Commands

What it reports

• The stack, framework and file count it detected
• A menu covering review, check, watch, architecture, impact, map, tests, dead code and more
• Falls back to `little-owl check` when output is piped or running in CI

Useful options

-C, --cwd <dir>

Run against another directory.

What it reports

• The layers it inferred from your directory names, which you can accept or replace
• A written config file with your chosen strictness and thresholds
• A baseline, unless you pass --no-baseline

Useful options

-y, --yes

Accept the defaults without asking.

--force

Overwrite an existing configuration.

--no-baseline

Skip creating a baseline.

What it reports

• Six scores: overall, architecture, maintainability, complexity, dependencies and type safety
• Findings grouped by severity, each with the file, the reason it matters and what to do
• A warning when the scan was partial, so a truncated run never reads as a clean one

Useful options

--json

Machine-readable output on a versioned schema.

--details

Show every finding rather than the highest-signal ones.

-q, --quiet

Only the essentials.

--no-cache

Ignore the parse cache.

What it reports

• Changed files with lines added and removed
• Every score before and after, and the concrete counts behind each move
• Only the findings this change introduced — existing debt is not repeated at you
• Files changed outside the area you scoped the work to

Useful options

-b, --base <ref>

Git ref to compare against.

-s, --scope <glob>

Area the change was meant to touch. Repeatable.

--prompt

Print an AI prompt instead of the report.

--details

Show every finding.

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• The files you just changed, and how many modules import them
• New findings grouped by whether they are in the changed files, in files that depend on them, or elsewhere
• Score movement against a fixed reference, not against the state a second ago

Useful options

--debounce <ms>

Delay before re-analysing. Default 400.

--prompt

Include an AI prompt with each report.

What it reports

• Current health, with the previous baseline alongside it when one exists
• How many findings appeared since the last baseline, before you accept them
• The written baseline file, which belongs in version control

Useful options

-y, --yes

Write without asking.

--show

Print the existing baseline instead of writing one.

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• The last runs with their overall score and whether each improved or degraded
• Baseline snapshots, marked as such

Useful options

-n, --limit <count>

How many entries to show. Default 10.

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• A numbered instruction list built only from real findings, capped so it stays actionable
• A scope constraint, when you gave one
• A reminder to preserve behaviour and keep tests passing

Useful options

-s, --scope <glob>

Restrict the assistant to these paths.

--all

Include findings that predate this change.

-n, --max <count>

Maximum number of instructions.

What it reports

• A one-line status, the finding counts and the score movement
• The findings that drove the verdict
• Exit code 0 or 1, and a PARTIAL ANALYSIS line if the scan did not cover everything

Useful options

-b, --base <ref>

Git ref to compare against.

--fail-on <level>

error | warning | never.

--max-drop <points>

Largest acceptable drop in the overall score.

--all

Consider pre-existing findings too, not just new ones.

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• A suggested reading order — where execution starts, then what most code depends on
• Areas with their size, and how many imports cross into each one
• Detected layers, entry points with their route paths, and the modules most files depend on
• External services grouped by what they are, rather than by package name

Useful options

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• The commit that introduced the file and how old it is
• Commit messages that record a reason, and who has maintained it
• What imports it today, and what keeps changing alongside it
• An evidence rating of strong, partial or none — and a plain statement when the history is silent

Useful options

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• Affected files ranked by how many import hops away they are
• Route-like entry points among them, labelled with their URL
• Tests that reach the change, and external packages it talks to
• A risk level, and a lowered confidence when a dynamic import could reach further than it can see

Useful options

-f, --files <paths>

Additional files to analyse.

-b, --base <ref>

Git ref to compare against.

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• Candidates graded high, medium or low confidence
• Why each one looks unused, and what undermines that conclusion
• Exported names nothing imports, for files that are otherwise in use
• Files skipped because a framework convention makes them entry points

Useful options

--min-confidence <level>

high | medium | low.

--include-tests

Consider test files too.

--no-cache

Analyse without writing anything to the project.

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• Modules with real logic that no test file reaches through imports
• Modules a test reaches without naming every exported behaviour
• Files skipped because they are configuration, scripts or migrations

Useful options

--changed

Only look at what the current change touched.

-b, --base <ref>

Git ref to compare against.

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• The layer chain, and whether it was configured or inferred
• Boundary violations and skipped layers
• Circular dependencies, with the whole loop named

Useful options

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• Packages imported but not declared
• Packages declared but never imported, with build tooling filtered out
• It is hygiene, not security — run your package manager's audit for vulnerabilities

Useful options

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• Which config file was loaded, or that defaults are in use
• Layers, thresholds and CI settings as resolved
• Every rule with its active severity, with --rules

Useful options

--rules

List every rule and its severity.

--json

Machine-readable output.

What it reports

• Node version, detected stack, git availability, config and baseline status
• How many files were analysed, and whether the scan was cut short
• Unresolved imports, detected layers and test files found

Useful options

--json

Machine-readable output.