Crab CLI command index

Use this index to move from a task to the relevant Crab command. Reference pages explain the higher-use commands and workflows. The installed binary remains authoritative for its exact option set: run crab <command> --help.

Running crab --help shows these same top-level commands in task-oriented sections. The sections are visual navigation only; commands remain directly available as crab hydrate, crab exp, crab gc, and so on.

The CLI also exposes aliases such as crab get for crab download and crab repro for crab run. Internal Git filter and remote-helper entry points are intentionally omitted from this user-facing index.

From task to verified command

Scroll horizontally to explore the full diagram →

Choose a command family here, inspect the installed help, run the command, then verify its output or repository state.

Repository setup and transfer

Command	Purpose
`crab configure`	Guided cloud, credential, Git, and large-file setup
`crab init`	Initialize or re-apply a Crab repository connection
`crab setup`	Scan for large files and configure tracking
`crab clone`	Clone a repository with Crab filter and hydration setup
`crab mirror`	Mirror a Git remote into a Crab remote
`crab download`	Download selected files without cloning
`crab worktree`	Manage Crab-aware Git worktrees
`crab import`	Import a raw object-storage prefix into a Crab-backed repository
`crab export`	Export a Crab snapshot as materialized files
`crab install` / `crab uninstall`	Install or remove the Git filter driver

File workflow

Command	Purpose
`crab add`	Stage files through Crab chunking and deduplication
`crab reset`	Unstage files and clean Crab staging data
`crab track`	Add or list Crab tracking patterns
`crab untrack`	Remove a tracking pattern
`crab adopt`	Convert existing large files to Crab pointers
`crab unadopt`	Restore files converted by `crab adopt`
`crab undo`	Reverse a detected reversible Crab operation
`crab push`	Push through the native concurrent Crab pipeline
`crab pull`	Pull Git changes and hydrate new pointers
`crab ship`	Add, commit, and push in one command
`crab migrate`	Rewrite history into or out of Crab tracking

File inspection and hydration

Command	Purpose
`crab status`	Report working-tree hydration state
`crab why`	Explain tracking and hydration for one file
`crab hydrate`	Materialize pointer files
`crab dehydrate`	Replace materialized files with pointers
`crab fetch`	Pre-fetch remote objects into the local cache
`crab diff`	Compare file content between Git refs
`crab ls-files`	List Crab-tracked files and state
`crab du`	Show Crab-managed disk usage
`crab stat`	Show staging or performance statistics

Locks and storage maintenance

Command	Purpose
`crab lock`	Acquire advisory file locks
`crab unlock`	Release advisory file locks
`crab locks`	List active advisory file locks
`crab cache`	Inspect and manage the local chunk cache
`crab staging`	Inspect and manage the staging area
`crab gc`	Garbage-collect unreachable remote objects
`crab prune`	Evict local cache objects within configured budgets
`crab repack`	Consolidate remote Git packs
`crab compact`	Compact metadata shards
`crab optimize`	Optimize storage, indexes, caches, LFS, workflows, replicas, and repo posture
`crab tier`	Plan or roll back lifecycle tiering rules
`crab metadb`	Diagnose, rebuild, compact, and cache metadata databases
`crab replica`	Manage read replicas and replication operations

Workflow and experiments

Command	Purpose
`crab run`	Execute workflow stages with content-addressed caching
`crab repro`	DVC-compatible spelling for `crab run`
`crab stage`	Create or list workflow stages
`crab freeze`	Freeze workflow stages
`crab unfreeze`	Unfreeze workflow stages
`crab workflow`	Manage lockfiles, DAGs, journals, and stage caches
`crab exp`	Run and manage experiments
`crab queue`	Manage queued experiment tasks
`crab params`	Read or diff parameter files
`crab metrics`	Read or diff metrics files
`crab plots`	Render workflow plots and templates

Virtual filesystem and LFS

Command	Purpose
`crab mount`	Mount a repository for on-demand file access
`crab unmount`	Unmount one or all Crab filesystems
`crab daemon`	Run persistent named multi-repository mounts
`crab lfs`	Manage Git LFS compatibility commands

Authentication and managed services

Command	Purpose
`crab login`	Authenticate with an identity provider
`crab logout`	Clear cached credentials
`crab auth`	Inspect or refresh authentication state
`crab config`	Read and write Crab configuration
`crab env`	Print diagnostic environment information
`crab organization`	Manage organizations
`crab repo`	Manage logical repositories
`crab member`	Manage organization memberships
`crab service-account`	Manage service accounts

Diagnostics, release, and administration

Command	Purpose
`crab doctor`	Run comprehensive health checks
`crab fsck`	Verify repository integrity
`crab errors`	Look up Crab error codes
`crab logs`	Manage diagnostic logs
`crab audit`	Inspect and verify audit events
`crab release`	Create and verify release manifests
`crab recover`	Plan and apply repository recovery
`crab update`	Check for or install the latest release
`crab completions`	Generate shell completion scripts
`crab skills`	List and install self-contained Crab skills
`crab version`	Print version information

Output and cost references

Page	Purpose
Structured output	JSON and JSONL envelope contracts
Pricing tables	Storage cost reference by provider and tier

For command-specific behavior, the installed parser is authoritative:

crab --help
crab <command> --help

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