CLI Reference
The CLI is available as npx antora-tracer after installing the extension.
npx antora-tracer --help
npx antora-tracer <command> --help
Global options (--config, --preset) are inherited by all commands.
process
Process AsciiDoc files to populate the traceability graph.
npx antora-tracer process -i docs/ --preset requirements-engineering
npx antora-tracer process -i requirements.adoc --config ./traceability.yml
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string (required) |
Input file or directory |
|
string |
Output directory (default: |
|
string |
Output format: |
|
string |
Built-in preset name |
|
string |
Custom traceability YAML file |
matrix
Generate traceability matrices from processed items.
npx antora-tracer matrix -i docs/ -t requirements-to-design -f html
npx antora-tracer matrix -t requirements-to-design -f csv -o matrix.csv
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string |
Input file to process first (optional) |
|
string (required) |
Matrix name from your config |
|
string |
Output format: |
|
string |
Output file (defaults to stdout) |
validate
Validate the traceability graph for dangling references (missing targets), invalid relations, duplicate item IDs, and circular references.
npx antora-tracer validate -i docs/ --preset requirements-engineering
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string (required) |
Input file or directory to validate |
|
string |
Built-in preset |
|
string |
Custom traceability YAML |
Exits with non-zero code if errors are found.
export neo4j
Export the graph to Neo4j-compatible formats.
Supply either -i <dir> (a local directory) or a playbook path (every component and repository in the playbook).
npx antora-tracer export neo4j -i docs/ --format csv -o ./neo4j-export/
npx antora-tracer export neo4j antora-playbook.yml --format cypher -o ./neo4j-export/
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string (positional) |
Antora playbook to harvest across components and repositories.
Required when |
|
string |
Input file or directory to process first. Required when no playbook is given. |
|
string (required) |
|
|
string (required) |
Output directory |
stats
Display role statistics for the current graph.
npx antora-tracer stats -i docs/ --preset requirements-engineering
Output shows item counts per role and relationship counts.
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string |
Input file or directory to process first |
|
string |
Built-in preset |
|
string |
Custom traceability YAML |
preset show
Show a preset’s configuration details.
npx antora-tracer preset show requirements-engineering
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string (argument) |
Preset name (required) |
preset init
Write a preset’s traceability YAML to a file for customization.
npx antora-tracer preset init -n medical-iec62304 -o ./config/
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string (required) |
Preset name |
|
string |
Output directory (default: current directory) |
next-id
Get the next available sequential ID for a given prefix.
npx antora-tracer next-id --prefix REQ -i docs/
npx antora-tracer next-id --prefix TST -i test-plan.adoc
npx antora-tracer next-id --prefix REQ --local -i docs/
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string (required) |
ID prefix, e.g. |
|
string |
Input file or directory to scan for existing IDs. Required for a local scan; ignored when a remote allocator is used. |
|
flag |
Force a local scan, ignoring any configured |
Auto-detects padding from existing IDs.
If REQ-001 and REQ-002 exist, returns REQ-003.
If TST-0001 exists, returns TST-0002.
With no existing items matching the prefix, defaults to 3-digit padding (REQ-001).
When idAllocation.endpoint is configured, next-id requests the next ID from the allocator and prints its id verbatim.
A configured-but-unreachable allocator, a non-2xx response, or a malformed body exits with an error instead of falling back to a local ID.
Pass --local to override.
See Configuration Reference for the idAllocation key and Run the ID allocation server for the service.
seed
Export allocator seed values for the ID allocation server.
For each ID prefix found in the scanned items, it reports the numeric max+1 value as a start seed, so the server continues from existing local IDs instead of colliding at 001.
npx antora-tracer seed -i docs/
npx antora-tracer seed antora-playbook.yml
The command accepts either -i <dir> (scan a directory) or a playbook path (harvest every component and repository in the playbook).
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string |
Input file or directory to scan. Required when no playbook is given. |
|
string (positional) |
Antora playbook to harvest across components and repositories. |
|
string |
Write the seed file instead of printing to stdout. |
The output is a prefixes: map consumable directly as the server’s seed configuration:
prefixes:
REQ:
start: 55
width: 3
start is max+1 — the first ID the server allocates — never the current maximum and never a formatted REQ-055 string.
See Run the ID allocation server for the seeding workflow.
role-guidance
Resolve and report the authoring guidance for a role. Prints the resolved guidance page path and the ID prefix fallback:
$ antora-tracer role-guidance requirement --preset requirements-engineering
page: /path/to/guidance/requirement.adoc
idPrefix: REQ
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
|
The role name to resolve (positional) |
|
Also output the full guidance page content |
Exits non-zero with "No guidance for role" when the role has no roleGuidance entry.
