Agents and the standalone CLI
This page covers the command-line emm tool: getting it on PATH, finding help, reading an issue, and giving an agent its workflow.
Get the CLI on PATH
The emm command-line tool is bundled with the Emm macOS app in Emm.app/Contents/Helpers. In Emm, go to Settings → Command-line tools and choose Add to PATH, then open a new terminal so your shell picks it up. The prompt names the directory and shell profile; accepting it is required — merely opening Settings does not change PATH.
Alternatively, download the standalone emm CLI for macOS or Linux from the CLI download page. The Markdown tool mdt is versioned independently, so its download page choice is separate from Emm's.
Find help
In a terminal inside your project folder:
emm --help
emm issue --help
Drill into a subcommand with emm <subcommand> --help, for example emm issue get --help.
Read a whole discussion
In a terminal inside your project folder, use a parent message or reply UUID to read the parent and every reply:
emm thread get --message MESSAGE_UUID
Replace MESSAGE_UUID with the message’s UUID. If you already have the thread UUID, use emm thread get THREAD_UUID. The parent appears first; replies follow in timestamp and UUID order without a result limit. Reading a parent with no replies returns that message without creating a thread. Access to private conversations follows the project’s current identity.
This reads your local project copy. Run emm sync first if you need fresh shared content. Use emm thread get --help for output details and errors.
Read an issue
List issues to find a number, then read that issue:
emm issue list
emm issue get 42
42 is the issue number; replace it with a real number from your project. IDs also accept #42, a UUID, or a unique UUID prefix.
Give an agent its workflow
emm agent prompt prints the opinionated workflow for an agent working the queue, with this executable and the selected project's store path. Run it at session start and paste the output into an agent's instructions. It reads paths only; it does not claim issues or start work.