Arcade CLI cheat sheet

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🚀Getting Started

Install Arcade CLI globally using uv (recommended) or pip.

Terminal


uv tool install arcade-mcp    # Recommended
pip install arcade-mcp        # Alternative

Upgrade to the latest version:

Terminal


uv tool upgrade arcade-mcp    # Recommended
pip install --upgrade arcade-mcp  # Alternative

Verify installation:

Terminal


arcade --version

Create and run your first server:

Terminal


arcade new my_server
cd my_server
arcade mcp http

Get help on any command:

Terminal


arcade --help
arcade <command> --help

Use uv for faster installs and better dependency management

Using Windows and PowerShell? See Windows environment setup for install options with and without uv.

🔐Authentication

Authenticate with Arcade Cloud for deployments and secrets management.

Command	Description
`arcade login`	Opens browser for OAuth authentication
`arcade login --host <url>`	Login to custom Arcade instance
`arcade logout`	Clear local credentials
`arcade whoami`	Show logged-in user and active context
`arcade dashboard`	Open Arcade web UI in browser
`arcade dashboard --local`	Open local dashboard

Credentials are stored in ~/.arcade/credentials.yaml (or %USERPROFILE%\.arcade\credentials.yaml on Windows).

🏢Organizations & Projects

Organizations group and team members. Projects contain servers, secrets, and configurations.

Terminal


# List all organizations
arcade org list
 
# Switch active organization
arcade org set <org_id>

Switching organization also resets your active to that org’s default.

contain servers, secrets, and configurations.

Terminal


# List projects in active org
arcade project list
 
# Switch active project
arcade project set <id>

All deploy/secret commands use your active project .

Use arcade whoami to see current org/.

✨Create New Server

Scaffold a new server with boilerplate code.

Minimal Template (Quick Start)

Terminal


arcade new my_server

Creates pyproject.toml, src/my_server/init.py, src/my_server/server.py.

Full Template (Production)

Terminal


arcade new my_server --full

Creates: pyproject.toml, my_server/ (package with ), tests/, evals/, Makefile, .pre-commit-config.yaml, .ruff.toml, LICENSE, README.md.

Options

Flag	Description
`--dir <path>`	Output directory (default: current)
`--full`, `-f`	Create full starter project

⚡Run MCP Server

Start your server locally for development and testing.

Transport Types

Terminal


# For MCP clients (Claude, Cursor)
arcade mcp stdio
 
# For web/API testing
arcade mcp http

Examples

Terminal


arcade mcp http --port 8080 --reload --debug
arcade mcp stdio --tool-package github
arcade mcp http --discover-installed --show-packages

Use --reload for faster development iteration

🔍Show & Inspect Tools

View available and their schemas from local or remote servers.

Terminal


# List all tools
arcade show
 
# Show local tools only
arcade show --local
 
# Show tool details
arcade show -t <tool_name>
 
# Full response structure
arcade show -t <tool> --full
 
# Filter by server
arcade show -T <server_name>

Options

Flag	Description
`-t`, `--tool <name>`	Show specific tool details
`-T`, `--server <name>`	Filter by server
`--local`, `-l`	Show local catalog only
`--full`, `-f`	Show complete response (auth, logs)

🔧Configure Clients

Auto-configure clients to connect to your server.

Supported Clients

Client	Command
Claude Desktop (`stdio` only)	`arcade configure claude`
Cursor IDE (`stdio` or `http`)	`arcade configure cursor`
VS Code (`stdio` or `http`)	`arcade configure vscode`

Claude Desktop only supports stdio transport via configuration file.

Options

Flag	Description	Default
`--transport <type>`	`stdio` or `http`	`stdio`
`--host <target>`	`local` or `arcade`	`local`
`--port <port>`	Port for HTTP transport	`8000`
`--name <name>`	Server name in config	directory name
`--entrypoint <file>`	Entry file for stdio	`server.py`

☁️Deploy to Cloud

Deploy your server to Arcade Cloud for production use.

