Glossary

Adapter

A file or module that registers operations for a site, application, service, or tool. Most packaged adapters are YAML. TypeScript covers integrations that need custom control flow.

AgentEnvelope

The v2 result shape shared by Uni-CLI commands. ok indicates the outcome, data carries successful output, error carries a structured failure, and meta describes the call.

Browser Runtime Broker

The local service that manages browser providers, profiles, sessions, targets, and leases for Uni-CLI browser commands.

Catalog

The installed collection of operations. Packaged adapters form the static catalog; core commands, user adapters, plugins, and host-discovered CLIs can add entries at runtime.

Command contract

The machine-readable description returned by unicli describe. It covers arguments, authentication, effect, operator, target, examples, and repair metadata.

Effect

The kind of change an operation can make, such as read, download_file, send_message, local_file, or destructive. Search and local permission policy can filter by effect.

Error envelope

The error object in a failed AgentEnvelope. It includes a stable code and message, and can include a suggestion, remedy command, retry status, source file, or failed step.

Execution operator

The interface that performs an operation. Values include structured-api, browser-protocol, native-cli, browser-semantic, desktop-accessibility, visual-observation, visual-coordinate, and local-runtime.

MCP

Model Context Protocol. unicli mcp serve exposes Uni-CLI to clients that manage tools through MCP.

Operation

A searchable command with declared arguments, target, effect, operator, and result shape. Its shell form is unicli <site> <command>.

Pipeline

The ordered actions in a YAML adapter. A pipeline can fetch, transform, navigate, interact, download, or control execution.

Profile

A browser storage partition containing cookies, local storage, and related login state. unicli browser profiles --json lists local Chromium profiles that Uni-CLI can use as a source.

Repair

The verification step after an adapter change. unicli repair <site> <command> reruns the target operation and checks its envelope and process status.

Site

The namespace before a command, such as hackernews in unicli hackernews top. A site can represent a website, application, service, file type, operating-system surface, or external CLI.

Strategy

The connection method declared by a web adapter: public, cookie, header, intercept, or ui.

User adapter

An adapter stored under ~/.unicli/adapters/. User adapters support local additions and can take precedence over packaged entries with the same site and command.

YAML adapter

A declarative adapter containing metadata, arguments, and pipeline steps. unicli init creates one and unicli dev reloads it during development.