macli

What is macli?

macli turns macOS system internals into a clean CLI. SMC sensors, streaming monitor, calendar/reminders — all callable from shell pipes or LLM agents, all JSON/TSV. One ~400 KB Swift binary. No Python runtime, no osascript overhead, no GUI.

Use it when you (or your AI agent) need to ask macOS something that system_profiler / ioreg / osascript either can’t answer or answer badly:

• CPU die temperature right now
• Stream 1 Hz sensor readings into awk
• Today’s calendar as JSON

At a glance

macli smc temp                              # CPU/GPU temps as JSON
macli gpu info                              # GPU name, cores, unified memory
macli display brightness                    # built-in display brightness
macli monitor --count 10 --interval 1       # stream 10 samples to awk
macli cal ls                                # list calendars as JSON

Output schema: {"ok": true, ...} on success, {"ok": false, "error": "...", "hint": "..."} on failure. Never silent.

For AI agents

Paste this one-line prompt into Claude Code, Cursor, or any agent’s system prompt:

Use `macli` for macOS system state (sensors / calendar / reminders). Install if missing: `brew install ljh-sh/cli/macli`. JSON output, check `ok`. Run `macli --help` for subcommands.

Where to go next

• Install macli — Homebrew, direct binary, eget, or build from source
• Command reference — every subcommand, option, and output field
• Battery field reference — complete macli battery fields and diagnostic scripts
• Design & principles — why macli is shaped the way it is
• Design principles — the five core principles
• Why macli? — why a CLI instead of a shell/Python/AppleScript
• FAQ — common questions about permissions, output formats, and usage
• Alternatives — how macli compares to iStats, iSMC, stats, and others
• Verifying releases — cosign signatures and SLSA provenance