CLI Reference

The trident command-line tool — manage instances, mods, accounts, and more from the terminal.

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Installation

The CLI (trident) is a separate project and must be installed independently as a .NET tool:

dotnet tool install --global TridentCore.Cli

Global Options

Option	Description
`--json`	Output results as JSON
`--no-interactive`	Disable interactive prompts
`--verbose` / `--debug`	Increase output verbosity

The CLI and desktop app can use the same instance home through TRIDENT_HOME or ~/.trident.home, but CLI accounts, repositories, and settings are stored separately. See Custom Data Directory for path selection.

Instance Commands

Create an Instance

trident instance create --name "My Modpack" --identity my-modpack --version 1.21.1 --loader net.fabricmc:0.16.10

Options:

--name, --version, and an instance key (--identity or --id) are required by the current CLI validation.
--loader takes a loader ID and version (LURL), such as net.fabricmc:0.16.10. Use trident loader list for supported IDs.

List Instances

trident instance list

Inspect an Instance

trident instance inspect --instance my-modpack

Shows the instance's profile and package information.

Deploy (Build) an Instance

trident instance build --instance my-modpack

Runs the full deploy pipeline. Equivalent to clicking "Deploy" in the GUI.

Launch an Instance

trident instance run --instance my-modpack --username Steve

Deploys, then launches Minecraft using a CLI account or the supplied offline username. CLI account storage is separate from the desktop app.

Export a Modpack

trident instance export --instance my-modpack --format modrinth --author Steve --output ./my-modpack.mrpack

Supported formats: trident, curseforge, modrinth, multimc.

Import a Modpack

trident instance import ./my-pack.mrpack

Auto-detects the format.

Delete an Instance

trident instance delete --instance my-modpack

Package Commands

Search for Mods

trident package search --repository modrinth "sodium"

Add a Mod

trident package add --instance my-modpack pref://modrinth/aC3cM3Vq

A Pref has the form pref://repository/project-id or pref://repository/project-id@version-id. Use the Pref returned by search rather than a display name.

List Installed Mods

trident package list --instance my-modpack

Enable / Disable a Mod

trident package enable --instance my-modpack pref://modrinth/aC3cM3Vq
trident package disable --instance my-modpack pref://modrinth/aC3cM3Vq

View Available Versions

trident package version list pref://modrinth/aC3cM3Vq

Pin a Specific Version

trident package version set --instance my-modpack pref://modrinth/aC3cM3Vq@9I21YYxf

Loader Commands

List Supported Loaders

trident loader list

Change the Loader

trident loader set --instance my-modpack net.fabricmc:0.16.10

Account Commands

Add a Microsoft Account

trident account add --type microsoft

Launches the Device Code Flow in the terminal.

Add an Offline Account

trident account add --type offline --username Steve

List Accounts

trident account list

Remove an Account

trident account remove --uuid 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000

Repository Commands

List Configured Repositories

trident repository list

Check Repository Status

trident repository status

Add a Repository

trident repository add --label my-repo --driver modrinth --endpoint https://api.modrinth.com

MCP Mode

Start an MCP server for AI agent integration:

trident --mcp

See MCP Mode → for details.

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