CLI-Anything is an open-source project from HKUDS that gives ordinary software a command-line interface, so AI agents such as Claude Code, Cursor and OpenClaw can operate it by typing commands.
In plain words
AI agents reason well but are poor at using real professional software, and agents that click through screenshots of an app break easily. CLI-Anything takes a program's source code and generates a command-line tool (a CLI, text commands typed in a terminal) that drives the real software underneath and can return structured JSON that an agent reads easily. Its CLI-Hub lets you search, install and update ready-made CLIs for apps such as LibreOffice and Zotero with one package manager.
A quick example
Imagine asking a coding agent to make a diagram. Instead of clicking around a drawing app, the agent types a few commands into that app's generated CLI and gets back a finished file.
Where you'll meet it
- Letting coding agents drive creative, office and research apps.
- Replacing agents that click on screenshots of an app.
Related
Sources
- DocsCLI-Anything README, HKUDS on GitHub · read 14 Oct 2026
- DocsCLI-Anything Hub, HKUDS · read 14 Oct 2026
Checked by WhatIsAI against the sources above · 14 Oct 2026. A full five-minute explainer with a diagram may follow. Spotted an error? Report it.