Use the NOW command line¶

Install `now`¶

The release app bundles the CLI at:

/Applications/New Old World.app/Contents/Resources/bin/now

Copy New Old World.app into /Applications before installing the command; a symlink into the mounted DMG stops working after ejecting it. Then run:

"/Applications/New Old World.app/Contents/Resources/bin/install-now-cli"

This creates ~/.local/bin/now and refuses to replace an unrelated command. Add ~/.local/bin to PATH if the installer asks. --prefix /absolute/path selects another prefix; --force is required to replace a destination the installer does not own.

From a repository checkout, run now-cli/install-now-cli. The development entry point now-cli/now remains directly executable too. The CLI requires Python 3.9 or newer and uses only the standard library.

Start the HTTP service in NOW. The CLI uses the host's private application key automatically. NOW_API_KEY or --api-key supplies an invocation-specific key; NOW_API_ENDPOINT or --endpoint selects another loopback endpoint. V1 refuses non-loopback endpoints.

Choose and inspect a guest¶

now guests list
now guests status pb1400c
now guests use pb1400c

guests use stores only the stable preferred guest ID. Mutations still fetch and send the exact live session ID, so a reconnect cannot silently retarget an operation.

Manage connections¶

now connections list
now connections start
now connections disconnect <guest-session-id>
now connections stop

start starts the host listener so guests may dial in. It does not initiate an outbound connection. disconnect closes one exact session; an auto-reconnecting guest may return. stop stops accepting and closes all current sessions. Disruptive commands prompt on a terminal; use --yes only in an intentional non-interactive workflow.

Run console commands¶

now --guest pb1400c console gestalt
now --guest pb1400c console catalog applications
now --guest pb1400c console catalog --arguments '{"domain":"applications"}'

The command must be advertised by that live guest. Choose either one raw argument line or a typed JSON object. NOW uses the guest's existing console dispatcher and watchdog; this is not a host shell.

Work with guest files¶

now --guest pb1400c files list 'Macintosh HD:Lab:'
now --guest pb1400c files stat 'Macintosh HD:Lab:Report'
now --guest pb1400c files mkdir 'Macintosh HD:Lab:Exports:'
now --guest pb1400c files move 'Macintosh HD:Lab:Old' 'Macintosh HD:Lab:New'
now --guest pb1400c files trash 'Macintosh HD:Lab:Old'
now --guest pb1400c files restore 'Old' 'Macintosh HD:Lab:Old'
now --guest pb1400c files put ./DiskCopy.img 'Macintosh HD:Lab:DiskCopy.img'
now --guest pb1400c files get 'Macintosh HD:Lab:Report' ./Report.bin

files get refuses to overwrite a local destination unless --force is present. Downloads use a mode-0600 same-directory temporary file and replace the destination only after completion. Uploads are hashed first and sent in bounded chunks. Ctrl-C attempts to cancel the transfer and removes an unfinished local download.

Use --container macbinary when the source is a MacBinary container whose forks and Finder metadata must be restored. A single transfer is limited to 32 MiB.

Inspect and cancel transfers¶

now transfers list
now transfers status <transfer-id>
now transfers cancel <transfer-id>
now events watch

There is no separate transfers watch command in v1. Use events watch for live change hints, then refetch transfers status; events are not complete transfer state and are not replayed after reconnect.

Script safely¶

Add --json for the API response shape:

now --json guests list
now --json --guest pb1400c console gestalt
now --json api operations
now --json api call guests.facts --session <guest-session-id> \
  --json-arguments '{}'

Generic mutating operations require --session with an exact guest session. The CLI refuses an unsupported API major before mutation. Exit status 0 means completed; 2 invalid invocation or refusal, 3 unavailable, 4 transport/authentication failure, 5 incompatible API response, and 6 failed operation. An interrupted event or transfer watch exits 130.

Bash completion lives at New Old World.app/Contents/Resources/completions/now.bash; Zsh completion is the sibling _now file. Repository copies live under now-cli/completion/.