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Command Reference Overview

Atomic provides a comprehensive set of commands for managing repositories, recording changes, collaborating with remotes, and leveraging advanced features like AI attribution and cryptographic tagging.

Command Categories​

Repository Management​

Commands for creating and managing Atomic repositories:

  • init - Initialize a new Atomic repository
  • clone - Clone an existing repository from a remote
  • split - Create a split of a stack

Working with Changes​

Core commands for recording and managing changes:

  • record - Record changes from the working copy
  • apply - Apply a change to a stack
  • unrecord - Remove changes from a stack
  • diff - Show differences between versions
  • log - Display the history of changes

Stacks​

Commands for managing stacks (branches):

  • stack - Create, list, switch, and manage stacks

Remote Operations​

Commands for synchronizing with remote repositories:

  • push - Push changes to a remote repository
  • pull - Pull changes from a remote repository
  • clone - Clone a repository (also listed under Repository Management)

Tags​

Commands for creating and managing consolidating tags:

  • tag - Create, list, and manage tags

File Operations​

Commands for tracking files in the repository:

  • add - Add files to be tracked
  • remove - Remove files from tracking
  • move - Move or rename tracked files

Identity & Attribution​

Commands for managing identity and tracking contributions:

  • identity - Manage user identities and cryptographic keys
  • credit - Show contribution credits
  • attribution - Display AI attribution information

Utilities​

Additional utility commands:

  • archive - Create an archive of the repository
  • reset - Reset the working copy to a specific state
  • change - Inspect and manipulate change files
  • dependents - Show changes that depend on a given change
  • completions - Generate shell completions

Common Patterns​

Basic Workflow​

# Initialize a repository
atomic init myproject

# Add files
atomic add .

# Record changes
atomic record -m "Initial commit"

# Create a tag
atomic tag create v1.0.0

Working with Remotes​

# Clone a repository
atomic clone ssh://user@host/path/to/repo

# Pull changes
atomic pull

# Push changes
atomic push

AI Attribution​

# Record an AI-assisted change
atomic record -m "Add feature" --ai-assisted --ai-provider openai --ai-model gpt-4

# View AI attribution in logs
atomic log --attribution --ai-only

Stack Management​

# Create a new stack
atomic stack new feature-branch

# Switch stacks
atomic stack switch feature-branch

# List stacks
atomic stack list

Global Options​

Most commands support these common options:

  • --repository <PATH> - Specify the repository path
  • --stack <NAME> - Operate on a specific stack
  • --help - Display help for a command

Getting Help​

To get detailed help for any command:

atomic <command> --help

For example:

atomic record --help
atomic tag --help
atomic push --help

Next Steps​

Explore the detailed documentation for each command in the sections below. Each command page includes:

  • Purpose - What the command does
  • Syntax - Command syntax and options
  • Examples - Practical usage examples
  • Notes - Important considerations and tips