Architecture

OpenCLI is built on a Dual-Engine Architecture that supports both declarative YAML pipelines and programmatic TypeScript adapters.

High-Level Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     opencli CLI                      │
│              (Commander.js entry point)               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                   Engine Layer                        │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌────────────┐ │
│  │   Registry   │  │   Dynamic    │  │   Output   │ │
│  │  (commands)  │  │   Loader     │  │ Formatter  │ │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └────────────┘ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                 Adapter Layer                         │
│  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌──────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  YAML Pipeline  │  │  TypeScript Adapters     │  │
│  │  (declarative)  │  │  (browser/desktop/AI)    │  │
│  └─────────────────┘  └──────────────────────────┘  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│              Connection Layer                         │
│  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌──────────────────────────┐  │
│  │ Browser Bridge  │  │  CDP (Chrome DevTools)   │  │
│  │ (Extension+WS)  │  │  (Electron apps)         │  │
│  └─────────────────┘  └──────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Core Modules

Registry (src/registry.ts)

Central command registry. All adapters register their commands via the cli() function with metadata: site, name, description, domain, strategy, args, columns.

Discovery (src/discovery.ts)

CLI discovery and manifest loading. Discovers commands from YAML and TypeScript adapter files, parses YAML pipelines, and registers them into the central registry.

Execution (src/execution.ts)

Command execution: argument validation, lazy loading of adapter modules, and executing the appropriate handler function.

Commander Adapter (src/commanderAdapter.ts)

Bridges the Registry commands to Commander.js subcommands. Handles positional args, named options, browser session wiring, and output formatting. Isolates all Commander-specific logic so the core is framework-agnostic.

Browser (src/browser.ts)

Manages connections to Chrome via the Browser Bridge WebSocket daemon. Handles JSON-RPC messaging, tab management, and extension/standalone mode switching.

Pipeline (src/pipeline/)

The YAML pipeline engine. Processes declarative steps:

• fetch — HTTP requests with cookie/header strategies
• map — Data transformation with template expressions
• limit — Result truncation
• filter — Conditional filtering
• download — Media download support

Output (src/output.ts)

Unified output formatting: table, json, yaml, md, csv.

Authentication Strategies

OpenCLI uses a 3-tier authentication strategy:

Strategy	How It Works	When to Use
public	Direct HTTP fetch, no auth	Public APIs (HackerNews, BBC)
cookie	Reuse Chrome cookies via Browser Bridge	Logged-in sites (Bilibili, Zhihu)
header	Custom auth headers	API-key based services
intercept	Network request interception	GraphQL/XHR capture (Twitter)
ui	DOM interaction via accessibility snapshot	Desktop apps, write operations

Directory Structure

src/
├── main.ts              # Entry point
├── cli.ts               # Commander.js CLI setup + built-in commands
├── commanderAdapter.ts  # Registry → Commander bridge
├── discovery.ts         # CLI discovery, manifest loading, YAML parsing
├── execution.ts         # Arg validation, command execution
├── registry.ts          # Command registry
├── serialization.ts     # Command serialization helpers
├── runtime.ts           # Browser session & timeout management
├── browser/             # Browser Bridge connection
├── output.ts            # Output formatting
├── doctor.ts            # Diagnostic tool
├── pipeline/            # YAML pipeline engine
│   ├── runner.ts
│   ├── template.ts
│   ├── transform.ts
│   └── steps/
│       ├── fetch.ts
│       ├── map.ts
│       ├── limit.ts
│       ├── filter.ts
│       └── download.ts
└── clis/                # Site adapters
    ├── twitter/
    ├── reddit/
    ├── bilibili/
    ├── cursor/
    └── ...