The idPrefix is advisory; existing project conventions win.
query
Query the traceability graph directly from the command line — no Antora build required.
Parses your .adoc source files and answers one structural question per invocation.
npx antora-tracer query reverse REQ-005
npx antora-tracer query reverse REQ-005 -i docs/
npx antora-tracer query impact REQ-005 --json
npx antora-tracer query isolated --role requirement
npx antora-tracer query orphaned
npx antora-tracer query path TST-001 REQ-001
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string |
Input file or directory to scan (default: |
|
flag |
Output machine-readable JSON instead of a table |
|
string |
For |
Subcommands:
| Subcommand | Description |
|---|---|
|
List every item that references |
|
List every item transitively connected to |
|
List items with no relationships (optionally |
|
List superseded items with no incoming functional links (optionally |
|
Print the shortest relationship path between two items |
Exit codes: 0 for success (including empty results), 1 for an unknown item ID or when no path exists.
supersession
Inspect supersession relationships without an Antora build.
The check subcommand reports whether an item has been superseded, its direct successors, and every functional link that still targets it and therefore requires review.
npx antora-tracer supersession check REQ-042
npx antora-tracer supersession check REQ-042 -i docs/
npx antora-tracer supersession check REQ-042 --impact
npx antora-tracer supersession check REQ-042 --json
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string |
Input file or directory to scan (default: |
|
flag |
Output machine-readable JSON instead of a table |
|
flag |
Also report the transitive impact radius |
The command is read-only: it never modifies source files.
A superseded item is identified by an incoming supersedes relationship, not by a status attribute.
History relationships (supersedes / superseded_by) are excluded from the review list.
archive
Move a superseded item’s block to the module’s parallel superseded.adoc page.
The block is removed from its source file and appended to superseded.adoc in the same directory, which is created with a heading if missing.
npx antora-tracer archive REQ-129
npx antora-tracer archive REQ-129 -i docs/
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string |
Input file or directory to scan (default: |
Only superseded items can be archived — a non-superseded or unknown ID is rejected with no file change.
remove
Remove an orphaned or isolated item’s block from its source file.
Orphaned items (superseded, no incoming functional links) are removed after a y/N confirmation; isolated items (no relationships at all) require typing the item ID verbatim.
npx antora-tracer remove REQ-129
npx antora-tracer remove REQ-129 -i docs/
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string |
Input file or directory to scan (default: |
The command previews the block before prompting. Any other item (neither orphaned nor isolated) is rejected with no file change. Git preserves history, so removal is safe once an item is orphaned.
diff
Diff two sets of AsciiDoc sources into a traceability delta. Builds two graphs (baseline and changed) and reports items added, removed, and modified, plus relationship changes on surviving items.
npx antora-tracer diff --from docs-v1 --to docs-v2
npx antora-tracer diff --from docs-v1 --to docs-v2 --json
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string |
Baseline input file or directory (default: |
|
string |
Changed input file or directory (default: |
|
flag |
Output machine-readable JSON instead of a table |
Items are matched by stable ID, so the diff works with any role or relation vocabulary.
A modified item lists the changed fields (title, content, role, status, attributes).
Relationship changes are reported only for items that survive the diff, except supersedes history links.
The command never modifies source files.
site-graph
Build the full cross-source traceability graph from an Antora playbook and emit a canonical JSON snapshot. The harvest runs Antora’s content aggregation and classification stages only — no HTML, PDF, or DOCX output is produced — so it captures items from every content source, component, and version the playbook resolves.
npx antora-tracer site-graph antora-playbook.yml --out snapshot.json
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string |
Path to the Antora playbook file (positional argument) |
|
string |
Write the snapshot to a file instead of stdout |
Each item in the snapshot carries component, module, and version scope.
The snapshot is versioned (format: 1) and omits per-page pubUrl fields.
Requires the optional @antora/content-aggregator, @antora/content-classifier, and @antora/playbook-builder packages.
diff-graphs
Diff two JSON graph snapshots into a traceability delta without checking out either version’s sources.
The snapshots are produced by site-graph (or by the extension’s per-version graph.json attachment).
npx antora-tracer diff-graphs --from v1.json --to v2.json
npx antora-tracer diff-graphs --from v1.json --to v2.json --json
| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
string |
Baseline snapshot JSON file (required) |
|
string |
Changed snapshot JSON file (required) |
|
flag |
Output machine-readable JSON instead of a table |
Items are matched by component-qualified identity (component + version + ID), falling back to bare ID for items without a component.
An unknown format value is rejected with a prompt to re-run site-graph.
Related
-
How to write traceable items — using next-id in workflow
-
How to export to Neo4j — Neo4j export workflow How to query the graph from the command line — query subcommands and examples
-
Presets Reference — preset definitions