quest'n'click 4.5.0 · r1

Built for quest'n'click 4.5.0, revision r1. Whether it is published, and which one is current, is recorded at publication.json.

Command-line tools

Français · Type: reference · Audience: author, admin, contributor · Context: engine repository, created project, hosted Studio, Reality Bridge · Status: ready · Applies from: 4.4.0

The public API · contract: stable · verified by CI (support matrix of 4.4.0, 2026-10-23): Node 22 and 24 on Ubuntu · automated checks: jobs check, external-consumer; CI plan node24, freshInstall; 2 test files · people's passes: none · known limits: documented-options

The Reality Bridge, local profile (SQLite) · contract: stable · verified by CI (support matrix of 4.4.0, 2026-10-23): Node 22.13+ with node:sqlite, on Ubuntu; Chromium and WebKit end to end · automated checks: jobs reality, reality-xcheck; CI plan reality; 2 test files · people's passes: none · known limits: documented-options

The connectors (email, Telnet, SSH, Open Badges) · contract: experimental · verified by CI (support matrix of 4.4.0, 2026-10-23): Node 22 on Ubuntu (Telnet and SSH not on Windows) · automated checks: jobs connectors, connector-archive-e2e; CI plan reality; 3 test files · people's passes: connectors-real-security not run (#79) · known limits: documented-options

The Studio Server (hosted team Studio) · contract: experimental · verified by CI (support matrix of 4.4.0, 2026-10-23): Postgres, S3 and Keycloak in CI; Chromium and Firefox (job studio-hosted); WebKit on macOS, by hand only · automated checks: jobs studio-hosted, studio-install-smoke; CI plan studioHosted; 3 test files · people's passes: studio-hosted not run (#149), studio-collab not run (#150), studio-preview not run (#166), studio-assets-hosted not run (#167), studio-mcp-remote not run (#196), studio-oidc-generic not run (#197) · known limits: documented-options

The six commands quest'n'click installs, with every subcommand, its options and the exit codes the code defines. Each command says where it runs: a created project's folder, the engine repository, the Bridge's machine or the Studio Server's. In the engine repository the same tools run as npm scripts (npm scripts); the variables they read are in Environment variables.

The six commands

CommandPackageWhat it is
quest-n-clickquest-n-clickthe engine's tools for a game project: dev, studio, verify, build, release…
create-quest-n-clickcreate-quest-n-clicka new game project (npx create-quest-n-click my-game)
quest-n-click-bridgequest-n-click-bridgethe reference Reality Bridge on its own, for a built game
quest-n-click-connectorquest-n-click-connectorsone connector of the world outside (email, Telnet, SSH, Open Badges)
quest-n-click-studio-serverquest-n-click-studio-serverthe Studio online for a team, and its operator commands
quest-n-click-studio-workerquest-n-click-studio-serverthe Studio Server's processing worker

In a created project the usual commands are also its npm scripts (npm run dev, npm run verify…): see the scripts of a created project. The package and how it is installed: install.package.

Configuration of a connector

A connector reads one JSON file (--config). It names the Bridge and the file of the connector's token (never the token on the command line), the game, its limits, an optional health port, and a section named after the connector:

{
  "bridge": { "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8787/", "tokenFile": "telnet.token" },
  "gameId": "signals",
  "limits": { "maxBytes": 4096, "maxPerMinute": 60, "timeoutMs": 5000 },
  "health": { "port": 9301 },
  "telnet": { "port": 2323 }
}

To run one, first give it a token from the Bridge, then start it:

# in the engine repository
npm run bridge -- grant --connector=shed-telnet --source=terminal --signals=terminal.lamp --pair > telnet.token
npm run connector -- telnet --config telnet.json
# with the package quest-n-click-connectors installed
npx quest-n-click-connector telnet --config telnet.json

Each connector's own section: bridge.connectors.

