Skip to main content
This page is the command reference for the MVP zombie lifecycle — everything a new operator touches during the quickstart. For a full CLI tour (workspace, admin, agent, grant, doctor), see zombiectl overview. All commands accept --help and exit 0 when the command exists. --json switches any command to JSON output.

​
zombiectl install <template>

Scaffold a zombie directory from a bundled template. 
zombiectl install slack-bug-fixer
Writes a slack-bug-fixer/ directory in the current working directory containing:
  • SKILL.md — natural-language agent instructions, edited by you.
  • TRIGGER.md — YAML frontmatter declaring the trigger, skills, credentials, budget.
No network calls. No authentication required. You edit the files, then zombiectl up takes it from there. Run zombiectl install with no argument to see the current list of bundled templates.

​
zombiectl up

From inside a zombie directory, upload the config and start the zombie. 
cd slack-bug-fixer
zombiectl up
Output: 
✓ zombie created  id=zm_019abc12-8d3a-7f13-8abc-2b3e1e0a6f11
✓ webhook live    POST https://hooks.usezombie.com/v1/webhooks/019abc12-8d3a-7f13-8abc-2b3e1e0a6f11
✓ agent running   status=alive
zombiectl up parses TRIGGER.md, registers any declared skills and credentials, provisions the webhook endpoint, and starts the event loop. If you re-run zombiectl up after editing the files, it updates the existing zombie in place.

​
zombiectl status

Show the live state of all zombies in the current workspace. 
zombiectl status

ID                 NAME              STATE   LAST EVENT   DAILY $    MONTHLY $
zm_019abc12...     slack-bug-fixer   alive   2s ago       $0.03/5    $0.03/29
For a specific zombie, pass the name or ID. Add --json to script against the output.

​
zombiectl logs

Read the activity stream for one zombie. Output is paginated, not streamed. 
zombiectl logs --zombie zm_019abc12 --limit 50
FlagDefaultPurpose
--zombie <id>(required)Zombie ID to read.
--limit <n>20Maximum events to return.
--cursor <cursor>(none)Pagination cursor from a previous response.
Every event received, every skill call, every response, every credential use is timestamped. Each line carries a run_id you can cross-reference with the billing debit entry. When the response is truncated, the last line prints More: zombiectl logs --cursor=<next_cursor> — pass that back to paginate.

​
Triggering a zombie

There is no zombiectl trigger subcommand — zombies are triggered by HTTP, not by CLI. The webhook URL was printed during zombiectl up. Fire an event at it with curl: 
curl -X POST https://hooks.usezombie.com/v1/webhooks/$ZOMBIE_ID \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "event_id": "demo-001",
    "type": "message.received",
    "data": { "from": "[email protected]" }
  }'
The API returns {"accepted": true} immediately; the zombie processes the event asynchronously. Watch progress with zombiectl logs --zombie $ZOMBIE_ID --limit 50.

​
zombiectl kill

Stop a zombie immediately. 
zombiectl kill slack-bug-fixer
Terminates the running agent process mid-action. No new events are processed, no further billing. State is checkpointed so the zombie can be restarted cleanly.

​
zombiectl credential add

Store an encrypted credential referenced by one or more zombies. 
zombiectl credential add slack_bot_token --value=$SLACK_BOT_TOKEN
The credential is encrypted at rest and never returned to the agent process — when a skill needs it, the credential firewall injects it outside the sandbox. To reference the credential from a zombie, add its name to TRIGGER.md: 
credentials:
  - slack_bot_token
List existing credentials with: 
zombiectl credential list
Credential deletion is not yet exposed via CLI — manage removals from the credentials page in Mission Control (app.usezombie.com). A zombiectl credential rm subcommand is on the roadmap.

​
What’s next

Add a credential

Detailed credential reference — BYOK, vault semantics, rotation.

Full CLI reference

Every command, including workspace, doctor, admin.