Xling CLI Expert

Xling CLI Expert

This skill provides comprehensive knowledge about the xling CLI tool for managing AI CLI tools and executing AI prompts.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user:

• Asks about xling commands (x, p, sx, settings:*)
• Needs help configuring AI providers
• Wants to create command shortcuts
• Asks about multi-provider setup and fallback
• Needs troubleshooting help with xling
• Wants to integrate xling with git workflows

Core Commands

Quick Launcher: xling x

Launch Claude Code or Codex with yolo mode enabled by default.

Syntax:

xling x [FLAGS] [-- ...args]

Key Flags:

• -t, --tool <claude|codex> - Target tool (default: claude)
• --no-yolo - Disable yolo mode
• -c, --continue - Resume most recent session
• -r, --resume - Show session picker
• -C, --cwd <dir> - Run from different directory

Examples:

xling x                      # Launch Claude with yolo
xling x -t codex             # Launch Codex
xling x -c                   # Continue last session
xling x -- chat "Hello"      # Forward args to Claude

Prompt Command: xling p

Execute AI prompts with multi-provider support, intelligent routing, and automatic fallback.

Key Features:

• Multi-provider support (OpenAI, Azure, custom)
• Intelligent model routing
• Automatic fallback on failure
• Priority-based provider selection

Syntax:

xling p [FLAGS] <prompt>

Key Flags:

• -m, --model <model> - Model to use
• -s, --system <text> - System prompt
• -f, --file <path> - Read context from file
• --stdin - Read from stdin
• -t, --temperature <0.0-2.0> - Temperature
• --max-tokens <n> - Max tokens
• --json - JSON output
• -i, --interactive - Interactive chat mode

Examples:

# Basic usage
xling p "Explain quantum computing"

# With model
xling p --model gpt-4-turbo "Write a poem"

# From file
xling p -f README.md "Summarize this"

# From stdin (great for pipelines)
git diff | xling p --stdin "Review this diff"

# Interactive mode
xling p -i "Let's chat"

Configuration (~/.claude/xling.json):

{
  "prompt": {
    "providers": [
      {
        "name": "openai-primary",
        "baseUrl": "https://api.openai.com/v1",
        "apiKey": "sk-proj-xxx",
        "models": ["gpt-4", "gpt-4-turbo"],
        "priority": 1,
        "timeout": 60000
      }
    ],
    "defaultModel": "gpt-4",
    "retryPolicy": {
      "maxRetries": 2,
      "backoffMs": 1000
    }
  }
}

How It Works:

1. User specifies model (or uses defaultModel)
2. System finds providers supporting that model
3. Providers sorted by priority (lower = higher)
4. Tries first provider
5. On failure, checks if retriable (network errors, 5xx, 429)
6. If retriable, applies exponential backoff and tries next provider
7. If all fail, shows all errors

Shortcuts: xling sx

Execute predefined command shortcuts with three types: command, shell, and pipeline.

Syntax:

xling sx <name> [...args]
xling sx --list

Shortcut Types:

1. Command Type (Xling commands):

{
  "lc": {
    "command": "x",
    "args": ["-t", "claude", "-c"],
    "description": "Launch Claude and continue"
  }
}

2. Shell Type (Shell commands):

{
  "gdp": {
    "shell": "git diff | xling p --stdin 'Summarize changes'",
    "description": "Git diff with AI summary"
  }
}

3. Pipeline Type (Command pipelines):

{
  "gcm": {
    "pipeline": [
      { "command": "git", "args": ["diff", "--cached"] },
      { "command": "xling", "args": ["p", "--stdin", "Generate commit"] }
    ],
    "description": "Generate commit message"
  }
}

Examples:

# List shortcuts
xling sx --list

# Execute shortcut
xling sx lc

# With additional args
xling sx lc --no-yolo

Settings Management: xling settings:*

Unified interface for managing configurations across Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI.

