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Empathy Framework CLI Cheatsheet

Quick reference for power users. Full docs at smartaimemory.com/docs.


Installation

pip install empathy-framework

Core Commands

Code Health

empathy health                    # Quick health check
empathy health --deep             # Comprehensive analysis
empathy health --fix              # Auto-fix safe issues
empathy health --dry-run          # Preview fixes without applying
empathy health --check lint       # Run specific check (lint/format/types/tests/security/deps)
empathy health --trends 30        # Show health trends over 30 days
empathy health --json             # JSON output for CI/CD

Code Review (Pattern-Based)

empathy review                    # Review recent changes
empathy review --staged           # Review staged changes only
empathy review src/               # Review specific files/dirs
empathy review --severity error   # Only show errors (skip warnings/info)
empathy review --json             # JSON output

Code Inspection

empathy-inspect .                 # Inspect current directory
empathy-inspect . --fix           # Auto-fix formatting/imports
empathy-inspect . --staged        # Staged changes only
empathy-inspect . --quick         # Skip slow checks
empathy-inspect . --format sarif  # SARIF output for GitHub Actions
empathy-inspect . --format html   # HTML dashboard report
empathy-inspect . -o report.json  # Write to file
empathy-inspect . --no-baseline   # Show all findings (ignore suppressions)
empathy-inspect . --baseline-init # Create .empathy-baseline.json

Memory & Patterns

Memory Control Panel

empathy-memory serve              # Start Redis + API server (recommended)
empathy-memory status             # Show memory system status
empathy-memory start              # Start Redis if not running
empathy-memory stop               # Stop Redis
empathy-memory stats              # Detailed statistics
empathy-memory health             # Run health check
empathy-memory patterns           # List stored patterns
empathy-memory patterns -c SENSITIVE  # Filter by classification
empathy-memory export patterns.json   # Export patterns to file
empathy-memory api --api-port 8765    # Start REST API only

Pattern Management

empathy patterns list             # List patterns in library
empathy patterns export           # Export patterns
empathy patterns resolve <bug_id> # Mark investigating bug as resolved

Claude Code Integration

empathy-sync-claude               # One-time sync to .claude/rules/empathy/
empathy-sync-claude --watch       # Auto-sync on pattern changes
empathy-sync-claude --dry-run     # Preview without writing
empathy-sync-claude --verbose     # Detailed output

Output structure:

.claude/rules/empathy/
├── bug-patterns.md          # From patterns/debugging/
├── security-decisions.md    # From patterns/security/
├── tech-debt-hotspots.md    # From patterns/tech_debt/
└── coding-patterns.md       # From patterns/inspection/


Project Setup

empathy init                      # Initialize new project
empathy init --format yaml        # Create empathy.config.yaml
empathy init --format json        # Create empathy.config.json
empathy validate config.yaml      # Validate configuration file
empathy info                      # Display framework info
empathy info --config my.yaml     # Info with specific config
empathy version                   # Show version

Interactive Tools

empathy wizard                    # Interactive setup wizard
empathy run                       # Interactive REPL mode

State & Metrics

empathy state list                # List saved states
empathy state load <id>           # Load specific state
empathy metrics show              # Show metrics
empathy metrics export            # Export metrics
empathy status                    # Session status report

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions (SARIF)

- name: Run Empathy Inspect
  run: empathy-inspect . --format sarif -o results.sarif

- name: Upload SARIF
  uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v2
  with:
    sarif_file: results.sarif

Pre-commit Hook

# .pre-commit-config.yaml
repos:
  - repo: local
    hooks:
      - id: empathy-review
        name: Pattern-based code review
        entry: empathy review --staged --severity error
        language: system
        pass_filenames: false

      - id: empathy-sync
        name: Sync patterns to Claude
        entry: empathy-sync-claude
        language: system
        pass_filenames: false

Inline Suppressions

# Suppress for current line
data = user_input  # empathy:disable injection reason="sanitized upstream"

# Suppress for next line
# empathy:disable-next-line null_reference
result = obj.value

# Suppress for entire file (at top)
# empathy:disable-file deprecated reason="legacy module"

Environment Variables

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-...          # Claude API key
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...             # OpenAI API key (optional)
EMPATHY_CONFIG=./config.yaml      # Custom config path
EMPATHY_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG           # Logging level
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379  # Redis connection

Power User Workflows (v2.4+)

One-command workflows for daily productivity.

Morning Briefing

empathy morning                   # Start-of-day briefing
empathy morning --verbose         # Detailed output

Shows: patterns learned, tech debt trend, quick health check, suggested focus.

Pre-Ship Checklist

empathy ship                      # Full pre-commit validation
empathy ship --skip-sync          # Skip Claude sync
empathy ship --verbose            # Detailed output

Runs: lint, format, types, git status, Claude sync.

Fix Everything

empathy fix-all                   # Auto-fix lint + format
empathy fix-all --dry-run         # Preview without applying
empathy fix-all --verbose         # Show details

Runs: ruff --fix, ruff format, isort.

Pattern Learning

empathy learn                     # Analyze last 10 commits
empathy learn --analyze 50        # Analyze last 50 commits
empathy learn --verbose           # Show each pattern found

Extracts bug fix patterns from git history.

Cost Tracking

empathy costs                     # Show 7-day cost report
empathy costs --days 30           # Show 30-day report
empathy costs --json              # JSON output

Shows: API costs, savings from model routing, tier breakdown.

Project Templates

empathy new --list                # List available templates
empathy new minimal my-project    # Add Empathy to existing project
empathy new python-cli my-tool    # CLI tool scaffold
empathy new python-fastapi my-api # FastAPI scaffold
empathy new python-agent my-agent # AI agent scaffold

Visual Dashboard

empathy dashboard                 # Launch web dashboard
empathy dashboard --port 9000     # Custom port
empathy dashboard --no-browser    # Don't open browser

Opens: http://localhost:8765 with patterns, costs, health.

Agent Frameworks

empathy frameworks                # List installed frameworks
empathy frameworks --all          # Show all frameworks
empathy frameworks --recommend rag  # Recommend framework for use case
empathy frameworks --json         # JSON output

Supports: Native, LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, Haystack.


Classic Workflows

Morning Check (manual)

empathy health --deep && empathy status

Before Commit (manual)

empathy review --staged && empathy-inspect . --staged --quick

Sync to Claude Code

empathy-sync-claude --verbose

Getting Help

empathy --help                    # Main help
empathy <command> --help          # Command-specific help
empathy-inspect --help            # Inspect help
empathy-memory --help             # Memory control help
empathy-sync-claude --help        # Claude sync help

Empathy Framework v2.4.0 | GitHub | Docs