CLI Commands

Complete command reference for the nella CLI that ships with @getnella/mcp.

Table of Contents

• Commands
  • nella index
  • nella mcp
  • nella connect
  • nella auth
  • nella setup
  • nella help
• Options
• Exit Codes

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Commands

nella index

Index the current workspace or a specific path for semantic and lexical search.

nella index [--workspace <path>] [--force] [--graph]

Purpose: Create vector embeddings and lexical indexes for hybrid codebase search.

Example:

# Index current workspace
nella index

# Force full reindex
nella index --force

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nella mcp

Start the local stdio MCP server.

nella mcp --workspace <path>

Purpose: Run Nella as an MCP server that AI agents can connect to over stdio.

Note: --workspace is required for nella mcp.

Example:

nella mcp --workspace /path/to/project

# direct package entrypoint
npx -y @getnella/mcp --workspace /path/to/project

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nella connect

Configure MCP clients to use Nella.

nella connect [--api-key <key>] [--server-url <url>] [--client <name>]

Purpose: Configure supported MCP clients in local or hosted mode.

Supported clients: claude, claude-code, vscode, cursor, windsurf, cline, roo-code, or all.

Example:

nella connect
nella connect --client claude
nella connect --mode local --client cursor -y
nella connect --mode hosted --api-key nella_your_key_here
nella connect --client vscode

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nella auth

Manage authentication for the hosted Nella service.

nella auth login
nella auth logout
nella auth status

Purpose: Log in, log out, or check the current session state.

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nella setup

Shortcut for a one-shot local Claude Code setup.

nella setup

Purpose: Alias for nella connect --client claude-code --mode local -y.

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nella help

Show the top-level help text.

nella help

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Options

Option	Short	Description	Commands
--workspace <path>	-w	Workspace path. Required for mcp; defaults to cwd for index.	index, mcp
--graph		Build a dependency graph from the indexed workspace.	index
--force	-f	Force full reindex.	index
--api-key <key>	-k	API key for hosted connection mode.	connect
--server-url <url>	-u	Hosted server URL.	connect
--client <name>		Target client: claude, claude-code, vscode, cursor, windsurf, cline, roo-code, or all.	connect
--mode <mode>		Connection mode: local or hosted.	connect
--yes	-y	Skip confirmation prompts.	connect, setup
--help	-h	Show help message.	All

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Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Failure