ALOps AI CLI¶

Invoke a pre-installed AI coding CLI (Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, or GitHub Copilot CLI) headlessly from a pipeline, with uniform input/output contract.

Property	Value
Task name (Azure DevOps)	`ALOpsAICli@3`
Action name (GitHub)	`alops-aicli`
Version	`3.0.0`
Category	Utility
OS requirement	Both
Preview	yes

Runs one of three AI coding CLIs (Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot CLI) in headless mode with a uniform input and output contract. Authentication follows an OpenAI-compatible shape (api_key + base_url) with a narrow mapping to each tool's native auth. Cross-platform (Windows + Linux). The selected CLI must be pre-installed on the agent; a missing CLI fails the step with a clear error.

Inputs¶

selection¶

Name	Type	Required	Default	Platform	Description
`ai_tool`	PickList	yes	`claude`	Both	Which pre-installed AI coding CLI to invoke. Options: `claude`, `codex`, `copilot`.
`model`	Text	no	(empty)	Both	Pass-through model name (--model / -m). Leave empty to use the CLI's built-in default.

prompt¶

Name	Type	Required	Default	Platform	Description
`user_prompt`	MultiLine	yes	(empty)	Both	The user turn. Delivered to Claude and Codex via stdin, and to Copilot via the -p argument. Must be non-empty. If the value is a single-line existing file path (relative paths resolve against the working directory) the file content is used. If it is a single-line http(s) URL the body is downloaded. Otherwise the value is treated as inline text. Multi-line values are always inline.
`system_prompt`	MultiLine	no	(empty)	Both	Optional system/instructions layer. Native on Claude (--system-prompt); polyfilled via a fenced three-section wrapper for Codex and Copilot. If the value is a single-line existing file path (relative paths resolve against the working directory) the file content is used. If it is a single-line http(s) URL the body is downloaded. Otherwise the value is treated as inline text. Multi-line values are always inline.

auth¶

Name	Type	Required	Default	Platform	Description
`api_key`	Secret	no	(empty)	Both	The credential. Maps to the tool- and mode-appropriate env var (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN / OPENAI_API_KEY / GITHUB_TOKEN / ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_KEY).
`base_url`	Text	no	(empty)	Both	OpenAI-compatible endpoint URL. When non-empty (and foundry_resource empty), switches the step into 'openai_compat' auth mode. Must be an http(s) URL.
`foundry_resource`	Text	no	(empty)	Both	Azure AI Foundry resource name (plain name only, e.g. 'ALOpsAI' — no URL, no slashes). When non-empty, switches the step into 'foundry' auth mode. Not supported for Copilot in MVP.

runtime¶

Name	Type	Required	Default	Platform	Description
`working_directory`	Text	no	(empty)	Both	Directory to run the CLI in. Leave empty to use the platform's workspace directory. The step restores the previous location on exit (try/finally).
`show_raw_output`	Boolean	no	`false`	Both	When enabled, the step prints the full raw CLI stdout inside an "AI Raw Output" log group on success. Defaults to off to keep logs compact — the parsed ai_response is still logged, and the raw transcript is always available via the ai_raw_output_path output. The group is also shown automatically when pipeline debug logging is enabled (System.Debug on Azure DevOps, RUNNER_DEBUG on GitHub Actions). On non-zero exit the raw output is always printed.
`enable_ai_cli_stream`	Boolean	no	`false`	Both	When enabled, the step echoes every CLI stdout line live inside an "AI CLI stream" log group, with each event formatted by the per-tool stream formatter. Defaults to off to keep logs compact — the parsed ai_response is always logged, and the full raw transcript can be shown via show_raw_output or retrieved from ai_raw_output_path. The CLI still runs and stdout is still captured when this is off; only the live echo is suppressed.

Outputs¶

Name	Description
`ai_response`	The model's final answer as plain prose (everything before the <<>> marker, trimmed).
`ai_notes`	Value of the meta-block's 'notes' field (may be empty).
`ai_tool`	Which CLI ran: 'claude', 'codex' or 'copilot'.
`ai_model`	Resolved model string the step passed on the CLI; empty when the CLI's built-in default was used.
`ai_auth_mode`	'native', 'openai_compat' or 'foundry' — resolved from inputs.
`ai_exit_code`	Underlying CLI exit code as string.
`ai_format`	'envelope' when a valid meta block was found and parsed; 'fallback' when it was missing or malformed.
`ai_raw_output_path`	Path to the temp file containing the raw CLI stdout. Always populated — escape hatch for callers who want the unprocessed form.

Usage¶

Azure DevOpsGitHub Actions

- task: ALOpsAICli@3
  displayName: 'ALOps AI CLI'
  inputs:
    ai_tool: claude                       # Which pre-installed AI coding CLI to invoke. $(ai_tool)
    model:                                # Pass-through model name (--model / -m). Leave empty to use the CLI's built-in default. $(model)
    user_prompt:                          # The user turn. Delivered to Claude and Codex via stdin, and to Copilot via the -p argument. Must be non-empty. If the value is a single-line existing file path (relative paths resolve against the working directory) the file content is used. If it is a single-line http(s) URL the body is downloaded. Otherwise the value is treated as inline text. Multi-line values are always inline. $(user_prompt)
    system_prompt:                        # Optional system/instructions layer. Native on Claude (--system-prompt); polyfilled via a fenced three-section wrapper for Codex and Copilot. If the value is a single-line existing file path (relative paths resolve against the working directory) the file content is used. If it is a single-line http(s) URL the body is downloaded. Otherwise the value is treated as inline text. Multi-line values are always inline. $(system_prompt)
    api_key:                              # The credential. Maps to the tool- and mode-appropriate env var (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN / OPENAI_API_KEY / GITHUB_TOKEN / ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_KEY). $(api_key)
    base_url:                             # OpenAI-compatible endpoint URL. When non-empty (and foundry_resource empty), switches the step into 'openai_compat' auth mode. Must be an http(s) URL. $(base_url)
    foundry_resource:                     # Azure AI Foundry resource name (plain name only, e.g. 'ALOpsAI' — no URL, no slashes). When non-empty, switches the step into 'foundry' auth mode. Not supported for Copilot in MVP. $(foundry_resource)
    working_directory:                    # Directory to run the CLI in. Leave empty to use the platform's workspace directory. The step restores the previous location on exit (try/finally). $(working_directory)
    show_raw_output: False                # When enabled, the step prints the full raw CLI stdout inside an "AI Raw Output" log group on success. Defaults to off to keep logs compact — the parsed ai_response is still logged, and the raw transcript is always available via the ai_raw_output_path output. The group is also shown automatically when pipeline debug logging is enabled (System.Debug on Azure DevOps, RUNNER_DEBUG on GitHub Actions). On non-zero exit the raw output is always printed. $(show_raw_output)
    enable_ai_cli_stream: False           # When enabled, the step echoes every CLI stdout line live inside an "AI CLI stream" log group, with each event formatted by the per-tool stream formatter. Defaults to off to keep logs compact — the parsed ai_response is always logged, and the full raw transcript can be shown via show_raw_output or retrieved from ai_raw_output_path. The CLI still runs and stdout is still captured when this is off; only the live echo is suppressed. $(enable_ai_cli_stream)

- name: ALOps AI CLI
  uses: HodorNV/ALOps-V3/alops-aicli@v3   <!-- TODO: confirm action repo path -->
  with:
    ai_tool: 'claude'
    model: ''
    user_prompt: ''
    system_prompt: ''
    api_key: ''
    base_url: ''
    foundry_resource: ''
    working_directory: ''
    show_raw_output: 'false'
    enable_ai_cli_stream: 'false'