Limit · documented-options The options listed below are the ones each command reads itself. A quest-n-click command that runs a tool passes its other arguments on to that tool or to Vite: their options are on the tools' pages.

quest-n-click

The engine's tools for a game project that installed the package (3.9; called web-scumm before 4.2.5, an alias through 4.2.x, gone in 4.3.0). npx quest-n-click help lists the commands. Each command runs a tool of the package (with tsx and the project's tsconfig.json, else the package's), Vite with the package's vite.config.ts, or Python for the assets; its exit code is the tool's, and a chain of steps stops at the first that fails, with that step's code.

quest-n-click help

Prints the engine's version and every command with its one-line description. --help, no command at all, and an unknown command print the same list; an unknown command first says quest-n-click: no command "<name>".

Usage: quest-n-click help

CodeMeans
0help, --help or no command.
1An unknown command.

quest-n-click create

A new game project from the template: runs cli/create.mjs, the same as npx create-quest-n-click (its section below).

Usage: quest-n-click create <folder> ["Title"] [--engine=<npm spec>]

OptionMeans
--engine=<npm spec>The engine dependency written into the project's package.json (default ^<this engine's version>).

quest-n-click dev

The game in the browser, reloading as you edit (Vite's dev server; the arguments go to Vite). ?edit=<room> opens the placement editor.

Usage: quest-n-click dev [<Vite options>]

quest-n-click studio

The Studio: rooms, dialogues, the puzzle graph, the mixer. Vite's dev server with STUDIO=1, opened on /__studio/.

Usage: quest-n-click studio [<Vite options>]

quest-n-click assets

art/ and audio/ into public/assets: writes the game's references to .cache/refs.json (the refs tool), then runs tools/assets.py with PYTHON (default python3; Python 3 with Pillow).

Usage: quest-n-click assets

quest-n-click doctor

The prerequisites (4.1.6): Node and Chromium required; Python, ffmpeg and WebKit optional, each said when missing.

Usage: quest-n-click doctor

quest-n-click mcp

The MCP server of this game, on stdio, for an assistant (4.1.6). With --server, the tools of a hosted Studio (4.2.3), after quest-n-click-studio-server login.

Usage: quest-n-click mcp [--server <url>]

quest-n-click validate

The content checked: references, rules, dialogues, budgets.

Usage: quest-n-click validate [--release] [--commercial] [--report]

quest-n-click solve

The solver: a way to the end, the softlocks (--prove), chapters. Exit 0 solved, 2 truncated, 1 otherwise.

Usage: quest-n-click solve [--prove] [--from=<checkpoint>] [--chapters] [--json]

quest-n-click bridge

A reference Reality Bridge for the game (tools/bridge.ts): the same command line as quest-n-click-bridge (below), the game's manifest taken from its content. In a project, the Bridge is the separate package quest-n-click-bridge; without it: the Reality Bridge is a separate package: npm install quest-n-click-bridge, exit 1.

Usage: quest-n-click bridge <init|serve|grant|rotate|revoke|doctor|compact|migrate|tenant|backup|restore> …

quest-n-click solve-reality

A game with reality.signals proved closed, under each scenario and adversarial.

Usage: quest-n-click solve-reality

quest-n-click lint

What a player would trip on (the content lint after a solver run).

Usage: quest-n-click lint [--prove]

quest-n-click i18n

Translations: extract, status.

Usage: quest-n-click i18n <extract|status>

quest-n-click weight

What a phone downloads and decodes, against the game's assetBudgets.

Usage: quest-n-click weight [--release]

quest-n-click provenance

Where every asset comes from; --lock after a review (a release refuses the template's placeholder art until each file is replaced and reviewed).

Usage: quest-n-click provenance [--lock]

quest-n-click playtests

The sessions players shared, replayed and summed up.

Usage: quest-n-click playtests [--strict]

quest-n-click speedrun

speedrun verify: a speedrun replayed against the game, its verdict, code and reason (4.1.14). Any other word after speedrun prints the usage line.

Usage: quest-n-click speedrun verify <run.wsrun> [--keys=<file>] [--json]

OptionMeans
--keys=<file>The keys a signed run is checked with.
--jsonThe verdict as JSON.
CodeMeans
0valid or valid-unranked.
1Any other verdict, inconclusive included.
2The usage line: not speedrun verify, or no run file.

quest-n-click voices

Recorded lines: check, apply.