Terminal


arcade deploy

Options

Flag	Description	Default
`-e`, `--entrypoint <file>`	Python file that runs MCPApp	`server.py`
`--server-name <name>`	Explicit server name	auto-detected
`--server-version <ver>`	Explicit server version	auto-detected
`--skip-validate`	Skip local health checks	off
`--secrets <mode>`	Secret sync mode (see below)	`auto`

Secrets Handling

Mode	Description
`auto`	Sync only required secret keys (default)
`all`	Sync entire .env file
`skip`	Don’t sync any secrets

Run from your project root (where pyproject.toml is located).

🖥️Server Management

Manage deployed servers in Arcade Cloud.

Terminal


# List all servers
arcade server list
 
# Get server details
arcade server get <name>
 
# Enable a server
arcade server enable <name>
 
# Disable a server
arcade server disable <name>
 
# Delete a server (permanent!)
arcade server delete <name>

Delete is permanent and cannot be undone

📋Server Logs

View and stream logs from deployed servers.

Terminal


# View recent logs (last 1h)
arcade server logs <name>
 
# Stream live logs
arcade server logs <name> -f    # Stream live logs

Time Range Options

Flag	Description	Example
`-s`, `--since <time>`	Start time (default: 1h)	`1h`, `30m`, `2d`, `2024-01-15T10:00:00Z`
`-u`, `--until <time>`	End time (default: now)	`30m`, `2024-01-15T12:00:00Z`

Terminal


arcade server logs myserver --since 2h --until 30m
arcade server logs myserver --since 2024-01-15T10:00:00Z

🔑Secrets Management

Store API keys and sensitive configuration for your deployed servers. Secrets are encrypted and scoped to your active .

List Secrets

Terminal


arcade secret list

Shows: Key, Type, Description, Last accessed.

Set Secrets

Terminal


arcade secret set KEY=value
arcade secret set KEY1=v1 KEY2=v2

From `.env` File

Terminal


arcade secret set --from-env
arcade secret set --from-env -f .env.prod

Delete Secrets

Terminal


arcade secret unset KEY1 KEY2

Use arcade secret set --from-env to sync local .env to Arcade Cloud before deploying.

📊Evaluations

Test -calling accuracy with evaluation suites.

Basic Usage

Terminal


# Run all evals in current directory
arcade evals
 
# Run specific directory
arcade evals ./evals/
 
# Show detailed results
arcade evals -d
 
# Filter failed tests only
arcade evals --only-failed

Capture Mode

Record calls without scoring to bootstrap test expectations:

Terminal


# Basic capture
arcade evals --capture
 
# Capture with context
arcade evals --capture --include-context
 
# Save to file
arcade evals --capture -o captures.json

Provider Selection

Terminal


# Use specific provider
arcade evals -p openai
 
# Use specific model
arcade evals -p openai:gpt-4o
 
# Multiple providers
arcade evals -p openai:gpt-4o -p anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929
 
# With API key
arcade evals -k openai:sk-...

Output Formats

Terminal


# Save as JSON
arcade evals -o results.json
 
# Multiple formats
arcade evals -o report.html -o report.md
 
# All formats
arcade evals -o results

Common Workflows

Terminal


# Debug failures
arcade evals --only-failed -d
 
# Full report with context
arcade evals -d --include-context -o report.html
 
# Multi-run stability check
arcade evals --num-runs 5 --seed random --multi-run-pass-rule majority -o stability.html
 
# Parallel execution
arcade evals --max-concurrent 5
 
# Capture baseline
arcade evals --capture -o baseline.json

Key Flags

Flag	Short	Description
`--details`	`-d`	Show detailed results
`--only-failed`	`-f`	Filter failed tests
`--output`	`-o`	Output file(s)
`--use-provider`	`-p`	Select provider/model
`--api-key`	`-k`	Provider API key
`--num-runs`	`-n`	Runs per case
`--seed`		Seed policy for OpenAI runs
`--multi-run-pass-rule`		Pass rule for multi-run
`--capture`		Capture mode
`--include-context`		Add system messages
`--max-concurrent`	`-c`	Parallel runs

Use --capture to generate expected calls, then run normal evals to validate.

