HELM AI Kernel CLI Reference

The helm-ai-kernel binary is wired in core/cmd/helm-ai-kernel. Command registration is centralized in registry.go, with startup handling in main.go and helm-ai-kernel serve flag parsing in server_cmd.go.

Audience

Use this page if you run the HELM AI Kernel binary, copy CLI snippets into automation, or update command docs after changing core/cmd/helm-ai-kernel.

Outcome

After this page you should know the supported top-level command families, the source file that owns each command, the flag contracts that public docs may claim, and the tests that must pass after command changes.

Source Truth

This page is generated from the active CLI implementation and must stay aligned with core/cmd/helm-ai-kernel, core/cmd/README.md (protected staff doc), the command tests in core/cmd/helm-ai-kernel, and the public manifest row for helm-ai-kernel/reference/cli.

Runtime Map

flowchart TD
    subgraph Ingestion["1. Ingestion & Context Plane"]
        User["operator or client"]
        CLI["helm-ai-kernel command"]
        Registry["command registry"]
        Server["serve / server"]
        Proxy["proxy"]
        API["HTTP API"]
        Upstream["OpenAI-compatible upstream"]
        State["boundary surface registry"]
    end

    subgraph Execution["3. Execution & Verdict Plane"]
        Boundary["boundary / mcp / sandbox / authz"]
    end

    subgraph Ledger["4. Tamper-Evident Ledger Plane"]
        Evidence["receipts / evidence / verify"]
        Pack["EvidencePack or receipt stream"]
    end

    %% Operational Flow Edges
    User --> CLI
    CLI --> Registry
    Registry --> Server
    Registry --> Proxy
    Registry --> Boundary
    Registry --> Evidence
    Server --> API
    Proxy --> Upstream
    Boundary --> State
    Evidence --> Pack

    %% Premium Styling Rules
    style Boundary fill:#3182ce,stroke:#2b6cb0,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
    style Evidence fill:#2f855a,stroke:#276749,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
    style Pack fill:#2f855a,stroke:#276749,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff

flowchart TD
    subgraph Ingestion["1. Ingestion & Context Plane"]
        User["operator or client"]
        CLI["helm-ai-kernel command"]
        Registry["command registry"]
        Server["serve / server"]
        Proxy["proxy"]
        API["HTTP API"]
        Upstream["OpenAI-compatible upstream"]
        State["boundary surface registry"]
    end

    subgraph Execution["3. Execution & Verdict Plane"]
        Boundary["boundary / mcp / sandbox / authz"]
    end

    subgraph Ledger["4. Tamper-Evident Ledger Plane"]
        Evidence["receipts / evidence / verify"]
        Pack["EvidencePack or receipt stream"]
    end

    %% Operational Flow Edges
    User --> CLI
    CLI --> Registry
    Registry --> Server
    Registry --> Proxy
    Registry --> Boundary
    Registry --> Evidence
    Server --> API
    Proxy --> Upstream
    Boundary --> State
    Evidence --> Pack

    %% Premium Styling Rules
    style Boundary fill:#3182ce,stroke:#2b6cb0,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
    style Evidence fill:#2f855a,stroke:#276749,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
    style Pack fill:#2f855a,stroke:#276749,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff

Primary Commands

Auxiliary binaries under core/cmd/bootstrap, core/cmd/channel_gateway, core/cmd/pack_verify, core/cmd/skill_lint, and core/cmd/skill_pack are source-owned helpers. They are not top-level helm-ai-kernel subcommands unless wired through core/cmd/helm-ai-kernel.

This table documents registered top-level helm-ai-kernel command families and global utility commands. Aliases are documented in source and should be exposed here only when public examples rely on them.

Key Flag Contracts

Boundary And API References

• HTTP API Reference covers the route registry, auth classes, OpenAPI contract, and local API behavior.
• Execution Boundary Reference covers boundary records, checkpoints, fail-closed cases, and native evidence authority.

Validation

Run CLI-focused validation after changing command flags or public examples:

cd core
go test ./cmd/helm-ai-kernel -count=1

Then run the documentation gates from the repository root:

make docs-coverage
make docs-truth

Troubleshooting