Usage: quest-n-click voices <check|apply> [--release]

quest-n-click ids

Stable ids for rules, topics and lines; --write writes them into the sources.

Usage: quest-n-click ids [--write]

quest-n-click prompts

Image prompts for the sheets the game names.

Usage: quest-n-click prompts [--missing]

quest-n-click verify

In order: validate, solve, i18n status, lint, playtests; stops at the first that fails.

Usage: quest-n-click verify

quest-n-click build

In order: assets, verify, the production build in dist/ (vite build), then the dist tool: every file of dist/ accounted for, licences inside.

Usage: quest-n-click build [<Vite build options>]

quest-n-click release

assets, verify and the build, then the release gates: validate --release (provenance lock), weight --release (budgets), i18n status (translations), voices check --release, playtests --strict, solve --prove (the proof), solve-reality, then the dist tool.

Usage: quest-n-click release [--commercial]

OptionMeans
--commercialAlso validate --commercial --errors: no exception, no placeholder.

quest-n-click preview

Serves dist/ locally (vite preview --host 127.0.0.1).

Usage: quest-n-click preview [<Vite preview options>]

quest-n-click migrate

Brings the game's sources to the installed engine's version (ids, content format); since 4.3.0 it first renames the former name's web-scumm/… imports and commands.

Usage: quest-n-click migrate [--check]

create-quest-n-click

The package create-quest-n-click depends on the engine of the same version and runs its cli/create.mjs: the same as quest-n-click create.

create-quest-n-click

Writes a game project into <folder>: game/ from the template (one room, a hero, placeholder art drawn from shapes; __ID__ and __TITLE__ filled in), game/provenance.json (the placeholder art marked as such, CC0, to replace before a release), the engine's public/ icons, og.png and fonts, a package.json whose scripts call the engine's command, a tsconfig.json whose paths point into the installed package, a .gitignore and a README.md. The id is the folder's name in lowercase; the title is the remaining words, else the id capitalised. Then: cd <folder> && npm install && npm run assets && npm run dev.

Usage: npx create-quest-n-click <folder> ["Title"] [--engine=<npm spec>]

OptionMeans
--engine=<npm spec>The engine dependency of the new project (default ^<version>), e.g. a tarball path.
CodeMeans
0The project is written.
1The folder exists and is not empty.
2No folder given (the usage line).

quest-n-click-bridge

The reference Reality Bridge on its own (4.1.1; its store commands 4.1.10), for a game that is already built: init --manifest=<game>/dist/reality-manifest.json, then serve. A store is named jsonl (the journal beside config.json), sqlite:<file> (relative to the Bridge's directory; sqlite alone is bridge.sqlite) or postgres://…; --store=, then BRIDGE_STORE, then BRIDGE_STORE_FILE (a file holding the URL) override the configuration's. Every secret init makes is written under --dir, never printed. Options are written --key=value (the store commands also take --key value). Any other command prints the usage line, exit 2.

quest-n-click-bridge init

Keys and a configuration: config.json, the Biscuit root (root.key, read by grant only, never by serve), the event-signing key, the admin token, and, unless --no-demo-webhooks, demonstration webhooks (any player, may pair). On the Internet prefer --no-demo-webhooks and one grant per connector.

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge init [--dir=.cache/bridge] [--manifest=dist/reality-manifest.json] [--audience=bridge.local] [--origin=<urls>] [--store=sqlite] [--tenant=<id>] [--environment=prod|staging|dev] [--signal-version=2] [--hosts=<names>] [--no-demo-webhooks] [--demo-days=30] [--force]

