CLI Overview
The Panopticon CLI (pan) provides a comprehensive set of commands for managing agents, workspaces, and multi-project orchestration.
Every CLI command has a counterpart in the dashboard, where the same agents, conversations, and workflow are managed visually. The Command Deck below shows a live agent: the project and conversation sidebar on the left, the issue tree, the agent’s turn-by-turn tool calls and reasoning in the center, and a Needs-you / Project / Global awareness rail on the right.
The CLI and dashboard operate on the same state. You can spawn an agent from the terminal with pan work issue MIN-123 and watch its reasoning stream into the Command Deck, or start it from the board and drive it from the CLI — they are two views of one orchestrator.
Philosophy
The Panopticon CLI is designed around a few key principles:
- Agent-centric - Commands focus on spawning, monitoring, and controlling AI agents
- Workspace isolation - Each issue gets its own git worktree workspace
- Multi-project support - Manage multiple projects from a single installation
- Integration-first - Works seamlessly with GitHub, Linear, GitLab, and Rally
Command Structure
Panopticon commands are organized into logical groups:
| Group | Purpose | Examples |
|---|
| Core | System management | pan up, pan down, pan sync, pan doctor |
| Work | Agent management | pan work issue, pan work status, pan work tell |
| Workspace | Workspace lifecycle | pan workspace create, pan workspace destroy |
| Convoy | Multi-agent orchestration | pan convoy start, pan convoy status |
| Project | Project registry | pan project add, pan project list |
| Specialists | Specialist agent management | pan specialists status, pan specialists wake |
| Remote | Remote workspace management | pan remote init, pan remote status |
| Cloister | AI lifecycle manager | pan cloister start, pan cloister status |
Installation & Setup
# Install Panopticon globally
npm install -g @panctl/cli
# Run first-time setup
pan install
# Sync skills to AI tools
pan sync
# Check system health
pan doctor
Common Patterns
Issue-based workflows
Most commands accept an issue identifier (e.g., MIN-123, 42):
pan work issue MIN-123 # Spawn agent
pan work tell MIN-123 "msg" # Send message
pan work status # List all agents
pan work kill MIN-123 # Stop agent
Workspace management
Workspaces are git worktrees created automatically or on-demand:
pan workspace create MIN-123 # Create workspace
pan workspace create MIN-123 --docker # With Docker containers
pan workspace destroy MIN-123 # Clean up workspace
Dashboard integration
Many operations can be performed either via CLI or dashboard:
pan up # Start dashboard at localhost:3011
Getting Help
# General help
pan --help
# Command-specific help
pan work --help
pan workspace --help
# Command documentation
man pan # If installed via package manager
Common Options
Global flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|
--help | Show help for any command |
--version | Show Panopticon version |
--verbose | Enable verbose output |
Issue identifiers
Commands accept various issue identifier formats:
- Linear:
MIN-123, min-123 (case-insensitive)
- GitHub:
#42, 42 (numeric)
- GitLab:
!42, 42 (numeric)
Configuration
Panopticon stores configuration in:
~/.panopticon.env - API keys and tokens~/.panopticon/projects.yaml - Registered projects~/.panopticon/project-mappings.json - Linear project mappings- Project-level:
.panopticon.json - Project-specific settings
Next Steps
