--- name: cli-terminal-ideas description: "The owner's full idea set for the CLI / command-prompt terminal, so it feels useful and fun rather than a useless addition. Owner-approved in full EXCEPT the self-destruct joke (explicitly cut). Includes his window-UX spec and the guardrails." metadata: node_type: project originSessionId: 0b7c5f41-bb34-4ab4-93be-fdb363f5eb40 --- Owner 2026-07-08: *"give me every idea for the CLI terminal so it doesn't become a useless addition (mostly for fun anyway but should feel useful/fun)."* ⭐ **OWNER APPROVED ALL OF THE BELOW** (2026-07-08: *"add all of those minus the self destruct thing"*) — build the full command set **EXCEPT the SELF-DESTRUCT joke, which he CUT.** Don't reintroduce it. For the OS-round command prompt ([[robco-os-architecture]] Launcher + Command Language). The CLI **formalizes and extends** the existing native commands and the terminal-mode stat/quick-log grammar — it is **additive** to the touch/bezel path, which stays first-class. *Trimmed 2026-07-20: the inline list of already-shipped native commands, protocol numbers and the version tag were removed — see `library/CODE_MAP.md` and `QUEUE.md`. The ideas and the owner's rulings are untouched.* ## REAL UTILITY (faster than touch — the core justification) - **Query:** CONSULT/LOOKUP `<topic>`, SCAN/THREAT `<target>`, INV/MANIFEST `[category]`, QUESTS `[active|done|failed]`, PERKS, SKILLS, FACTIONS, STATUS, RECORD. - **State edits** (extend the terminal grammar): SET `<stat> <n>`, `+N <stat>`, HEAL, USE `<item>`, EQUIP `<item>`, LEVEL UP, TRAVEL `<loc>`, GIVE `<n>` caps, ADD `<item>` [xN], NOTE `<text>`, LOG `<event>`, quick-logs (killed / caps / arrived / rep). - **Tools:** VATS, TRADE, THREAT, BIO-SCAN, LOOT, CRAFT, REPAIR. - **Save/data:** SAVE, LOAD, EXPORT, BACKUP, SYNC (cloud). - **Bulk/efficiency:** chaining (comma / `;` / `&&` — comma already works), batch quick-logs. ## FILESYSTEM / OS NAV DIR becomes the filesystem ([[per-game-device-form]], [[robco-os-architecture]]): LS/DIR, CD `<path>`, CAT/READ `<file>`, OPEN `<doc>`, HELP/MAN `<cmd>` → SYSTEM/MANUALS/, FIND `<term>` (search records + filesystem), TREE. Plus INTERCEPT (scan transmissions), CARTRIDGE (data cartridges), BOOTLOG, LOGS. ## SYSTEM / DIAGNOSTICS STATUS, DIAG/DIAGNOSTICS (→ readable diagnostics), UPTIME, VERSION, CACHE, FLAGS, CLEAR/CLS, REBOOT, SHUTDOWN, WHOAMI (operator identity), MOTD (message of the day / broadcast). ## POWER-USER (make it feel like a real shell) Command HISTORY (up/down arrow), TAB-completion, ALIAS `<a> <cmd>`, MACRO `<name>` / MACRO DEFINE (chain commands — e.g. "PREP FOR COMBAT" → manifest + equip + threat), command chaining, `!` recall. ## FUN / DIEGETIC / EASTER EGGS (the "feels alive" layer) - **HACK** — launches the Fallout word-guess HACKING MINIGAME. **This is the canonical dev-console unlock** (ties [[docked-ideas]] minigame). - RADIO ON/OFF, TUNE `<station>` (control the synth radio), TUNES. - OPTICS/THEME `<color>` (phosphor colour), CRT/SCANLINES toggle, BOOT (replay boot), LOGO/VAULTBOY/BANNER `<text>` (ASCII art). - WAR (*"War. War never changes."*), FORTUNE (Fallout-flavoured quote), NUKA (dispense a Nuka-Cola ASCII), SUDO (RobCo denies it — "ACCESS DENIED — NICE TRY"), HELLO/GREETINGS, LORE `<topic>`. - ⛔ **SELF-DESTRUCT joke — CUT by the owner 2026-07-08. Do not re-add.** - Diegetic error messages ("COMMAND NOT RECOGNIZED — CONSULT SYSTEM/MANUALS/"), a blinking cursor and typed-echo feel. ## META / UNLOCKS HACK → minigame → unlocks the DIAGNOSTIC SHELL (prod-safe tools). Also: a command to spawn dev tools **without** the minigame (prod-safe, low risk), and a **secret/undocumented command to enable full staging tools on prod** — the owner's backdoor. See [[docked-ideas]] CLI unlock commands. **This is convenience, not security** — never treat the hack-unlock as a security boundary. ## ⭐ CLI WINDOW / UX SPEC (owner 2026-07-08) The command prompt behaves like a **REAL desktop terminal window**: - **LOOKS like a normal PC command prompt on desktop** — classic terminal window: title bar, prompt line, blinking cursor, monospaced, scrollback — and **REMAINS GOOD/usable on MOBILE.** Adapt the window UX to touch (likely a bottom-sheet/overlay with an on-screen input plus the mobile keyboard). **Don't just shrink the desktop window.** - **PERSISTS ACROSS ALL TABS/subsystems** — it's a global surface, not tied to one tab. Open it anywhere, it stays. - **DRAWS OVER EVERYTHING** — a top-layer overlay/window floating above the app: fixed position, high z-index, body-level, so it survives the casing filter/transform states. - **RESIZABLE** (drag), **FULL-SCREENABLE** (maximize toggle), **CLOSABLE** (close button) — all the normal window controls; ideally draggable/movable too. - ⭐ **REUSE the DIAGNOSTIC SHELL overlay/window infrastructure where possible** — it already solved body-level fixed overlay, drawer, drag/resize and the mobile bottom-sheet. **The CLI window is a sibling pattern, not a fork.** Reduced-motion safe, accessible (focus/keyboard), mobile-first. ## GUARDRAILS Additive power-path — **touch/bezel stays first-class** (mobile + a11y + game-agnostic). **Every command routes through EXISTING native setters/functions — no forked logic.** Player-control: deterministic, no AI unless a command explicitly invokes the Director. On mobile a CLI needs a genuinely good typed-input UX; design for touch, not just for a keyboard.