Flightops command reference

Run flightops --help to see the options in your installed version. Run flightops doctor before a live session if ROS discovery fails. In an installed beta build, every command needs an activated device; see commands that work without a license.

Commands

Recording, evidence, history, and checks

These command families work in Standard mode, without a model connection. Run flightops COMMAND --help for the subcommands and options of your install. Every family below is in the beta builds and in the source checkout. Being present does not mean every path was accepted; see build features.

Knowledge, learning, workspace, and sharing

These work in Standard mode. flightops retrospective is the only command in these tables that can call a model, and only when you explicitly ask it to.

flightops --list, --verify, --rollback, and --uninstall manage an archive-installed release; see Manage your installation.

Connect a coding agent over MCP

flightops-mcp serves four read-only tools over MCP stdio: onscope_sourcing, splashdown_stats, splashdown_assert and splashdown_query. --root names the only folder whose recordings the tools may read. Add it to your agent's MCP configuration, for example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flightops": {
      "command": "/home/YOU/.local/bin/flightops-mcp",
      "args": ["--root", "/home/YOU/robot-project/evidence"]
    }
  }
}

Like every installed command it needs an activated device. The tools do not launch nodes, write project files, control playback or move hardware.

Other installed commands

The beta installs these commands beside flightops. Run COMMAND --help for their options.

Attach and launch options

Options for attach and launch come before the command:

flightops --project ~/ros2_ws/src/my_robot attach
flightops --ros-domain-id 42 launch my_robot bringup.launch.py robot_name:=test_bot
flightops --readiness ./readiness.json launch ./launch/robot.launch.py

The launch argument must be a literal NAME:=VALUE. Use shell quotes around an argument with spaces, such as 'robot_name:=test bot'. The launch file must exist, and a package launch file must be installed in the active ROS environment. launch owns its process group and stops it when you quit the terminal. It sends SIGINT first and allows up to 6 seconds for a clean shutdown, one second more than ros2 launch waits by default. It then sends SIGTERM and, if needed, SIGKILL. A terminal hangup or SIGQUIT stops the owned launch the same way. Reopening a saved session never restarts that launch.

Common options

The default session lives below ${XDG_STATE_HOME:-$HOME/.local/state}/flightops. Flightops reuses a session for the same directory, project, ROS environment (including Gazebo partition), launch arguments, and readiness source/digest. It allows one writer at a time. --new-session always selects a fresh session. Attach and launch keep separate default sessions. To reopen a launch's session read-only, run flightops --session-dir DIR attach from the same directory, project, and ROS environment. Flightops then shows the retained launch record and log without relaunching; otherwise it opens a sibling session and says so, on standard error and in Health's SESSION block. See reopen a launch session for the full workflow, and troubleshooting when a session is busy.

Manage your installation

These commands work with the archive-installed flightops command, without a ROS environment:

flightops --list
flightops --verify
flightops --rollback
flightops --rollback --version RELEASE_ID
flightops --uninstall

--list shows retained versions. --verify checks the installed runtime. Rollback switches to a retained version; uninstall keeps configuration, the license and saved evidence. Use one management action per invocation. These commands work without an activated device. Source checkouts need archive installation for these commands.

Terminal keys

The full terminal reference (source repository) describes the other views and keys. Start with the first steps for a short walkthrough.

Ask about saved evidence

Live Jev provider calls were not part of beta acceptance; see the known limits. Use an interactive terminal for provider disclosure review.

For example, replace the file paths with your saved logs:

flightops ai ask 'Why did the camera stop?' --session-dir ./camera-trial \
  --evidence ./camera.log --evidence ./navigation.log --jev

For these assistant commands, --session-dir, --project, --config, and --task can follow the subcommand. To approve a disclosure, type its displayed digest; any other input denies it. This differs from the terminal panel's y/n keys. Each provider call can incur usage. See Jev priority and the comparison format.

AI limits

OpenAI and Anthropic setup asks for a masked API key, fetches candidate models from that provider, and asks you to choose a number. The selected key is saved in the OS credential store when available. Without one, setup opens the app with a session-only key. Local/custom and Gemini setup keep advanced model and environment-reference options. Setup does not turn AI on for later runs.

The ChatGPT account option is a preview. Its isolated text assistant requires the pinned Codex runtime, Linux bubblewrap, browser sign-in, and an explicit successful flightops ai test. Native Codex tools are disabled. No real account exchange has been accepted for the beta. The AI tutorial covers setup and limits.