CLI Reference

The rct command-line tool is the primary interface to the RCT Control Plane SDK.

Install the CLI:

pip install -e .      # from source (alpha)
rct --help

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Global Options

Flag	Description
--output json	Output as JSON (default: table)
--output table	Output as rich table
--output tree	Tree view (for graph commands)
--verbose	Enable debug logging
--version	Print version and exit
--help	Show help and exit

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Commands

rct version

Print SDK version, Python version, and component status.

rct version

Output:

RCT Platform SDK v1.0.2a0
Python 3.11.x
  ✓ core.fdia          — FDIA Scorer + equation engine
  ✓ core.delta_engine  — Memory Delta Engine (74% compression)
  ✓ signedai.core      — SignedAI consensus registry
  ✓ rct_control_plane  — DSL compiler, graph builder, API server

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rct serve

Start the Control Plane REST API server.

rct serve [--port PORT] [--reload] [--workers N]

Option	Default	Description
--port	8000	Port to listen on
--reload	off	Auto-reload on code changes (dev mode)
--workers	1	Number of Uvicorn worker processes

Example:

rct serve --port 8000 --reload
# → http://localhost:8000
# → Docs: http://localhost:8000/docs

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rct compile

Compile a natural language intent into an intent record.

rct compile TEXT [--user-id USER_ID] [--context JSON]

Option	Default	Description
TEXT	required	The intent text to compile
--user-id	"anonymous"	User identifier for audit trail
--context	"{}"	JSON context blob

Example:

rct compile "Refactor authentication module" --user-id alice

Output (table):

┌────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┐
│ Field      │ Value                            │
├────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│ Intent ID  │ a1b2c3d4-...                     │
│ Status     │ compiled                         │
│ FDIA Score │ 0.8734                           │
│ Tier       │ S4                               │
└────────────┴──────────────────────────────────┘

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rct build

Build a DSL execution graph from a compiled intent.

rct build --intent-id ID [--dsl-file FILE] [--output FILE]

Option	Default	Description
--intent-id	required	Intent ID from rct compile
--dsl-file	auto	Path to a .dsl file (optional)
--output	stdout	Write graph JSON to file

Example:

rct compile "Deploy microservice to staging" --user-id devops | rct build --intent-id -
rct build --intent-id a1b2c3d4 --output graph.json

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rct evaluate

Evaluate a compiled + built intent through policy and governance checks.

rct evaluate --intent-id ID [--architect-score FLOAT]

Option	Default	Description
--intent-id	required	Intent ID to evaluate
--architect-score	1.0	Override Architect gate (0.0–1.0)

A=0 blocks output

Passing --architect-score 0.0 will cause FDIA = 0 and block all output. This is the constitutional safety guarantee — not a bug.

Example:

rct evaluate --intent-id a1b2c3d4 --architect-score 0.9

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rct status

Show current state of a compiled intent.

rct status INTENT_ID

Example:

rct status a1b2c3d4-5678-...

Output:

Intent   : a1b2c3d4-5678-...
State    : COMPLETED
Created  : 2026-04-21T10:00:00+00:00
FDIA     : 0.8734
Policy   : COMPLIANT

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rct list

List recent intents.

rct list [--limit N] [--status STATUS] [--user-id USER_ID]

Option	Default	Description
--limit	10	Max intents to show
--status	all	Filter by state (e.g., COMPLETED, FAILED)
--user-id	all	Filter by user

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rct audit

Display full audit trail for an intent.

rct audit INTENT_ID [--output json]

Example:

rct audit a1b2c3d4 --output json

Outputs the complete signed audit chain including FDIA score, SignedAI consensus tier, and policy decisions.

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rct metrics

Display runtime metrics for the Control Plane.

rct metrics [--output json]

Sample output:

Metric                   Value
────────────────────────────────────
Intents processed        1,247
FDIA avg score           0.8734
Warm recall hits         89.3%
Consensus tier S4 calls  847
Policy violations        2
Uptime                   14d 06h

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rct reset

Reset in-memory state (development/testing only).

rct reset [--force]

Destructive Action

rct reset clears all in-memory intent state. Use --force to skip confirmation. Persisted audit logs are not deleted.

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rct intent submit

Submit an intent directly via JSON (low-level).

rct intent submit --intent TEXT --context JSON

Example:

rct intent submit \
  --intent "Analyze security posture of auth module" \
  --context '{"repo": "rct-platform", "branch": "main"}'

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rct health

Check Control Plane and component health.

rct health [--detailed]

Flag	Description
(none)	Lightweight liveness check
--detailed	Full subsystem health (FDIA, Delta, SignedAI, compiler)

Example:

rct health --detailed

Component               Status
────────────────────────────────
fdia_engine             ✓ ok
delta_engine            ✓ ok
signedai_registry       ✓ ok
intent_compiler         ✓ ok
dsl_parser              ✓ ok
policy_engine           ✓ ok

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Shell Completion

Enable tab-completion for bash, zsh, or fish:

# bash
eval "$(_RCT_COMPLETE=bash_source rct)"

# zsh
eval "$(_RCT_COMPLETE=zsh_source rct)"

# fish
eval (env _RCT_COMPLETE=fish_source rct)

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Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
RCT_PORT	8000	Default port for rct serve
RCT_LOG_LEVEL	INFO	Logging level (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING)
RCT_STATE_DIR	.rct_state/	Directory for persisted intent state
RCT_ARCHITECT_SCORE	1.0	Default Architect gate value