CodeScene CLI tool

What You Can Do With The CLI

The CodeScene CLI helps you run CodeScene analyses where developers work: locally, in pre-commit/push hooks, and in CI.

What you can do with the CLI:

  • Review non-committed or staged changes before opening a PR.

  • Compare branches with delta analysis to see code health impact.

  • Use pre-commit and pre-push hooks to catch issues early.

  • Integrate with editors and CI/CD pipelines.

cs git-hook flow-chart

Command Guides And Reference

Here is a quick guide to the core workflows:

  • cs delta for change-based analysis between working tree, commits, or branches.

  • cs review and cs check for file-focused code health feedback.

  • cs rules-config and cs check-rules for custom code health rule tuning.

Install The CLI

Installation

Linux, macOS and Windows (if WSL)

The install script will download the binary, move it to ~/.local/bin and make it executable. If ~/.local/bin is not in the user’s PATH, it will be added.

It works if your shell is one of: bash, zsh or fish

curl https://downloads.codescene.io/enterprise/cli/install-cs-tool.sh | sh

Windows (powershell)

The powershell script downloads the windows binary, moves it to $env:USERPROFILE\AppData\Local\Programs\CodeScene and makes it executable.

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://downloads.codescene.io/enterprise/cli/install-cs-tool.ps1' -OutFile install-cs-tool.ps1
.\install-cs-tool.ps1

Note, on non-server editions of Windows, the script execution policy is set to Restricted by default, and script execution is disabled. It can be enabled with:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

This allows for the execution of trusted scripts downloaded from the internet, and all local scripts. In our case the script is considered a local file.

Manual installation

The binaries are also available for manual installation. Just download the binary for you platform and make it executable.

Platform specific notes

  • MacOS binaries are not signed, thus you have to manually move them out of quarantine using xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine <binary>.

  • Windows users might have to set the script execution policy manually as mentioned above: Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Updating

To update the tool, just run the install script again or re-do the manual installation.

You can check the version of the installed tool via cs version, which will print out the build date and SHA for the installed version.

Activate The CLI

The CLI tool requires an access token for licensing. You need to have your CodeScene administrator set up a token on the projects configuration page . Then set your environment variables as follows:

export CS_ACCESS_TOKEN=<your-access-token>

Or in Windows PowerShell:

$env:CS_ACCESS_TOKEN = '<your-access-token>'

Windows setup options

PowerShell:

$env:CS_ACCESS_TOKEN = '<your-access-token>'

Windows Command Prompt (temporary, current session):

SET CS_ACCESS_TOKEN=<your-access-token>

Windows Command Prompt (persistent):

SETX CS_ACCESS_TOKEN=<your-access-token>

Note: SETX changes take effect in newly opened terminals.

You can also set variables through System Properties:

  1. Right-click “This PC” or “My Computer”

  2. Click “Properties”

  3. Click “Advanced system settings”

  4. Click “Environment Variables”

Shortcut:

  1. Press Windows + R

  2. Type sysdm.cpl

  3. Go to the “Advanced” tab

  4. Click “Environment Variables”

Command Guides And Reference