CLI Usage

Prompts and output

zo joins positional arguments into one prompt, so quoting is optional unless the shell needs it:

zo What does cargo check do
zo 'Explain `cargo check` in two sentences'

Text responses stream progressively. Terminals receive Markdown formatting and syntax-highlighted code; redirected stdout uses plain text:

zo 'Write a release note' > RELEASE_NOTE.txt

STDIN pipelines

Piped STDIN is appended after file references and prompt text:

git diff | zo 'Review these changes for bugs'
cargo test 2>&1 | zo /sonnet 'Explain the failures'
cat data.csv | zo @schema.json 'Check this data against the schema'

STDIN and referenced files must be UTF-8. The prompt, STDIN, and referenced contents share the per-turn byte limit: 1 MiB by default. Oversized input is rejected rather than truncated.

Web search

--web adds OpenRouter's server-side web-search tool to text and chat requests:

zo --web 'What changed in the latest stable Rust release?'
zo --chat --web 'Help me research terminal UI libraries'

Set web = true in the config to enable it by default. Web search cannot be combined with image mode.

Inspecting requests and tools

zo --verbose --files read 'Inspect this project'
zo --debug /sonnet @Cargo.toml 'Explain these dependencies'

--verbose prints the resolved model and compact tool calls as they happen.
--debug previews the resolved request and asks before sending; later tool calls include their full arguments.
--debug and --non-interactive conflict because debug requires confirmation.

Automation and safety controls

--accept-writes or -y approves existing-file overwrites and edits without prompting.
--non-interactive disables prompts; anything still requiring approval is denied.
--hidden removes the extra hidden-path gate for file/output tools, image output, and shell checks; normal write approvals and shell policies still apply.
--max-input-bytes and --max-session-bytes override the configured byte limits for one invocation.

For unattended edits, both automation flags are normally needed:

zo --files write --non-interactive --accept-writes 'Apply the requested refactor'

Options

Option	Purpose
`-m, --model NAME`	Override model selection
`--reasoning-effort LEVEL`	Set `auto`, `max`, `xhigh`, `high`, `medium`, `low`, `minimal`, or `none`
`-c, --chat`	Start a multi-turn session
`--image FILE`	Generate one image at `FILE`
`--files read\|write`	Enable workspace file tools
`--shell`	Enable shell tools
`--web`	Enable server-side web search
`--policies NAME[,NAME]`	Select shell policy files; requires `--shell`
`-y, --accept-writes`	Auto-approve overwrites and edits
`--non-interactive`	Deny anything that would prompt
`--hidden`	Permit hidden tool/output paths
`-v, --verbose`	Show model resolution and compact tool calls
`-d, --debug`	Preview the request and confirm before sending
`--max-input-bytes BYTES`	Override the aggregate turn-input limit
`--max-session-bytes BYTES`	Override the retained-session limit

Run zo --help for the authoritative command synopsis and option conflicts.

Actions

zo +list-models
zo +init-config

Actions use exact names and must stand alone. Running zo with no arguments also displays help.

Models & Customization → · Files & Workspace Tools → · Chat →