Install the CLI

Install

macOS (Apple silicon and Intel) and Linux (x64 and arm64). npm picks the prebuilt binary for your platform; nothing is compiled. Check it worked with acyclic --version.

How it works

1. 1. Sign in

   Opens a browser to approve this machine. The token lasts 90 days; revoke it any time from the dashboard.

   acyclic swarm login --site https://acyclic.dev

2. 2. Start a swarm

   Describe the task from inside your project. --dir . uploads your working files (no history, no secrets); --repo takes a public git URL instead. The swarm splits the work across agents, each in its own sandbox. --watch streams progress until it finishes.

   acyclic swarm run --task "fix the flaky test in tests/api" --dir . --watch

3. 3. Take the result

   The agents' work is merged into one patch. --apply puts it into your checkout (review it first with --patch FILE), or open a pull request from the swarm's page on the dashboard.

   acyclic swarm ls
   acyclic swarm pull <swarm-id> --apply

More

• acyclic swarm --help lists every command.
• Driving it from a coding agent? Point it at acyclic.dev/llms.txt: the whole flow, written for agents. Building your own harness? See swarms as an agent tool.
• --harness codex runs each agent on OpenAI's Codex CLI instead of the default harness.
• Give swarms tools: acyclic swarm tools add registers an MCP server they may call. See the MCP guide.
• Bring your own OpenAI key: acyclic swarm keys add reads it from stdin, and swarms bill model calls to it. See the guide.
• No terminal? Start swarms from the dashboard, or generate an MCP config there so Claude Code or Cursor can start them for you.

Without npm

The install script detects your platform, verifies the checksum, and installs to ~/.local/bin (override with ACYCLIC_INSTALL_DIR). Read it first.