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The AXON CLI provides a complete toolchain for developing, compiling, and executing AXON programs. All commands follow a consistent pattern and support both interactive and programmatic workflows.

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Installation

# From PyPI
pip install axon-lang

# With real tool backends (WebSearch, etc.)
pip install axon-lang[tools]

# Verify installation
axon version

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Command Structure

All AXON CLI commands follow this format: 
axon <command> [arguments] [options]

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Available Commands

check

Validate syntax and semantics without execution

compile

Compile source code to AXON IR JSON

run

Execute AXON programs end-to-end

trace

Visualize execution traces and debug flows

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Quick Start

# 1. Validate your program
axon check program.axon

# 2. Compile to IR (optional)
axon compile program.axon --backend anthropic

# 3. Execute with tracing
axon run program.axon --trace --backend openai

# 4. Analyze the trace
axon trace program.trace.json

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Global Options

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Version Information

axon --version
axon -V
Displays the installed axon-lang version.

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Help

axon --help
axon <command> --help
Shows usage information for the CLI or specific commands.

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Exit Codes

All AXON CLI commands use consistent exit codes:
CodeMeaning
0Success — operation completed without errors
1Compilation or execution error
2I/O error (file not found, invalid JSON, etc.)

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Pipeline Architecture

The AXON compiler follows a multi-stage pipeline: Each CLI command accesses different stages:
  • check: Runs through Type Checker
  • compile: Runs through IR Generator
  • run: Full pipeline including Executor

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Environment Variables

The CLI respects standard environment variables for configuration. See API Keys for authentication setup.

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Output Formats

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Colored Terminal Output

By default, the CLI uses ANSI color codes for enhanced readability:
  • ✓ Green for success
  • ✗ Red for errors
  • Yellow for warnings
  • Cyan for informational output
Disable colors with --no-color (supported by check and trace commands).

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JSON Output

For programmatic access, use --stdout with the compile command to output machine-readable JSON.

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Examples

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Development Workflow

# Iterative development
axon check contract_analyzer.axon
# ... fix errors ...
axon check contract_analyzer.axon
axon run contract_analyzer.axon --trace

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CI/CD Integration

# Non-interactive validation
axon check src/**/*.axon --no-color || exit 1
axon compile src/main.axon --stdout > dist/main.ir.json

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Production Execution

# Run with production backend and real tools
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
export SERPER_API_KEY="..."
axon run main.axon --backend anthropic --tool-mode real

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Next Steps

Command Reference

Explore detailed documentation for each command

Configuration

Set up API keys and tool backends

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