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Core Commands

Setup, server, and maintenance commands that manage your deciduous installation.


deciduous init

Initialize deciduous in the current directory. Creates the .deciduous/ database directory and sets up AI assistant integration files.

FlagDescription
--claudeSet up Claude Code integration (.claude/, CLAUDE.md)
--no-auto-updateDisable automatic version checking

Default (no flags): sets up Claude Code only.

Terminal
$ deciduous init
Created .deciduous/deciduous.db
Created .deciduous/config.toml
Created .claude/commands/decision.md
Created .claude/commands/recover.md
Created .claude/commands/work.md
Created .claude/commands/document.md
Created .claude/commands/build-test.md
Created .claude/commands/serve-ui.md
Created .claude/commands/sync-graph.md
Created .claude/commands/decision-graph.md
Created .claude/commands/sync.md
Created .claude/skills/pulse.md
Created .claude/skills/narratives.md
Created .claude/skills/archaeology.md
Updated CLAUDE.md with decision graph workflow
Updated .gitignore
Deciduous initialized successfully!

deciduous update

Update AI assistant integration files to the latest version. Auto-detects installed integration files (.claude/) and updates them.

Does not touch: settings files, .deciduous/config.toml, or docs/.

Terminal
$ deciduous update
Detected: Claude Code (.claude/)
Updated .claude/commands/decision.md
Updated .claude/commands/recover.md
Updated .claude/skills/pulse.md
Updated CLAUDE.md
Updated .deciduous/.version to 0.15.0
Integration files updated to v0.15.0

deciduous check-update

Compare .deciduous/.version with the current binary version. Exits with code 0 if up to date, code 1 if an update is needed.

Terminal
$ deciduous check-update
OK: Integration files are up to date (v0.15.0).

When an update is available:

Terminal
$ deciduous check-update
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ DECIDUOUS UPDATE AVAILABLE ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Integration files: 0.14.0 -> Binary: 0.15.0

What's new:
- MCP server for Claude Code, Desktop, and cowork

Run deciduous update to update integration files.

deciduous serve

Start the web graph viewer. Opens an interactive browser-based visualization of your decision graph.

FlagShortDescription
--port <port>-pPort to listen on (default: 3000)
Terminal
$ deciduous serve
Starting deciduous graph viewer...
Listening on http://127.0.0.1:3000
Press Ctrl+C to stop

Use a custom port:

Terminal
$ deciduous serve -p 8080
Listening on http://127.0.0.1:8080

deciduous backup

Create a backup of the SQLite database. Always back up before any destructive operations.

FlagShortDescription
--output <path>-oOutput path (default: deciduous_backup_<timestamp>.db)
Terminal
$ deciduous backup
Backup created: deciduous_backup_20250509_143022.db

Specify a custom path:

Terminal
$ deciduous backup -o /tmp/before-migration.db
Backup created: /tmp/before-migration.db

deciduous commands

Show the recent command log – every deciduous command that modified the graph.

FlagShortDescription
--limit <n>-lNumber of commands to show (default: 20)
Terminal
$ deciduous commands -l 5
2025-05-09 14:20:01 add goal "Add JWT authentication" (node 42)
2025-05-09 14:20:15 add option "jsonwebtoken crate" (node 43)
2025-05-09 14:20:18 link 42 -> 43 (leads_to)
2025-05-09 14:21:02 add decision "Use jsonwebtoken" (node 45)
2025-05-09 14:21:05 link 43 -> 45 (chosen)

deciduous auto-update <on|off>

Deprecated. Version checking is now always-on (checks crates.io once per 24h). This command exists for backward compatibility but has no effect.