CLI Reference

Commands, flags, and exit codes for the docker-doctor CLI.

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Default scan command

npx @docker-doctor/cli@latest [dir]

[dir] is the directory to scan and defaults to ..

Flag	Alias	Description
`--verbose`	`-v`	Show the affected file, line, an explanation, and a `Help:` fix hint for every diagnostic
`--score`	`-s`	Print only the numeric health score
`--json`	`-j`	Output the full report as JSON
`--config <path>`	`-c`	Use a custom config file path
`--version`	`-V`	Print the CLI version

Piped / CI output

--score and --json both suppress the interactive spinner and prompts, so they're safe to pipe or run in CI:

npx @docker-doctor/cli@latest . --score

npx @docker-doctor/cli@latest . --json > report.json

Exit codes

Mode	Exit code
Default scan	Non-zero if any `error`-severity diagnostic is present
`--score`	Non-zero if the score is below 50
`--json`	Non-zero if any `error`-severity diagnostic is present

Install for agents

Install the Docker Doctor agent skill for your coding agents (interactive multi-select in a TTY):

npx @docker-doctor/cli@latest install

Non-interactive runs must name the agents:

npx @docker-doctor/cli@latest install --agent claude-code cursor

See the Coding Agents guide for details.

Rules subcommands

List every built-in rule, its category, default severity, and description:

npx @docker-doctor/cli@latest rules list

Explain a single rule and its fix in detail (requires the full rule key):

npx @docker-doctor/cli@latest rules explain docker-doctor/no-root-user

Interactive mode

When run in a TTY without --score or --json, docker-doctor shows a spinner while scanning and, after printing results, offers to scaffold a .github/workflows/docker-doctor.yml CI workflow for you.

If the scan found issues, it then offers to hand them to a coding agent detected on your machine — launching the agent with the issues as its prompt — or to copy that prompt to your clipboard. See the Coding Agents guide.