Commands:

settings:list - List configurations

xling settings:list --tool <claude|codex|gemini> --scope <user|project|local>

settings:get - Display full config

xling settings:get --tool claude --scope user

settings:set - Open config in IDE

xling settings:set --tool claude --name hxi --ide code

settings:switch - Switch profile/variant

xling settings:switch <profile> --tool codex

settings:inspect - Show file info

xling settings:inspect --tool claude --scope user

Configuration Scopes:

• Claude Code: user, project, local
• Codex: user
• Gemini: user, project, system

Configuration Structure

Main Config: ~/.claude/xling.json

{
  "prompt": {
    "providers": [
      {
        "name": "provider-name",
        "baseUrl": "https://api.example.com/v1",
        "apiKey": "your-key",
        "models": ["model1", "model2"],
        "priority": 1,
        "timeout": 60000,
        "headers": {
          "X-Custom": "value"
        }
      }
    ],
    "defaultModel": "model-name",
    "retryPolicy": {
      "maxRetries": 2,
      "backoffMs": 1000
    }
  },
  "shortcuts": {
    "shortcut-name": {
      "command": "xling-command",
      "args": ["arg1", "arg2"],
      "description": "Description"
    }
  }
}

Provider Fields:

• name - Unique identifier
• baseUrl - API base URL
• apiKey - API key
• models - Supported models array
• priority - Lower = higher priority (optional)
• timeout - Request timeout in ms (optional)
• headers - Custom headers (optional)

Common Workflows

1. Setup New Provider

# Edit config
vim ~/.claude/xling.json

# Add provider to prompt.providers array
# Test it
xling p --model your-model "test prompt"

2. Create Git Integration Shortcut

# Add to shortcuts in config:
{
  "gcm": {
    "pipeline": [
      { "command": "git", "args": ["diff", "--cached"] },
      { "command": "xling", "args": ["p", "--stdin", "Generate commit message"] }
    ],
    "description": "Generate commit message"
  }
}

# Use it
git add .
xling sx gcm

3. AI Code Review

# Review current changes
git diff | xling p --stdin "Review this code"

# Review specific file
xling p -f src/app.ts "Find bugs and suggest improvements"

# Interactive review
xling p -i -f src/app.ts "Let's review together"

Troubleshooting

"Model not supported" Error

Check:

1. Model name spelling
2. At least one provider has model in models array
3. Run xling settings:list --tool xling to see available models

"All providers failed" Error

Check:

1. API keys are valid
2. Network connectivity
3. Provider URLs are correct
4. Check error details for each provider

Config Parse Error

Check:

1. JSON syntax is valid
2. Config follows new format with prompt namespace
3. Old format is auto-migrated but may have issues

Shortcut Not Found

Check:

1. Shortcut name is correct
2. Run xling sx --list to see available shortcuts
3. Config file has shortcuts section

Best Practices

1. Use shortcuts for common tasks - Create shortcuts for frequently used commands
2. Set up multiple providers - Configure backup providers for reliability
3. Use priority wisely - Lower priority = higher preference
4. Secure your config - File automatically gets 600 permissions
5. Use stdin for pipelines - Great for git workflows
6. Interactive mode for exploration - Use -i for conversations
7. Organize shortcuts - Use prefixes (l=launch, g=git, s=settings)

Important Notes

1. Config format changed: Old format had providers at top level, new format has prompt.providers (auto-migrated)
2. Yolo mode default: xling x enables yolo by default, use --no-yolo to disable
3. Shortcuts are powerful: Can execute commands, shell scripts, or pipelines
4. Provider priority: Lower number = higher priority
5. Retriable errors: Network errors and 5xx are retried, 4xx are not

Example Configurations

Multi-Provider Setup

{
  "prompt": {
    "providers": [
      {
        "name": "openai-primary",
        "baseUrl": "https://api.openai.com/v1",
        "apiKey": "sk-proj-xxx",
        "models": ["gpt-4", "gpt-4-turbo"],
        "priority": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "openai-backup",
        "baseUrl": "https://api.openai.com/v1",
        "apiKey": "sk-proj-yyy",
        "models": ["gpt-4", "gpt-3.5-turbo"],
        "priority": 2
      }
    ],
    "defaultModel": "gpt-4"
  }
}

Useful Shortcuts

{
  "shortcuts": {
    "lc": {
      "command": "x",
      "args": ["-t", "claude", "-c"],
      "description": "Launch Claude and continue"
    },
    "gdp": {
      "shell": "git diff | xling p --stdin 'Summarize changes'",
      "description": "Git diff with AI summary"
    },
    "gcm": {
      "pipeline": [
        { "command": "git", "args": ["diff", "--cached"] },
        { "command": "xling", "args": ["p", "--stdin", "Generate commit"] }
      ],
      "description": "Generate commit message"
    }
  }
}

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