Flags & Options

All flags apply to the athena-flow / athena command.

`--project-dir`

--project-dir=<path>

Sets the project directory. Athena uses this path to locate the hook socket, read project-level config (.athena/config.json), and scope session data.

Defaults to the current working directory.

athena-flow --project-dir=/home/user/projects/my-app

`--plugin`

--plugin=<path>

Loads a plugin from the specified directory path. Repeatable to load multiple plugins. Plugins loaded via --plugin are merged with plugins listed in config files.

athena-flow --plugin=./plugins/my-commands --plugin=/shared/team-tools

See Plugin Anatomy for the expected directory structure.

`--isolation`

--isolation=<preset>

Sets the isolation preset for the session. All presets use --setting-sources "" to fully isolate from Claude Code's own settings file — Athena is self-contained. The presets differ in MCP server access and allowed tool set.

Preset	MCP Servers	Allowed Tools
`strict`	Blocked (default)	`Read`, `Edit`, `Glob`, `Grep`, `Bash`, `Write`
`minimal`	Project servers	Above + `WebSearch`, `WebFetch`, `Task`, `Skill`, `mcp__*`
`permissive`	Project servers	Above + `NotebookEdit`

Note: allowedTools is enforced via PreToolUse hooks rather than CLI flags, so Athena retains visibility and control over every tool call.

athena-flow --isolation=minimal

`--theme`

--theme=<theme>

Sets the terminal UI color theme. Overrides config file values.

Value	Description
`dark`	Default. Dark terminal background.
`light`	Light terminal background.
`high-contrast`	Maximum contrast for accessibility.

athena-flow --theme=high-contrast

`--workflow`

--workflow=<name>

Activates a workflow by name. The name is looked up in the local workflow registry at ~/.config/athena/workflows/<name>/workflow.json. Workflows must be installed before they can be activated — see Marketplace Resolution.

The workflow name is also displayed in the header as a reference label.

athena-flow --workflow=e2e-test-builder

`--verbose`

--verbose

Enables additional rendering detail in the event feed. Useful for debugging and understanding what Athena is doing internally. See Verbose Mode.

athena-flow --verbose

`--ascii`

--ascii

Switches the UI from Unicode box-drawing characters and glyphs to ASCII-safe equivalents. Use this if your terminal font doesn't render Unicode glyphs correctly.

athena-flow --ascii

Exec Mode Flags

The following flags only apply to the athena-flow exec subcommand. See Commands for usage details.

`--json`

--json

Emits JSONL events to stdout instead of rendering the terminal UI. Useful for piping into other tools or CI log parsing.

athena-flow exec "run tests" --json

`--output-last-message`

--output-last-message=<path>

Writes the final assistant message to the specified file path after the exec run completes.

athena-flow exec "summarize changes" --output-last-message=./summary.txt

`--ephemeral`

--ephemeral

Do not persist session data. The exec run will not be saved to the session database.

athena-flow exec "check status" --ephemeral

`--on-permission`

--on-permission=<policy>

Sets the policy for handling permission requests during exec mode.

Value	Description
`allow`	Automatically allow all permission requests
`deny`	Automatically deny all permission requests
`fail`	Fail the run on any permission request (default)

athena-flow exec "run linter" --on-permission=deny

`--on-question`

--on-question=<policy>

Sets the policy for handling AskUserQuestion tool calls during exec mode.

Value	Description
`empty`	Respond with an empty string
`fail`	Fail the run on any question (default)

athena-flow exec "analyze code" --on-question=empty

`--timeout-ms`

--timeout-ms=<milliseconds>

Sets a hard timeout for the exec run. The run is terminated if it exceeds this duration.

athena-flow exec "run full test suite" --timeout-ms=120000

`--continue` (exec mode)

--continue [athenaSessionId]

Resumes the most recent exec session. Optionally pass a specific Athena session ID to resume.

athena-flow exec "continue previous work" --continue
athena-flow exec "continue" --continue=3f8a1b2c-4d5e-6f7a-8b9c-0d1e2f3a4b5c