CLI Reference

A concise reference for Melange CLI commands, output, authentication, and automation.

melange uses human-readable tables in a terminal and structured output for scripts and agents. Run melange <command> --help for every flag and example.

Command groups

Command	Purpose
`melange auth`	Sign in, inspect authentication, print the resolved token, or sign out
`melange library`	Search and inspect public library repositories and providers
`melange repo`	List, inspect, create, edit, and delete repositories
`melange model`	Upload, import, inspect, monitor, download, and manage repository models
`melange report`	Read general, LLM, and package benchmark reports
`melange deploy`	List deployment options and generate exact SDK deployment guides
`melange usage`	Inspect current usage and plan quotas
`melange mcp`	Serve the MCP server (stdio or Streamable HTTP) — 18 tools (17 over HTTP)
`melange api`	Call a public `/v1` endpoint that does not yet have a dedicated command

melange model download is billable. Repository deletion and other consequential commands require confirmation. Agents should resolve the complete target and ask the user before passing --yes.

Structured output

These flags are shared by server-backed commands:

Flag	Behavior
`--json`	Print the complete documented JSON result
`--jq EXPRESSION`	Filter JSON and print the selected value
`--template TEMPLATE`	Format JSON with a Go template
`--paginate` / `--all`	Fetch every page and merge list results where supported

Data is written to standard output. Progress and diagnostics are written to standard error. Prefer --json or --jq for scripts and agents.

melange repo list --paginate --jq '.results[].full_name'
melange usage quotas --json

In a terminal, lists print as aligned tables under a ruled header with a row count, and detail commands print aligned Label: value blocks. When output is piped or redirected, the same commands print headerless tab-separated values — stable for scripts.

--format selects that layout explicitly instead of by detection:

Value	Behavior
`auto`	Table in a terminal, tab-separated values otherwise (default)
`table`	Force the table, for example when piping into a pager
`tsv`	Force tab-separated values in a terminal

--format also governs value formatting, so a forced table shows relative times and human byte sizes, and forced tsv shows RFC 3339 timestamps and raw byte counts. It never adds color to a non-terminal; color follows NO_COLOR and TERM=dumb.

melange model list -R acme/whisper --format table | less -R

Agents should leave --format at auto and read --json.

Repository and model targeting

Repositories use ACCOUNT/REPO. Every melange model command requires an explicit -R ACCOUNT/REPO; model keys are not repository names.

melange model list -R zetic/whisper-tiny --json
melange model status MODEL_KEY -R zetic/whisper-tiny --json

Public Hugging Face IDs and Melange repository names may look similar. Use the repository and model identifiers returned by Melange instead of guessing.

Environment

Variable	Purpose
`MELANGE_API_KEY`	Use an access token or PAT from the environment; highest credential priority
`MELANGE_API_KEY_FILE`	Read a credential from a file and fail if the file is unavailable
`MELANGE_HOST`	Override the API host; defaults to `https://api.zetic.ai`
`MELANGE_API_TIMEOUT`	Set the timeout for an ordinary API call, such as `45s` or `2m`
`MELANGE_DEBUG`	Log sanitized request and response lines to standard error
`NO_COLOR`	Disable colored output
`TERM=dumb`	Disable colored output

Credential precedence is:

MELANGE_API_KEY
  > MELANGE_API_KEY_FILE
  > OAuth (operating system keyring or config, auto-refreshed)
  > PAT in the operating system keyring
  > PAT config fallback

Run melange auth status to see the active API host and credential source without revealing the token. Use melange help environment for config and state-file locations.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning	Recommended action
`0`	Success	Continue
`1`	API, network, or command failure	Inspect the error; it may be transient
`2`	Invalid arguments or flags	Fix the command; do not retry unchanged
`4`	Missing or rejected credentials	Authenticate again
`130`	Interrupted	Treat as cancellation; upload sessions are preserved

Use --no-input when automation must never prompt.

melange help environment
melange help formatting
melange help exit-codes

CLI Reference

Command groups

Structured output

Human output

Repository and model targeting

Environment

Exit codes

Full command help

Generated command reference

Melange CLI on GitHub

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