PCA CLI

PCA = Persistent Context Architecture.

Markdown files are the source of truth. RAG is the mandatory access layer. Agents must not read the full pca/ folder by default.

Install

npm install -g @quantpartners/pca
pca help

Windows PowerShell

On Windows PowerShell, pca may resolve to pca.ps1 and be blocked by ExecutionPolicy. If that happens, use the npm command shim instead:

pca.cmd --version
pca.cmd setup --mode local-only
pca.cmd init

Onboarding

Start with:

pca setup

pca setup is the primary onboarding command for PCA CLI 0.3.0. It supports:

• local-only: offline local Markdown memory
• byok: your own OpenAI API key for current OpenAI-backed/vector commands
• cloud: PCA account/cloud sync layer

Interactive setup

pca setup

The guided flow detects current state and recommends the smallest useful next step.

Non-interactive setup

pca setup --mode local-only
pca setup --mode byok --api-key <key>
pca setup --mode cloud

Modes

Local-only

local-only requires no PCA auth, no OpenAI key, no backend, and no network access.

Offline local commands:

pca init
pca status
pca commit "Documented checkout flow decision" --type decision
pca logs

BYOK

byok configures a user-provided OpenAI API key for current OpenAI-backed/vector commands.

pca setup --mode byok --api-key <key>

pca setup validates the key before storing it globally. Existing project .env files can still be used as a source for BYOK setup.

Cloud

cloud is the PCA account/cloud sync layer. It is not defined as a permanent requirement for user-owned OpenAI keys.

Cloud setup:

pca setup --mode cloud

If cloud auth is configured, continue with:

pca login

For current OpenAI-backed/vector commands, you may still need BYOK today:

pca config set openai-api-key

Auth and Credentials

• Local memory commands do not require PCA auth or OpenAI.
• pca login is auth-only. It opens the PCA browser login flow and stores the PCA auth session in ~/.pca/auth.json.
• pca logout clears PCA auth only by default.
• OpenAI/BYOK credentials are stored separately from PCA auth.

Cloud auth requires a hosted PCA backend. Configure it with:

pca config set auth-base-url https://your-pca-auth-host.example

or:

PCA_AUTH_BASE_URL=https://your-pca-auth-host.example pca login

The CLI does not include Clerk secrets and does not ship backend auth services.

Global Storage

PCA stores user-level configuration under:

~/.pca/
  auth.json
  config.json
  secrets.json

Project .pca/config.json stores only project data:

{
  "projectName": "...",
  "projectSlug": "...",
  "vectorStoreId": "...",
  "createdAt": "...",
  "updatedAt": "..."
}

Secrets are never stored in project files.

Command Notes

pca setup

• Primary onboarding command
• Supports interactive and non-interactive setup
• Handles local-only, BYOK, and cloud guidance

pca login

• Auth-only
• Requires auth-base-url
• Does not prompt for or validate an OpenAI key

pca logout

• Clears PCA auth only by default
• Use pca logout --clear-openai-key to remove stored BYOK credentials too

pca whoami

• Shows derived mode
• Shows offline, BYOK, and cloud readiness separately

pca doctor

• Diagnoses project, auth, and credential state
• Suggests next steps without treating cloud auth as a blocker for local mode

pca config

• Default summary shows derived mode and readiness
• get/set/clear behavior remains:
  • openai-api-key
  • auth-base-url

Typical Flows

Local-only

pca setup --mode local-only
pca init
pca commit "initial context snapshot"
pca logs

BYOK

pca setup --mode byok --api-key <key>
pca init
pca status

Cloud

pca setup --mode cloud
pca login
pca config set openai-api-key
pca init
pca sync
pca task "crear hero mobile"

Commands

pca help
pca setup
pca doctor
pca login
pca logout
pca whoami
pca config
pca status
pca commit "record local context update"
pca commit "ADR: keep Markdown as source of truth" --type decision
pca logs
pca logs --last 10
pca logs --type decision
pca init
pca sync
pca query "project architecture"
pca task "crear hero mobile"
pca visual add ./example.png --type reference --note "landing reference"
pca close

Development

npm install
npm run build
npm run typecheck
npm test
node dist/index.js help
node dist/index.js doctor

Windows PowerShell may block npm .ps1 shims depending on ExecutionPolicy. Use npm.cmd:

npm.cmd install
npm.cmd run build
npm.cmd run typecheck
npm.cmd test
node dist\index.js help
node dist\index.js doctor

Local global install:

npm link
pca help

Windows CLI note:

• PowerShell may block npm .ps1 shims depending on ExecutionPolicy. Use pca.cmd help.
• CMD can use pca help.

Publish

npm run build
npm pack --dry-run
npm publish --access public

Do not publish until build, tests, and local install checks pass.

Limitations

• The Clerk browser login requires a hosted PCA backend. The CLI implements the callback/exchange pattern but does not ship backend secrets.
• OpenAI API keys are stored in ~/.pca/secrets.json as the current fallback. OS keychain integration is a future upgrade.
• No web dashboard yet.
• No billing.
• No multiuser project sharing.
• No advanced Vector Store deduplication/replacement yet.
• Visual memory stores local images plus textual metadata in pca/visual/visual-index.md; real multimodal analysis comes in v2.

References

• Clerk custom OAuth flows: https://clerk.com/docs/guides/development/custom-flows/authentication/oauth-connections
• OpenAI models list endpoint: https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/models/list