Skip to main content
Run pool exec to send a single prompt and exit when the task is complete. Use this for scripts, CI pipelines, and one-off tasks where you don’t need a back-and-forth. For interactive work, use Interactive mode instead.
This documentation describes Poolside Agent CLI v1.0.6. Check your version with pool --version. To update, exit any active session and run pool update from your terminal. See pool CLI releases on GitHub for release history.
If you previously used non-interactive flags on pool, such as pool -p, use pool exec instead.

​
Basic usage

If you use pool exec in a non-interactive environment, set POOLSIDE_API_KEY before the command: 
POOLSIDE_API_KEY=<api-key> pool exec -p "What does this codebase do?"
For other CLI authentication variables, see CI and automation. Pass a prompt inline: 
pool exec -p "What does this codebase do?"
Read the prompt from a file: 
pool exec -f prompt.txt
Pipe the prompt from standard input: 
pool exec < prompt.txt
Use - to read from standard input when combining with other flags: 
echo "Summarize this file" | pool exec -p -

​
Pass MCP server input variables

If an MCP server needs input from environment variables, start pool exec with those variables set: 
KEY=VALUE pool exec -p "test"

​
Run in a specific directory

By default, pool exec uses your current directory. Use -d to point it somewhere else: 
pool exec -p "Review this project" -d <project-path>

​
Continue from a previous run

Resume from the last run: 
pool exec --continue -p "Now add tests for what you just wrote"
Resume a specific run by ID: 
pool exec --continue=<run-id> -p "Now add tests for what you just wrote"
To find recent run IDs, use pool history logs.

​
Output format

By default, pool exec prints Markdown. Use -o json for newline-delimited JSON: 
pool exec -p "List the exported functions in this file" -o json
JSON mode prints event-style records. Common types:
  • reasoning: Raw model reasoning
  • thought: Agent message text
  • toolCall: Tool invocations and arguments
  • toolCallResult: Tool results
  • oauth_url: Browser authentication required
Use JSON mode when another tool needs to consume the output.

​
Run in automated mode

Use --unsafe-auto-allow when you want pool exec to run without approval prompts: 
pool exec -p "Review this repository for security issues" --unsafe-auto-allow
Use this only in trusted non-interactive environments. Explicit deny rules still apply. For persistent approval rules, path rules, and settings.yaml locations, see Tool permissions.

​
Override sandbox usage

Use --sandbox required to require a configured sandbox for the run: 
pool exec -p "Review this repository" --sandbox required
Use --sandbox disabled only when you want to run without a configured sandbox.