@ishlabs/cli, binary ish) drives ish from a terminal or a coding agent. It ships as a single standalone binary (from the install script or Homebrew) or as a global npm package. Both expose the same commands.
For a guided first run, see the quickstart. For the full per-command flag tables, see the command index. Global flags, the auth token resolution order, and exit codes live on the global flags page.
Install
Pick one method. The install script and Homebrew give you a self-contained binary; the install-script binary self-updates withish upgrade, Homebrew updates with brew upgrade ish. npm gives you the same CLI as a global package managed by npm.
Method comparison
| Method | Command | Self-update | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Install script | curl -fsSL https://ishlabs.io/install.sh | sh | ish upgrade | macOS, Linux |
| PowerShell script | irm https://ishlabs.io/install.ps1 | iex | ish upgrade | Windows |
| Homebrew | brew install ishlabs/tap/ish | brew upgrade ish | macOS, Linux |
| npm | npm install -g @ishlabs/cli | npm install -g @ishlabs/cli@latest | Any with Node 18+ |
Supported targets
The standalone binary is built per platform and architecture. The install scripts detect your platform and download the matching binary.| Platform | Architectures |
|---|---|
macOS (darwin) | arm64, x64 |
| Linux | arm64, x64 |
| Windows | x64 |
engines.node is >=18.0.0). Homebrew installs node and cloudflared as dependencies; cloudflared is used by ish connect.
Install location and PATH
The install script writes the binary to~/.ish/bin/ish and appends a PATH line to your shell profile (.zshrc, .bashrc / .bash_profile, or config.fish). If ish is not found after install, open a new terminal or source your profile.
Override the install directory. Defaults to
~/.ish/bin (%USERPROFILE%\.ish\bin on Windows).Set to
1 to skip the shell-profile PATH edit (for ephemeral or sandbox installs). You then add the install directory to PATH yourself.Override where the CLI reads and writes session state (
config.json, aliases.json). Defaults to ~/.ish.cloudflared is not bundled. The install scripts print how to add it (brew install cloudflare/cloudflare/cloudflared, winget install Cloudflare.cloudflared). It is only needed for ish connect.Upgrade
ish upgrade downloads the latest standalone binary from https://ishlabs.io/api/releases/ and atomically replaces the running executable (typically ~/.ish/bin/ish). The download is TLS-verified. When you are already on the latest version it is a no-op.
Pin a specific release with --release (note: --version is the global flag that prints the CLI version, not an upgrade target):
| Install method | How to update |
|---|---|
| Install script | ish upgrade |
| Homebrew | brew upgrade ish |
| npm | npm install -g @ishlabs/cli@latest |
ish upgrade for the full reference.
Command index
Every command takes the same global flags (--json, --token, --workspace, and more). The command index is the complete table with subcommands; the groups below orient you.
Session and connection
Auth and session
ish login, ish logout, ish status (alias whoami). Sign in, sign out, and show the active session.Local tunnel
ish connect, ish disconnect. Expose a localhost service so a simulated person can reach it.Studies and runs
Studies
ish study plus create, run, results, analyze, share, and more. Shape a study and read what people reported back.Iterations
ish iteration. Manage the run-time configurations of a study (the URL, media, or chatbot endpoint each run uses).Asks
ish ask. Quick variant comparisons: pose questions to people and read their answers.Chat studies
ish chat. Author chatbot endpoints and run chat-modality studies.People and inputs
People
ish person. Manage, generate, and inspect the simulated people in a workspace.Sources
ish source. Upload and inspect attachments (transcripts, audio, images) used as generation inputs.Workspaces
ish workspace. Create, list, and switch the workspace your commands act on.Secrets and configs
ish config and ish secret. Manage simulation configs and workspace secrets.Setup and agents
Agent skill and MCP
ish init installs the ish agent skill into a project; ish mcp wires the ish MCP server into Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Windsurf.Offline docs
ish docs. The mental model, concept pages, and search, available from the CLI for agents.Local setup check
ish check and ish setup. Verify and install local-simulation dependencies (Chromium, the iOS runner, adb).Upgrade and feedback
ish upgrade keeps the CLI current; ish feedback reports a bug or sends a note to the ish team.