Managing CLIs
A CLI groups Snips under the command-line tool they belong to. This page covers creating, editing and deleting CLIs, their icons, and their execution settings.
On Home, click the New CLI tile at the end of the CLI carousel. The CLI editor opens. Only the name is required; everything else is optional.
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Name (required) — the CLI's display name (e.g.
pl-app). - Description — a short summary shown on the CLI's Home card.
- Icon — defaults to a deterministic identicon generated from the CLI's identity. Click Choose image… to upload your own; it's cropped square and resized to 256×256, then stored in your data folder.
These configure how the CLI's Snips run (they have no effect on Copy). All are optional, and none are validated when you save — Snipdeck stays useful for authoring Snips for a tool that isn't installed yet. Validation happens only at run time.
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Shell — the shell a run launches in. One of:
Option Launcher Command Prompt (cmd) cmd /c …Windows PowerShell (default) powershell -NoLogo -NoProfile -Command …PowerShell (pwsh) pwsh -NoLogo -NoProfile -Command …Bash bash -lc "…"Custom… your own shell path + arguments -
Custom shell path / arguments (Custom only) — the executable to launch and an
argument template containing the
{command}token where the resolved command goes, e.g. pathC:\tools\nu.exe, arguments-c {command}. -
Executable path — optional. Used at run time to (a) validate the tool is present
and (b) default the working directory. If set and missing when you run, Snipdeck shows
a friendly "couldn't find
<path>— edit the CLI to fix it" rather than failing obscurely. Copy is never affected. Use Browse… to pick it. - Working directory — optional. Defaults at run time to the executable's folder if an executable path is set, otherwise your home directory. Use Browse… to pick it.
A Snip can override its CLI's shell and working directory — see Creating and Editing Snips. Running is covered in full in Running Commands.
Select the CLI in the switcher, then click Edit CLI in the CLI view header. The same editor opens.
Click Shared parameters in the CLI view header to define parameters inherited by every Snip under this CLI. See Parameters and Shared Parameters.
Click Delete CLI in the CLI view header. A CLI can only be deleted once it has no visible Snips — move or delete its Snips first. (Snips already in the Trash don't block deletion; they're removed along with the CLI.) Deleting is confirmed first and can't be undone.
If you don't upload an image, Snipdeck generates an identicon from the CLI's stable identity, so renaming a CLI never changes its icon — the whole point is that it stays recognisable. Uploaded icons are copied into your data folder (not referenced from their original location), so they survive moving your data between machines.