OptionMeans
--dir=<folder>The Bridge's directory (default .cache/bridge); every command takes it.
--manifest=<file>A built game's reality-manifest.json (the standalone package); npm run bridge takes it from the game.
--audience=<name>Who the Bridge is for its connectors' tokens (default bridge.local).
--origin=<url,url>The players' origins (CORS), default http://127.0.0.1:5173,http://localhost:5173.
--store=<store>The store (default the JSON-lines journal; sqlite is sqlite:bridge.sqlite).
--tenant=<id>The tenant this configuration is (default default).
--environment=prod|staging|devWhere it runs, named in V2 signals (default prod).
--signal-version=2Signs V2 signals (default 1 for a single tenant).
--hosts=<name,name>The Host names that reach this tenant on a multi-tenant server.
--no-demo-webhooksNo demonstration webhooks.
--demo-days=<n>Lifetime of the demonstration webhooks' tokens (default 30).
--forceReplaces an existing config.json, and every key and token with it.
CodeMeans
0Written.
1The game declares no reality.signals, or config.json exists without --force.

quest-n-click-bridge serve

The Bridge over HTTP, one JSON log line per event. It takes a serving lease on the store (refused while a restore or a migration down holds it). SIGTERM or SIGINT closes the streams, the server and the store (five seconds at most), exit 0. Several tenants (--tenants) need a SQL store; leaderboards and the daily challenge too.

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge serve [--dir=<folder>] [--port=8787] [--host=127.0.0.1] [--trust-proxy[=<list>]] [--tenants=<dir>,<dir>] [--tenant-header] [--store=<store>]

OptionMeans
--port=<n>Default 8787.
--host=<address>Default 127.0.0.1.
--trust-proxy[=<list>]Alone: trusts the loopback's forwarded address; with a list (10.0.0.0/8,192.168.1.2): those proxies.
--tenants=<dir>,<dir>Several tenants, a directory each, on one shared SQL store.
--tenant-headerRoutes by a tenant header instead of the Host.
--store=<store>Overrides the configuration's store.
CodeMeans
0Stopped by SIGTERM or SIGINT.
1Not serving: a lease or a lock holds the store, two directories are one tenant, several tenants on the journal, leaderboards without SQL, or a moderation token file that is missing, open to others or shorter than 32 characters.

quest-n-click-bridge grant

Prints a connector's token (a Biscuit) on stdout: redirect it to a file (> telnet.token). Grant each connector only the signals it proposes; --pair lets it confirm the pairing codes players give.

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge grant --connector=<id> --source=<s> --signals=a,b [--players=any|p-…,p-…] [--pair] [--days=30] [--tenant=<id>]

OptionMeans
--connector=<id>The connector's name in the token.
--source=<s>The source it proposes for.
--signals=a,bThe signals it may propose.
--players=any|p-…,p-…Which players (default any).
--pairMay confirm pairing codes.
--days=<n>Lifetime (default 30).

quest-n-click-bridge rotate

A new event-signing key; the previous one stays listed --keep-days days for players that just received a signal. Restart the Bridge to use it.

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge rotate [--keep-days=30]

OptionMeans
--keep-days=<n>Default 30.

quest-n-click-bridge revoke

Asks the running Bridge (POST v1/admin/revoke with the admin token of --dir) to revoke a player or a token.

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge revoke --url=<bridge> (--player=<p-…> | --token=<revocation id>)

OptionMeans
--url=<bridge>Default http://127.0.0.1:8787/.
--player=<p-…>A player.
--token=<id>A token's revocation id.
CodeMeans
0Revoked.
1The Bridge refused (its status and answer printed).

quest-n-click-bridge doctor

Reads the store without changing it: the journal's lines, a last line cut short by a crash, corruption; or a SQL store's schema, each tenant's rows, gaps in a player's sequence, quarantine.

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge doctor [--dir=<folder>] [--store=<store>]

CodeMeans
0Readable.
1A corrupt journal (the Bridge will not start on it), or a gap in a player's sequence.

quest-n-click-bridge compact

Rewrites the JSON-lines journal without the signals acknowledged and older than the retention. The Bridge must be stopped (the command takes the journal's lock). A SQL store keeps every signal: exit 1.

