CLI Discovery
When you need to discover what CLI tools are available on the system, use host_bash to check directly. Do not use sandboxed bash for discovery - it may not see host-installed CLIs or auth state, leading to false negatives.
Checking if a CLI exists
bashwhich <name> # returns path if found, exits non-zero if missing command -v <name> # alternative, works in all POSIX shells
Getting version info
bash<name> --version # most CLIs support this flag
Use a 5-second timeout to avoid hanging on unresponsive CLIs.
Auth-check commands
For CLIs that support authentication, check whether the user is logged in:
| CLI | Auth check command |
|---|---|
gh | gh auth status |
aws | aws sts get-caller-identity |
gcloud | gcloud auth list --filter=status:ACTIVE --format=value(account) |
az | az account show |
vercel | vercel whoami |
netlify | netlify status |
fly | fly auth whoami |
heroku | heroku auth:whoami |
railway | railway whoami |
Common CLIs worth checking
When doing a broad discovery, check these categories:
- Version control & code hosting:
gh,git,gitlab - Project management:
linear,jira - Communication:
slack - Cloud providers:
aws,gcloud,az - Containers & infra:
docker,kubectl,terraform - Runtimes & package managers:
node,bun,deno,python3,pip3 - HTTP clients:
curl,httpie - Hosting & deploy:
vercel,netlify,fly,heroku,railway
Output format
Report findings in markdown:
markdown## Available CLIs - **git** (/usr/bin/git) - git version 2.x.x - **gh** (/usr/bin/gh) - gh version 2.x.x [authenticated: user@example.com] - **bun** (~/.bun/bin/bun) - 1.x.x ## Not found: jira, linear, slack
