thing

@unravel-tech/thing

CLI for thing: push, version, and share artifacts (HTML pages, Markdown docs, standalone images and PDFs) from coding agents.

npx -y @unravel-tech/thing push report.html

That first push opens browser approval, waits for sign-in, then resumes and prints the durable URL. Markdown, images, and PDFs work the same way. Install globally if you use it often: npm i -g @unravel-tech/thing.

Commands

Command	What it does
thing --version / thing version	Show the installed CLI version
thing update [--force] [--manager npm|bun]	Install the latest release globally; --force runs even when the server reports this version as current
thing login [--account name] [--server url] [--no-browser]	Add or refresh a named account with device-code login; defaults the name to the authenticated email
thing accounts	List saved accounts and show which one this directory resolves to
thing switch <account> [--local]	Change the global default account, or bind an account to the current Git repository/working directory
thing switch --clear-local	Remove the account binding inherited by the current directory
thing logout [--account name] [--all] / thing whoami	Remove saved credentials / show the resolved identity and where pushes land
thing default [team] [--clear]	Show or set your server-side default push target (used when no --team is given, from any machine)
thing use <team> [project]	Set a local active team/project override for this machine
thing push <file.html|.md|.pdf|.png|.jpg|.gif|.webp> [--name x] [--team t] [--project p] [--visibility v]	Authenticate if needed, then push a new immutable version and print the served URL
thing list	List artifacts you can see
thing versions <name>	Version history for an artifact
thing rollback <name> <n>	Point latest back to version n
thing open <name>	Open the artifact in a browser
thing mcp	Run a Model Context Protocol server over stdio (tools: server_info, push_artifact, list_artifacts, whoami)

Every command accepts --json for machine-readable output. Authenticated commands also accept --account name to use a saved account once without changing either the global default or a directory binding. An unauthenticated push --json emits newline-delimited authentication status; the final JSON object is always the push result. Use --no-login to fail fast instead of starting interactive authentication, such as in CI.

Visibility values: private, team, anyone-with-link (prints a tokened share URL), public.

Updates

Thing supports advisory and required updates published by the Thing server. An advisory update prints a rate-limited notice to stderr but lets the command continue. A required update stops normal commands with exit code 3 while keeping --help, --version, and update available. --json returns a structured CLIENT_UPDATE_REQUIRED error.

The CLI checks at most once per hour and shows the same advisory at most once per day. Set THING_NO_UPDATE_NOTICES=1 to hide advisory notices; required updates cannot be suppressed. thing update --force reinstalls the latest release even when the current version is still supported.

MCP sessions expose the installed version through the initialization handshake and the server_info tool. Advisory updates appear in MCP instructions, a log notification, and the first business-tool result. Required updates leave server_info available but stop artifact tools until Thing is updated and the MCP client is restarted.

The corresponding Thing server endpoint and enforcement middleware are specified in THING_SERVER_UPDATE_POLICY.md.

Context resolution

Accounts

Thing can keep multiple logins on one machine. Give accounts short names when you add them, list them, and switch the global default:

thing login --account work
thing login --account personal
thing accounts
thing switch work

To associate the current repository with an account, run:

thing switch work --local

Inside a Git repository, this binds its root and every directory beneath it. Outside Git, it binds the current working directory and its descendants. The binding is stored in your user config—not .thing.json—so personal account names and credentials never become repository changes. A local binding wins over the global default; --account personal wins over both for one command. Use thing switch --clear-local to remove the binding.

Existing single-login config files migrate automatically to an account named default. New logins without --account use the authenticated email address as the account name.

Account selection is resolved in this order: --account → the nearest repository/directory binding → the global thing switch selection → the only saved account. THING_TOKEN and THING_SERVER still override stored credentials for CI and MCP configurations.

Team and project

Which team a push lands in is decided in order: --team flag → .thing.json in the working directory → a local thing use override → your server-side default (thing default) → your personal space. Login no longer pins a team, so with none of the overrides set the server picks your default (e.g. the Unravel org for Unravel members).

MCP

Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and anything else that speaks Model Context Protocol can publish through thing. No terminal login needed: create a token at usething.ai under Settings, then Tokens, and paste this into your client's MCP config.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thing": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@unravel-tech/thing@latest", "mcp"],
      "env": { "THING_TOKEN": "paste-your-token-here" }
    }
  }
}

On a machine that has Bun but no Node, swap npx for bunx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thing": {
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["-y", "@unravel-tech/thing@latest", "mcp"],
      "env": { "THING_TOKEN": "paste-your-token-here" }
    }
  }
}

The server exposes four tools: server_info for the installed version and update status, push_artifact to publish a file or inline content and get back a link, list_artifacts to see what you have, and whoami to check which account and team you are pushing to.

If you already ran thing login, the stored credential is used and THING_TOKEN can be left out.

Runtimes

Node >= 18 or Bun, no runtime dependencies. The thing executable launches under whichever of the two is on your PATH (Node first), so a global install works on a machine that has never installed Node:

bun i -g @unravel-tech/thing
thing login