> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.viorant.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The interactive shell

> Run vio with no arguments to get a shell with slash commands.

Running `vio` with no arguments opens an interactive shell:

```bash theme={"dark"}
vio
```

This is the CLI's front door. Most of what you can do as a subcommand you can also do
here, as a slash command, without retyping `vio` each time.

<Note>
  The shell needs a real terminal. If `vio` is started with its input piped or redirected —
  from a script, a CI job, or another program — it exits with
  `vio needs an interactive terminal`. Use the subcommands there instead; that is what
  they are for.
</Note>

## What you can type

```
/deploy agent.vio --target viorant_cloud
```

Type `/` and the start of a name to pick from the matching commands. `/help` lists every
command in the build you are running, with its arguments. In `vio` 1.0.0 that is:

| | |
| - | - |
| `/help` · `/clear` · `/exit` · `/quit` · `/session` | The shell itself |
| `/login` · `/whoami` · `/logout` · `/status` · `/upgrade` | Your account and plan |
| `/init [dir]` | Turn a folder into a [Space](/cli/init) |
| `/validate <path>` · `/digest <path>` | Check a bundle |
| `/deploy <path>` · `/redeploy <id>` · `/stop <id>` | Deployments |
| `/list` · `/show <id>` · `/runs <id>` · `/logs <id>` | What's running |
| `/schedule <id>` | A deployment's [run schedule](/cli/schedule) |
| `/create space "<name>"` | A local Space the Hub can open |

A slash command takes the arguments and the options that make sense at a prompt — for
example `/deploy` takes `--target` and `--env-file`, `/logs` takes `--since`, `--limit`
and `--include-platform`. `--json` output, and a few flags such as `vio deploy --name`,
belong to the subcommands.

These are **subcommand-only** — there is no slash form: `vio update`, `vio connect`,
`vio docs`, `vio providers` and `vio connectors`.

## Typed prompts are not available in 1.0.0

The shell in `vio` 1.0.0 runs slash commands and nothing else. Anything you type that does
not start with `/` is not sent anywhere — the shell answers:

```
Chat isn't in this release. /help lists every command.
```

If you want an AI agent to drive `vio`, that works, and it works through the subcommands
rather than through this shell: see [Use `vio` with AI coding agents](/cli/ai-agents).

## Sessions

Each shell run gets a session, written to `~/.viorant/sessions/`. `/session` prints its id,
working directory and start time, and `vio --resume <session-id>` reopens it.

## Scripts and CI

The shell is for people. In a script, a CI job, or anything without a terminal, call the
subcommands directly:

```bash theme={"dark"}
vio validate agent.vio
vio deploy agent.vio --target viorant_cloud
```

They are the automation surface, they are not going away, and they exit with
[stable codes](/cli/reference#exit-codes) you can branch on.