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge compact [--dir=<folder>] [--retention-days=90]

OptionMeans
--retention-days=<n>Default 90.

quest-n-click-bridge migrate

With --from/--to: the journal moved into SQLite or Postgres, checked, then the configuration pointed at it (not for a Postgres URL, nor with --no-config). Without: the SQL schema up to the latest, or to --schema=N (0 undoes everything; going down takes the store alone).

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge migrate --from=jsonl --to=sqlite[:file]|postgres://… [--tenant=<id>] [--no-config] · migrate [--schema=N] [--lock-timeout=<ms>]

OptionMeans
--lock-timeout=<ms>How long to wait for the maintenance lease (default 30000).
CodeMeans
1Nothing migrated: the target holds the tenant, a check failed, a lease holds the store.
2The usage line, or a bad --lock-timeout.

quest-n-click-bridge tenant

A tenant's rows exported, or deleted (--yes required: every row of the tenant goes).

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge tenant <export|delete> --tenant=<id> [--out=<file>] [--yes]

CodeMeans
1delete without --yes.
2The usage line.

quest-n-click-bridge backup

The whole store as one snapshot in a new file (backup schema 4). Over --max-bytes (default 256 MiB) no file is written: use pg_dump or the provider's snapshots. --max-rows defaults to 2,000,000.

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge backup --out=<file> [--max-bytes=<n>] [--max-rows=<n>]

CodeMeans
1Too large, or the backup failed: no file written.
2No --out, or a bound that is not a positive integer.

quest-n-click-bridge restore

A backup into a SQL store, under a maintenance lease (the Bridges stopped for replace-store). The mode is always said (4.1.20): merge keeps what the file does not speak of and refuses a conflict unless --force; replace-store makes the store the file, after a safety backup of the store to --safety-out. A backup's digest is an integrity check, not a signature.

Usage: quest-n-click-bridge restore --from=<file> --mode=merge [--force] [--max-bytes=<n>] [--lock-timeout=<ms>] · restore --from=<file> --mode=replace-store --yes-replace-store --safety-out=<new file> [--max-bytes=<n>] [--max-rows=<n>] [--lock-timeout=<ms>]

OptionMeans
--mode=merge|replace-storeRequired.
--forcemerge only: the tenants, runs and daily keys already held are replaced.
--yes-replace-storereplace-store only, required.
--safety-out=<new file>replace-store only, required: where the store is backed up first.
CodeMeans
0Restored.
1Nothing restored: a lease holds the store, a conflict, a journal store, a bad file.
2The usage: no mode, an option of the other mode, a missing confirmation or safety file, a bad bound.

quest-n-click-connector

One connector of the world outside, as its own process (4.1.9, experimental). Install the package without native code: npm install --omit=optional --ignore-scripts quest-n-click-connectors. The options and exit codes below hold for every connector.

OptionMeans
--config <file.json>Required: the configuration (see "Configuration of a connector" above).
--help, -hPrints the usage, exit 0.
CodeMeans
0Stopped by SIGTERM or SIGINT (Ctrl-C): no new input, work in flight drained for at most five seconds. Also --help.
1No token, an inline bridge.token that is not a string, or a manifest for another game.
2No arguments, an unknown connector, or no --config.

quest-n-click-connector email

Letters, by signed webhook or IMAP.

Usage: quest-n-click-connector email --config <file.json>

quest-n-click-connector telnet

A Telnet terminal.

Usage: quest-n-click-connector telnet --config <file.json>

quest-n-click-connector ssh

An SSH terminal.

Usage: quest-n-click-connector ssh --config <file.json>

quest-n-click-connector open-badge

Open Badges 2 and 3.

Usage: quest-n-click-connector open-badge --config <file.json>

quest-n-click-studio-server

The Studio Server (4.2.1): one game, several people, online. The command runs the engine's studio-server/src/server/main.ts with tsx, refused (exit 2) when the engine is missing or of another version. Every command but login, token, deps and worker-keys reads a configuration: --config <file>, else STUDIO_CONFIG, else STUDIO_CONFIG_JSON; its secrets come from <NAME>_FILE or the environment and leave it before anything runs. A configuration error prints configuration: …, exit 1.

quest-n-click-studio-server serve

The Studio Server: the API, the probes, the service lease. Without OpenID Connect it serves the loopback only. SIGTERM or SIGINT stops it, exit 0.

