index.md

title	CLI command reference
description	Find command syntax, inputs, outputs, and exit status.

Invoke rootform <command> from a project root, or pass an explicit input where the command accepts one. The syntax blocks below are reference forms: placeholders such as [input] and [flags] are not literal arguments. Run rootform <command> --help for terminal help. The tables on command pages retain the CLI's exported option types and defaults.

For a first result, follow the quickstart. For a complete task, use the guides and return here for exact command contracts.

Find a command

• Analyze or explore: run compiles a plan or state JSON into a Form, or reopens a saved Form, then serves the local Explorer or writes reports.
• Review: check evaluates selected Policies against one stage of a Form and exits with the verdict; run --diff compares two inputs.
• Inspect: list shows active content, show displays a definition, and explain traces an interpretation or result.
• Prepare: init verifies selected content and can fetch missing OCI units; vendor copies selected content into the project.
• Validate and author: validate checks an object; fmt, test, compile, package, publish, and lsp have their own contracts below.

Usage

rootform <command> [options]

Options

Global options

Flag	Type	Default	Description
--color	mode	auto	color human output: auto|always|never; default: auto
-h, --help	bool	false	show how to use rootform
--no-pager	bool	false	print a long report in full instead of opening it in less
-v, --version	bool	false	print the rootform version and exit

Command inventory

Analyze

Command	Purpose
rootform check	Evaluate Policies against a Form or each side of a comparison
rootform run	Produce a Form from a plan or state JSON, or open a saved Form

Inspect

Command	Purpose
rootform explain	Justify one conclusion of a Form or a Policy result
rootform explain instance	Explain how one instance was interpreted
rootform explain policy	Explain one Policy outcome recorded by check
rootform explain rule	Explain how one Rule applied in an input
rootform list	List Rootform definitions
rootform list dialects	List the Dialect catalog
rootform list policies	List Policies
rootform list policy-packs	List Policy Packs
rootform show	Show a Rootform definition
rootform show policy	Show a Policy definition
rootform show policy-pack	Show a Policy Pack
rootform validate	Validate a Rootform object
rootform validate concept	Validate a Concept definition
rootform validate context	Validate a context dimension
rootform validate dialects	Validate Dialect definitions
rootform validate form	Validate a saved Form
rootform validate policy	Validate a Policy definition
rootform validate relation	Validate a relation predicate
rootform validate rule	Validate a Rule definition

Project

Command	Purpose
rootform add	Add content to rootform.lock
rootform add dialects	Add Dialects to rootform.lock
rootform add policy-packs	Add Policy Packs to rootform.lock
rootform init	Prepare a Rootform project
rootform remove	Remove content from rootform.lock
rootform remove dialects	Remove Dialects from rootform.lock
rootform remove policy-packs	Remove Policy Packs from rootform.lock
rootform update	Change a selection in rootform.lock
rootform update dialect	Change one selected Dialect
rootform update policy-pack	Change one selected Policy Pack
rootform vendor	Vendor selected non-embedded content
rootform vendor dialects	Vendor selected Dialects
rootform vendor policy-packs	Vendor selected Policy Packs

Rootform home

Command	Purpose
rootform install	Install registry content in the Rootform home
rootform install dialects	Install Dialects from registry references
rootform install policy-packs	Install Policy Packs from registry references
rootform uninstall	Delete installed versions from the Rootform home
rootform uninstall dialects	Delete installed Dialect versions
rootform uninstall policy-packs	Delete installed Policy Pack versions

Author and publish

Command	Purpose
rootform compile	Compile a Policy Pack for offline checks
rootform compile policy-pack	Compile and pin a Policy Pack
rootform fmt	Format Rootform files
rootform lsp	Serve Rootform language features over stdio
rootform package	Package Rootform content for distribution
rootform package dialects	Build Dialect packages
rootform package policy-packs	Build Policy Pack packages
rootform publish	Publish packaged Rootform content
rootform publish dialects	Publish a verified Dialect registry layout
rootform publish policy-packs	Publish a verified Policy Pack registry layout
rootform test	Test Dialect fixtures

Other

Command	Purpose
rootform completion	Generate shell completion
rootform version	Show the Rootform version

The complete command inventory above links to every subcommand, including language-authoring commands. For result formats and non-universal exit codes, see Outputs and exit status.