⚙️MCP Server Options

—host	Bind address (127.0.0.1)
—port	Port number (8000)
—reload	Auto-reload on changes
—debug	Verbose logging
—tool-package	Load specific package
—discover-installed	Find arcade-* packages
—show-packages	List loaded packages
—env-file	Path to .env file
—name	Server name
—version	Server version
—otel-enable	Send logs to OTel

🚩Global Flags

Available on most commands:

Flag	Description
`-h`, `--help`	Show command help
`-v`, `--version`	Show CLI version
`-d`, `--debug`	Enable debug output
`--host <url>`	Arcade Engine host
`--port <port>`	Arcade Engine port
`--tls`	Force TLS connection
`--no-tls`	Disable TLS connection

Use --debug when troubleshooting issues

🌐Environment Variables

Set these in your shell or .env file:

Variable	Description
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	OpenAI API key (for evals)
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Anthropic API key (for evals)
`ARCADE_API_BASE_URL`	Override Arcade API URL

Terminal


# In shell
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
 
# Or in .env file
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

PowerShell session example:

Terminal


$env:OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."
$env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."

📂Project Structure

Minimal Template (`arcade new my_server`)

my_server/ ├── pyproject.toml # Dependencies & metadata └── src/my_server/ ├── init.py └── server.py # MCPApp entry point

Full Template (`arcade new my_server --full`)

my_server/ ├── pyproject.toml # Dependencies & metadata ├── .pre-commit-config.yaml # Git hooks ├── .ruff.toml # Linter config ├── Makefile # Common commands ├── LICENSE ├── README.md ├── my_server/ # Package directory │ ├── init.py │ └── / │ ├── init.py │ └── hello.py # Example tool ├── tests/ │ ├── init.py │ └── test_my_server.py └── evals/ └── eval_my_server.py # Evaluation suites

Add .env (local secrets) and .env.example (template) to your .

🔧Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Error	Solution
”Not logged in”	Run `arcade login`
”Legacy credentials”	Run `arcade logout` then `arcade login`
”Module not found”	Run `uv pip install arcade-mcp[evals]`
”Server not healthy”	Check `arcade server logs <name> -f`
”No tools found”	Verify `--tool-package` or `--discover-installed`
”Command not found after upgrade”	Re-authenticate: `arcade logout && arcade login`

After Upgrading

If you encounter issues after upgrading the CLI:

Terminal


arcade logout          # Clear old credentials
arcade login           # Re-authenticate
arcade whoami          # Verify login status

Debug Tips

Terminal


arcade --debug <command>      # Verbose output
arcade server logs <name> -f  # Stream live logs
arcade show --local           # Verify local tools

💡Pro Tips

Use --reload during development for faster iteration
Use stdio transport for Claude Desktop and Cursor
Use http transport for web testing and debugging
Always set secrets before deploying servers
Run evaluations before every deploy
Use --full template for production
Check logs immediately after deploying
Use --debug flag to see detailed request info
Keep .env.example updated for your team
Use project when working with multiple

📝Typical Workflow

Standard development cycle for building servers:

arcade login — Authenticate with Arcade Cloud
arcade new my_server — Create (Minimal template)
Edit src/my_server/server.py — Add your
arcade mcp http --reload — Run locally with hot reload
arcade configure cursor — Connect your IDE
Test in IDE — Verify functionality
arcade evals — Run evaluation suites
arcade secret set --from-env — Sync secrets
arcade deploy — Deploy to cloud (requires server.py entrypoint)
arcade server logs -f — Monitor logs

Arcade CLI cheat sheet

Minimal Template (Quick Start)

Full Template (Production)

Options

Transport Types

Examples

Options

Supported Clients

Options

Options

Secrets Handling

Time Range Options

List Secrets

Set Secrets

From .env File

Delete Secrets

Basic Usage

Capture Mode

Provider Selection

Output Formats

Common Workflows

Key Flags

Minimal Template (arcade new my_server)

Full Template (arcade new my_server --full)

Common Issues

After Upgrading

Debug Tips

From `.env` File

Minimal Template (`arcade new my_server`)

Full Template (`arcade new my_server --full`)