The anchor CLI

scripts/anchor.py (run as bin/anchor, or anchor once installed) scaffolds a project with Anchor doctrine for whichever model platform(s) you're targeting. It never overwrites: any destination file that already exists is reported as a conflict and nothing is written, so you can resolve it and re-run.

Hard rule (all projects): docs describe current shipped state, not plan backlog. Never document the contents of .plans/ as product docs or roadmap; when plan work ships, document the code. Documenting the .plans/ workflow is fine when it is a shipped feature. See doctrine and mythos-core rule 12.

Install

Easiest: run /install-anchor in a coding agent session (Grok skill or Claude command). It detects OS/shell, finds the Anchor checkout, and safely symlinks bin/anchor into ~/.local/bin (no sudo; confirms before writing).

Manual options (same script):

• Symlink (preferred): mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && ln -sfn "$(pwd)/bin/anchor" ~/.local/bin/anchor (ensure ~/.local/bin is on PATH), or call python3 scripts/anchor.py directly.
• pip install -e . (or pipx install .) from the repo root gives a console-script anchor. This only installs the scaffolder — the fleet scripts (orchestrate.py, router.py, ...) stay copy-paste by design, since they're meant to be dropped standalone into other repos.

Set defaults (optional)

./config.sh (or /config in Claude Code / Grok Build) asks which platform(s), fleet tooling, default language/framework, model priority, and preferred orchestrator you want, and saves the answer to ~/.config/anchor/defaults (override with $ANCHOR_CONFIG_DIR). With saved defaults, anchor (in the project folder) or anchor <project-dir> scaffolds without any flags. Re-run ./config.sh any time to change your mind, or ./config.sh --show to print what's saved.

./config.sh --platform claude,grok --fleet --language node \
  --model-priority nim,claude:sonnet,claude:opus \
  --orchestrator claude:opus

Preferred orchestrator (per project)

Who should plan multi-step work and coordinate for this project (including cross-plan Depends on analysis). Written into .anchor/conventions.md so lesser models recommend it instead of attempting orchestration themselves.

# Trivial: existing project (no full re-scaffold); omit the path to use cwd
anchor --set-orchestrator claude:opus
anchor <project-dir> --set-orchestrator claude:opus

# At scaffold time
anchor --platform claude,local:qwen3 --orchestrator claude:opus
anchor <project-dir> --platform claude,local:qwen3 --orchestrator claude:opus

# Or hand-edit the bold line in .anchor/conventions.md:
# **Preferred orchestrator:** `claude:opus`

If unset: a frontier or near-frontier model in the current session may act as a temporary coordinator (inventory .plans/**, propose dependencies, draft under drafts/). It should announce TEMPORARY-COORDINATOR: <name> — Preferred orchestrator unset and still recommend setting a durable orchestrator. Mid/small/local models must escalate rather than self-appoint. A project MCP coordinator, when registered, is the durable machine-side coordinator; the dashboard monitors those servers only.

Scaffold a project

cd my-app && anchor                                      # scaffold the current directory
anchor <project-dir>                                     # or pass an explicit path
anchor <project-dir> --platform claude,grok               # platforms without survey
anchor <project-dir> --platform local:qwen3,local:gemma3 --fleet
anchor --framework rust                                    # skip framework detection/prompt (cwd)
anchor --orchestrator claude:opus                          # preferred planner/coordinator (cwd)
anchor --list                                               # show platform keys
anchor --platform claude --dry-run                          # preview findings only
anchor --platform claude --yes                              # write without confirmation prompt

Platform keys: claude, grok, nemotron, local:<model> (qwen3, gemma3, mistral-small, deepseek-r1-distill, llama33), chat. Add --fleet to also copy orchestrator/fleet tooling under .anchor/scripts/ and .anchor/mcp/ (never project-root scripts/ or mcp/).

Scaffold layout:

Kind	Project path
Doctrine	.anchor/ANCHOR.md, .anchor/templates/…, …
Conventions	.anchor/conventions.md (not project root)
Fleet (with --fleet)	.anchor/scripts/…, .anchor/mcp/…
Plans	project-root .plans/ (unchanged)
Manifest	.anchor-manifest.json

Source of doctrine/fleet in this repo remains top-level anchor/, scripts/, mcp/.

When there are no overwrite conflicts, the CLI prints draft findings (target, framework, platforms, fleet, orchestrator, model priority, file list) and a recommended action, then asks Proceed with this plan? [y/N] before writing anything. Pass --yes / -y to skip the prompt (required for non-interactive terminals). --dry-run prints the same findings and exits without writing. Conflicts still abort with nothing written and no prompt.

Every run also detects the target project's language/framework from marker files (composer.json, package.json, Cargo.toml, go.mod, ...) and writes idiomatic-composition guidance to .anchor/conventions.md (including Preferred orchestrator, temporary coordinator fallback for frontier sessions when unset, and lesser-model deferral). When package.json coexists with a backend marker (e.g. composer.json on a Drupal/Laravel tree), the non-node language wins — root Node files are often frontend/test tooling. Pass --framework to override. If detection fails and the terminal is interactive, it asks — proposing your saved language default, if any.

Agent-assisted scaffold (/anchor)

Two skill variants share the slash name (see /anchor skill page):

Variant	Default project	Source
Project scaffold (--platform claude / grok)	Current tree (CWD / git root)	platforms/…/anchor → .grok/skills/anchor / .claude/commands/anchor.md
Anchor base	Path required (another project)	Anchor .grok/skills/anchor / .claude/commands/anchor.md

Both locate a local Anchor checkout, dry-run first, classify conflicts with existing agent config (CLAUDE.md, .claude/, GROK.md, …), and propose merge / backup / skip. Already-scaffolded trees use --check / --diff / --upgrade. In a project, /anchor with no path means “update this project.”

Check, diff, and upgrade

Every scaffold writes .anchor-manifest.json, recording the anchor commit, platforms, and file hashes used. Use these modes on a project that already has a manifest:

anchor --check                         # short status per managed file (no writes)
anchor --diff                          # status + unified diffs (no writes)
anchor --upgrade                       # preview plan, confirm, apply
anchor --upgrade --yes                 # non-interactive: safe applies only
anchor --upgrade --yes --force         # also overwrite locally modified managed files
anchor --upgrade --dry-run             # print plan only
anchor --update …                      # alias for --upgrade

State	Meaning	--upgrade --yes
unchanged	project == manifest == (or no) upstream change	skip
upstream updated	project still matches scaffold-time hash; source moved on	take upstream
locally modified	project hash ≠ manifest	keep (unless --force)
MISSING	managed file deleted	restore
new	current scaffold would add; not in manifest; path free	add
layout	legacy anchor/… doctrine → .anchor/…	move

Locally modified files are never overwritten without --force. Unmanifested user files are never claimed. After a successful upgrade, the manifest hashes and anchor_commit refresh.

--check / --diff also list pending layout migrations and newly introduced scaffold files for the project’s recorded platforms.