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server serve --config <file>

OptionMeans
--config <file>The configuration (or STUDIO_CONFIG, STUDIO_CONFIG_JSON).
CodeMeans
2No command or configuration, an unknown command, or a host other than the loopback without authentication.

quest-n-click-studio-server import

A game folder (with its index.ts) becomes the instance's project: copied beside, renamed in, adopted by the journal (hosted: its files go to the blobs and the journal is shipped to the bucket).

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server import <dir> --config <file>

CodeMeans
1The instance already has a project.
2No game folder with an index.ts.

quest-n-click-studio-server export

The game at the head, written to an empty or new folder, each file checked against its hash, with export-manifest.json (game, epoch, revision, files).

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server export <dir> --config <file>

CodeMeans
2No empty or new folder.

quest-n-click-studio-server invite

Prints a one-time invitation link (<publicUrl>/auth/login?invite=…); the first owner comes this way.

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server invite --email <email> --role <owner|dev|reviewer> --config <file>

CodeMeans
2No email, or a role other than owner, dev, reviewer.

quest-n-click-studio-server worker-keys

The job keys: studio-worker.key (0600, the Studio's secret STUDIO_WORKER_KEY) and studio-worker.pub (the worker's WORKER_PUBLIC_KEY), never printed; an existing file is not replaced.

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server worker-keys --out <existing folder>

CodeMeans
2No --out, or a folder that does not exist.

quest-n-click-studio-server login

The CLI's device flow: open the URL printed and enter the code; the token is kept in a file of your configuration folder (0600).

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server login --server <https://studio.example>

CodeMeans
2No --server.

quest-n-click-studio-server token

Prints the current access token (refreshed when near its end).

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server token --server <https://studio.example>

CodeMeans
2No --server.

quest-n-click-studio-server deps

Its own dependencies (openid-client, jose, pg): the version and folder each resolves to, as JSON.

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server deps

quest-n-click-studio-server backup

The project's tables, one snapshot, with the blobs they name (4.2.2), to a new file (0600). --to-bucket (4.2.3): to the bucket's backups/ (blobs on S3 only), the --keep most recent kept.

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server backup <new file> --config <file> · backup --to-bucket [--keep <n>] --config <file>

OptionMeans
--to-bucketTo the instance's bucket.
--keep <n>With --to-bucket: how many backups to keep (1 or more).
CodeMeans
2No new file, or a bad --keep.

quest-n-click-studio-server restore

A backup into an empty hosted project (store PostgreSQL), then with --replay the journal shipped to the bucket since; the restore is then ended (the server does not serve meanwhile).

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server restore <file> [--replay] --config <file>

OptionMeans
--replayAlso replays the shipped journal (blobs on S3).
CodeMeans
2No backup file.

quest-n-click-studio-server replay

A restore's replay resumed after it stopped, then the restore ended.

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server replay --config <file>

CodeMeans
1No restore is under way.

quest-n-click-studio-server gc

The blobs no row names (older than a day) and the worker's old staging: listed, or deleted with --delete.

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-server gc [--delete] --config <file>

OptionMeans
--deleteDeletes them.

quest-n-click-studio-worker

The Studio Server's processing worker (4.2.1, ADR 0028): it runs the game's code for the Studio, one job at a time per lane, each in a fresh child process and folder. It takes no argument: WORKER_PUBLIC_KEY (or WORKER_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE), WORKER_INSTANCE and PORT (default 8080, on 0.0.0.0) configure it.

quest-n-click-studio-worker

Serves POST /jobs, GET /livez and GET /readyz (503 once a job left a process behind).

Usage: quest-n-click-studio-worker

CodeMeans
0Stopped by SIGTERM.
2WORKER_PUBLIC_KEY or WORKER_INSTANCE missing.
75Recycled: a job left a process behind; the instance exits once idle and the platform starts a fresh one.

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