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magus-x

Reproduce an output ref, or pick project + target

Synopsis

magus x <ref> | magus x [filter...]

Description

Two forms, chosen by the argument.

Given an output ref (out1a2b3c), x reproduces the invocation that minted it: the descriptor records the project, the target and its charms, so nothing is picked and no terminal is required. A ref copied from a CI log therefore runs here as the same invocation - replaying from cache when the inputs match, and running the target when they do not. Before starting it compares the recorded cache key with the one this workspace computes and says which of the two will happen, and it reports a dirty working tree or a differing revision rather than implying an exactness it cannot deliver. It changes no VCS state: a differing commit is named, never checked out.

Given filters (or nothing), x is the interactive shorthand for magus run. Filters are AND-combined substrings matched against project paths; ranking is leaf-anchored longest-match-wins, so "magus x dash" prefers a project named "dashboard" over one named "dashboards-deprecated/foo". Additional filter args narrow the candidate set: "magus x dash mobile" requires both substrings.

When the filtered set is unique, the project picker is skipped. Otherwise a TTY picker opens, seeded with the survivors, sorted by score. After a project is chosen, a second picker offers the target set (build/test/lint/format/clean/generate/ci); the last target used for that project (persisted one file per project under $XDG_STATE_HOME/magus/x/, defaulting to $HOME/.local/state/magus/) is pre-highlighted.

x refuses to run when stdin or stderr is not a terminal: shorthand is for humans. Scripts should call magus run directly.

Examples

Reproduce the invocation an output ref recorded

magus x out1a2b3c

Browse all projects in a picker

magus x

Resolve by leaf substring

magus x dash

AND-narrow with a second filter

magus x dash mobile

See Also

magus(1), magus-ls(1), magus-describe(1), magus-where(1), magus-run(1), magus-affected(1), magus-clean(1), magus-shell(1), magus-query(1), magus-refs(1), magus-explain(1), magus-path(1), magus-graph(1), magus-diff(1), magus-vcs(1), magus-session(1), magus-job(1), magus-notes(1), magus-queue(1), magus-watch(1), magus-events(1), magus-server(1), magus-broker(1), magus-mcp(1), magus-status(1), magus-buzz(1), magus-spell(1), magus-agent(1), magus-init(1), magus-doctor(1), magus-config(1), magus-completion(1), magus-man(1), magus-self(1), magus-version(1)

ManpagePages in this section. magus runRun a named target (build, test, lint, format, ci, etc.) for the selected projects, defaulting to the cwd project when no arguments are given. magus affectedRun a target for every project affected by a VCS diff, with forensic modes for explain, graph, CI shard plan, and regression bisect. magus describeDefine a magus concept (spell, charm, target, project, workspace, module, mcp-tool, tool, file, graph, harness) and list every entity of that kind, or detail one when a name is given.
generatedinternal/commands/registry.goclimagus xinteractivepickershorthandrunttyreproduceoutput ref
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Glossary

Workspace

The magus root directory that owns a set of projects and shared config; the unit magus operates over. Workspace in full.

Project

A directory magus recognizes as a unit of work (it has a magusfile); the unit of caching, scheduling, and dependency tracking. Project in full.

Target

A named operation (build, test, ...) you invoke with magus run <target>; it may compose a spell's tool-native operations and depend on other targets. Target in full.

Op

A single tool-native command a target composes (long form: operation); the middle of the work hierarchy (Spell to Op to Target). Op in full.

Spell

A language/runtime adapter (e.g. go, md) that maps generic targets onto a toolchain's real commands. Spell in full.

Charm

An execution modifier attached with : (lint:rw) that changes how a target runs, not which one; the built-in rw flips a check-only target to mutate in place, and ci always strips it. Charm in full.

Buzz

The language magusfiles are written in (the .buzz engine). Buzz in full.

Cache

The content-addressed store magus consults before running a target, so unchanged work is skipped. Cache in full.

Affected

The set of projects touched by a change; magus affected <target> runs a target only over them. Affected in full.

Broker

The per-user background process that holds this host's capacity: the machine budget every run claims slots from, and the shared services runs keep warm. A run starts it on demand; broker: off in magus.yaml runs without one. Broker in full.

CI

An ordinary target you compose yourself with ctx.needs; magus does not hardcode its stages. It is the anchor magus affected ci keys off, and ci strips the rw charm. CI in full.

MAGUS.md

The committed routing index at a workspace root, regenerated from the knowledge graph: it lists every node and points at the exact query for a given question, so it is the entry point an agent reads first. MAGUS.md in full.

Agent

A model working through an agent host such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or OpenCode. magus treats an agent as one more caller of its CLI, MCP tools and console, held to the same checks as a person. Agent in full.

Session

An agent host's conversation, by the id the host delivers to its hooks. magus never mints one: a record with no session is unattributed, and the OS user it carries says whose account ran it. Session in full.

Invocation

One magus process's recorded facts (the targets it finished, their outcomes, the lease it acted as, and the session it ran in when a host delivered one), kept in a repo-scoped store every worktree shares. magus session lists them; the store prunes itself by last-fact age. Invocation in full.

Job

The unit of delegated work, and one row of the job store: what an orchestrating agent handed out, with its goal, the checkpoint it was cut against, the paths it may write or must not touch, and the one check it runs. A job's holder is either a session, for work an orchestrator handed out, or the daemon, for its own maintenance. The store records; the agent guard is what reads those facts back when grading a write. Job in full.

Run

One target executing under one magus invocation, such as magus run test web or magus affected ci. A run keeps its captured output behind an output reference. Every magus run is a run whether or not any job asked for it; see Job for how the two relate. Run in full.

Conventions

This page uses none of the site's convention markers. The full set is on the conventions page.