circuit
CLI

circuit run

Execute a flow against a goal.

circuit run <flow-id> --goal '<task>' [options]

Runs a flow against a goal and writes the run folder. Pass the flow id as the first argument: build, fix, explore, review, or prototype. When you invoke Circuit through an agent with /circuit:run, the agent picks the flow and calls this command for you.

--goal is required unless you are resuming a checkpoint with circuit resume.

Flags

FlagDescriptionDefault
--goal <goal>The task to run. Required.
--why <why>Why the task matters. Threaded into worker prompts.
--power <auto|low|medium|high>Model tier for each worker. Also derives the run's process thoroughness.medium
--tournament [2|3|4]Run candidates in parallel and pick a winner. Optional candidate count.off (3 when set)
--process <low|medium|high>Advanced. Explicitly overrides the process power derives.derived from --power
--autonomousDrive the continuation loop instead of a single pass.off
--run-folder <path>Where to write the run..circuit/runs/<run-id>
--fixture <path>Use a specific compiled flow file instead of the resolved one.
--flow-root <path>Directory of compiled flows.generated/flows
--progress <jsonl>Stream progress events as JSONL on stderr.off
--include-untracked-contentInclude untracked file content in evidence.off
--reuse-children-from <path>Reuse finished sub-runs from a prior crashed run folder instead of re-running them. Fresh runs only; rejected on resume.

Not every flow supports every control. --tournament and --autonomous are rejected when the flow does not declare them. --power works on every flow, and the process it derives clamps silently to what the flow supports. An explicit --process outside the flow's set is rejected before the run starts. See Power, process, and modes.

--power auto lets the run pick the tier: the researcher recommends one and the engine clamps it to the power_auto bounds in config. It also derives a medium process while letting the run pick its own model tier. Checkpoint resume re-reads power from config, so omit --power when resuming.

Examples

Run a named flow:

circuit run fix --goal 'fix the off-by-one in pagination'

Set the power dial:

circuit run build --goal 'add a rate limiter to the API' --power low

Override the derived process without changing model power:

circuit run build --goal 'add a rate limiter to the API' --power low --process high

Run a tournament with three candidates:

circuit run explore --goal 'compare caching strategies' --tournament 3

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