ByteRover CLI - Context Engineering Platform

ByteRover is a context engineering platform that lets you curate context for your coding agents—patterns, decisions, and learnings. It automatically syncs context across team members and eliminates manual markdown file management.

Configuration

API credentials are stored in

~/.clawdbot/byterover-config.json

:

{

"apiKey"

:

"your_byterover_api_key_here"

,

"team"

:

"your_team_name"

,

"space"

:

"your_space_name"

}

Docker-Based Usage

ByteRover CLI requires Node.js 20+ and libsecret for credential storage. This skill uses Docker to provide an isolated environment with all dependencies.

Start ByteRover Container

cd

~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover

docker-compose

up

-d

Run Commands in Container

Login with API Key:

docker-compose

exec

byterover brv login --api-key

$BRV_API_KEY

Initialize Project:

docker-compose

exec

byterover brv init

--headless

--team

"

$BRV_TEAM

"

--space

"

$BRV_SPACE

"

Check Status:

docker-compose

exec

byterover brv status

--headless

--format

json

Query Context:

docker-compose

exec

byterover brv query

"What are the testing strategies?"

--headless

--format

json

Curate Context:

docker-compose

exec

byterover brv curate

"Make sure to document API authentication patterns"

--headless

--format

json

Push Changes:

docker-compose

exec

byterover brv push

--headless

--format

json

Pull Changes:

docker-compose

exec

byterover brv pull

--headless

--format

json

Headless Mode

ByteRover CLI supports headless mode for automation and scripting. Headless mode disables interactive prompts and supports machine-readable JSON output.

Supported Commands with --headless

brv init

(requires

--team

and

--space

)

brv status

brv query

brv curate

brv push

(auto-skips confirmation)

brv pull

Output Formats

Use

--format

to control output:

text

(default): Human-readable text output

json

NDJSON (newline-delimited JSON) for machine parsing API Key Authentication Instead of OAuth browser flow, use API key for headless environments: brv login --api-key $BRV_API_KEY Context Tree The Context Tree is ByteRover's structured knowledge system that organizes project context into domains: Structure - Project architecture and patterns Database - Schema, migrations, relationships Backend - API endpoints, business logic Frontend - UI components, state management Testing - Test strategies, fixtures Deployment - Infrastructure, CI/CD Documentation - Guides, API docs Usage Examples For AI Coding Agents Prompt your coding agent: Use brv query command to check what authentication patterns are used in this project Agent will execute: brv query "What authentication patterns are used?" --headless --format json Manual Usage Check project status: ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover/docker-compose exec byterover brv status Add context from terminal: ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover/docker-compose exec byterover brv curate "Document the API rate limiting strategy" Query specific knowledge: ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover/docker-compose exec byterover brv query "How do we handle rate limiting?" Helper Scripts Quick Status Check

!/bin/bash

~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover/scripts/status.sh

CONFIG

$( cat ~/.clawdbot/byterover-config.json ) API_KEY = $( echo " $CONFIG " | jq -r '.apiKey' ) TEAM = $( echo " $CONFIG " | jq -r '.team' ) SPACE = $( echo " $CONFIG " | jq -r '.space' ) cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover BRV_API_KEY = " $API_KEY " BRV_TEAM = " $TEAM " BRV_SPACE = " $SPACE " \ docker-compose exec -T byterover brv status --headless --format json Query Context

!/bin/bash

~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover/scripts/query.sh

QUERY

" ${1 :- project overview} " CONFIG = $( cat ~/.clawdbot/byterover-config.json ) API_KEY = $( echo " $CONFIG " | jq -r '.apiKey' ) TEAM = $( echo " $CONFIG " | jq -r '.team' ) SPACE = $( echo " $CONFIG " | jq -r '.space' ) cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover BRV_API_KEY = " $API_KEY " BRV_TEAM = " $TEAM " BRV_SPACE = " $SPACE " \ docker-compose exec -T byterover brv query " $QUERY " --headless --format json Add Context

!/bin/bash

~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover/scripts/curate.sh

CONTEXT

" ${1} " CONFIG = $( cat ~/.clawdbot/byterover-config.json ) API_KEY = $( echo " $CONFIG " | jq -r '.apiKey' ) TEAM = $( echo " $CONFIG " | jq -r '.team' ) SPACE = $( echo " $CONFIG " | jq -r '.space' ) cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover BRV_API_KEY = " $API_KEY " BRV_TEAM = " $TEAM " BRV_SPACE = " $SPACE " \ docker-compose exec -T byterover brv curate " $CONTEXT " --headless --format json Sync Changes

!/bin/bash

~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover/scripts/sync.sh

CONFIG

$(

cat

~/.clawdbot/byterover-config.json

)

API_KEY

=

$(

echo

"

$CONFIG

"

|

jq

-r

'.apiKey'

)

TEAM

=

$(

echo

"

$CONFIG

"

|

jq

-r

'.team'

)

SPACE

=

$(

echo

"

$CONFIG

"

|

jq

-r

'.space'

)

cd

~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover

echo

"Pulling latest context..."

BRV_API_KEY

=

"

$API_KEY

"

BRV_TEAM

=

"

$TEAM

"

BRV_SPACE

=

"

$SPACE

"

\

docker-compose

exec

-T

byterover brv pull

--headless

--format

json

echo

"Pushing local changes..."

BRV_API_KEY

=

"

$API_KEY

"

BRV_TEAM

=

"

$TEAM

"

BRV_SPACE

=

"

$SPACE

"

\

docker-compose

exec

-T

byterover brv push

--headless

--format

json

Docker Management

Build image:

cd

~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/byterover

docker-compose

build

Start container:

docker-compose

up

-d

Stop container:

docker-compose

down

View logs:

docker-compose

logs

-f

Enter container shell:

docker-compose

exec

byterover

bash

Integration with AI Agents

ByteRover provides multiple integration methods:

1. Skill Files (Claude Code, Cursor)

Modern, discoverable skill files that agents can inspect and execute automatically.

2. MCP Tools (Universal)

Model Context Protocol tools for broad agent compatibility.

3. Rules-Based (Legacy)

Generated rule files for older integrations.

JSON Output Structure

NDJSON format with message types:

log

Progress messages

output

Main output content

error

Error messages

warning

Warning messages

result

Final operation result Environment Variables BRV_API_KEY - ByteRover API key BRV_TEAM - Team name BRV_SPACE - Space name BRV_HEADLESS - Enable headless mode (true) BRV_FORMAT - Output format (json/text) Notes ByteRover requires a browser-based OAuth flow for first-time setup API key authentication bypasses OAuth for headless environments Context is automatically synced across team members No markdown files cluttering your codebase Works with 19+ AI coding agents Troubleshooting Build fails: Ensure Docker daemon is running Check that port 80/443 is available Login fails: Verify API key is valid Check team and space names are correct Container exits: Check logs: docker-compose logs Ensure /workspace is mounted correctly Query returns no results: Initialize project with brv init Add context with brv curate Sync with brv pull Requirements Docker Docker Compose ByteRover account Active team and space License MIT Author Created for OpenClaw by Jun Suzuki For more information about ByteRover, visit: https://docs.byterover.dev/