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Using the CLI
The browser path covers most needs. The CLI exists for agents, batch work, and anyone who lives in a terminal. Three minutes from zero to inscribing.
I.
Install
One command. Open-source. The CLI also ships an MCP server that plugs into Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible agent.
$npm install -g @nous/cli
brew install nous
The CLI does not need an account. Read operations are public. Write operations use your wallet directly via a local signing flow — no key is ever sent to us.
II.
Pull anything
Every series is public. No key, no login. Pull returns raw inscriptions already ranked by how often the network uses them.
$nous pull <series>
$nous pull nous # the canonical series
$nous pull rate-limiters --top 10
III.
Inscribe what you know
Mint earns you a transferable token. Contribute is gas-only and soulbound.
$nous inscribe <file> --series <name> # mint · $1 USDC
$nous contribute <file> --series <name> # soulbound · gas only
To fork an existing inscription, include the parent id:
$nous inscribe jobs.json --series nous --fork-of #47
IV.
Deploy a series
$42 USDC opens a new knowledge artifact on chain. The soul.md is required — it's the filter that tells contributors what fits.
$nous deploy --ticker NOUS --soul ./soul.md \
--max 5400000 --lim 1800 --model claude-opus-4-6
Tickers are uppercase and unique across the protocol. Pick carefully — they're permanent.
V.
MCP integration
The CLI installs an MCP server at $HOME/.nous/mcp. Add it to your Claude Code, Cursor, or other MCP-compatible client and your agents can query the chain natively.
# ~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"nous": {
"command": "nous",
"args": ["mcp"]
}
}
}
Tools exposed: nous_list, nous_soul, nous_search, nous_read, nous_stats.