `--enabled false` stores weight `0.0`. For intermediate weights (down-prioritizing rather than disabling), edit the JSON directly — see the `codescene-health-rules` skill. - If no config file exists, `set-rule`/`set-threshold` create a minimal one at the default path before applying the change. - With multiple `rule_set` entries and no `--matching-content-path`, the command fails and prints the available selectors. - Unknown rule or threshold names fail with suggestions. - If an update creates an invalid configuration, the original file is restored. Use `cs check-rules ` to confirm which rule set a given file matches — invaluable when debugging glob patterns. ______________________________________________________________________ ## `cs docs` — Built-In Documentation Topics ```bash cs docs git-hooks # delta in a git hook cs docs interactive # delta interactive mode cs docs pre-commit-hook-example # outputs an example pre-commit hook cs docs vim # "check" integration for (neo)vim cs docs license # setting up a license cs docs file-name # file-name and language support cs docs code-health-rules # customizing code health rules cs docs code-health-rules-template # outputs a rules template ``` ______________________________________________________________________ ## Environment Variables | Variable | Purpose | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | `CS_ACCESS_TOKEN` | Personal Access Token for licensing | | `CS_ACCOUNT_ID` | Cloud account for `cs auth login` (OAuth) | | `CS_ONPREM_URL` | Base URL for CodeScene Enterprise | | `CS_DISABLE_VERSION_CHECK` | Disable the automatic version check | | `CS_CERTS` | Extra trusted certs (DER/PEM/PKCS12 paths) | | `CS_CERTS_PASSWORD` | Password for PKCS12 files | Licensing uses a **Personal Access Token** in `CS_ACCESS_TOKEN`; the older "CodeScene CLI" / devtools tokens are deprecated. `cs version` prints the build date and SHA of the installed tool. ______________________________________________________________________ ## Reference Files - [`references/command-reference.md`](references/command-reference.md) — Condensed command reference