Source: https://docs.any.org/understanding/dev-workflow.html

# Developer workflow

Development against any is one long-running server process on your machine and whatever clients you point at it. This page is the loop you will repeat: init, run, call, inspect.

## 1. Init an account

```bash
any init
```

Creates `~/.any/` (mode 0700), generates an account, writes `~/.any/<accountId>/wallet.key`, and prints the BIP-39 mnemonic to stderr **once**. Back it up. Re-running `any init` when an account exists is a no-op that lists them.

To attach a second machine to the same account, restore from the phrase — the account id is the same, the device key is fresh:

```bash
any init --mnemonic-stdin < phrase.txt      # never copy wallet.key between machines
```

## 2. Run the server

```bash
any run                                     # foreground, 127.0.0.1:7001
any run --addr 127.0.0.1:0                  # ephemeral port; prints "LISTENING <addr>" on stdout
any run --account <id>                      # pick one when the data dir holds several
any run --mode managed                      # a host-owned server: phrase per launch, control token
```

`any run` is foreground-only: run it in a terminal, tmux, or a user service. It never creates a wallet — on a fresh data dir it starts *unauthorized* and every route except `/v1/health`, `/v1/shutdown`, `/v1/openapi.json`, `/v1/auth` answers `401 auth.required` until `POST /v1/auth` (or `any auth login`) boots an account in place. The default `standalone` mode is the one to develop against; `managed` is how an app shell embeds the server ([Accounts](https://docs.any.org/auth/accounts.md.txt)).

Stop it with Ctrl-C or:

```bash
any stop                                    # finds the server by its account lock, SIGTERM —
                                            # drains in-flight, 10 s deadline
```

## 3. Check health

```bash
any status                                  # GET /v1/health
```

```json
{ "status": "ok", "version": "any v0.1.2 (commit 1a2b3c4, built 2026-09-09)",
  "startedAt": "2026-08-24T09:00:00Z", "networkId": "N83gJpVd…",
  "account": "A8tR…", "bootstrapping": false }
```

`networkId` is the any-sync network the server joined ([Networks](https://docs.any.org/operations/networks.md.txt)). `bootstrapping: true` means the background space-loading pass is still running; the server is serving already. `crdtVersion` (`{supported, stored, newer}`) is the account's data-model version: every release stamps its own on first open and the mark only rises, so a release older than the data refuses to boot (`409 sdk.crdt_version_newer`) or, when the raise arrives from another device while running, turns read-only — `newer: true` is the client's "upgrade required" signal.

## 4. Call it

Everything is `http://127.0.0.1:7001/v1/…` with JSON bodies. Pick whichever client fits:

| Client | When |
| --- | --- |
| `curl` | Exploring; the [curl quickstart](https://docs.any.org/quickstart/curl.md.txt) creates a space, an object, and a subscription. |
| `any …` CLI | Scripts and shells — subcommands mirroring the endpoints, pretty JSON on stdout, `jq`-friendly ([CLI quickstart](https://docs.any.org/quickstart/cli.md.txt)). |
| Web UI | `http://127.0.0.1:7001/ui` — a debug harness with a space picker, object tree, chat, members, and a network log. Disable with `webUI.enabled: false`. |
| Your app | Any HTTP client; live updates are SSE over a streaming POST ([JavaScript](https://docs.any.org/quickstart/javascript.md.txt), [Python](https://docs.any.org/quickstart/python.md.txt)). |

```bash
any --verbose space get $SPACE              # log the HTTP exchange to stderr
any --addr 127.0.0.1:7002 status            # a second server on another port
```

Without `--addr` the CLI finds the server serving the data dir's account through its `server.addr` file, so an ephemeral-port server needs no flag. When the server is down the CLI exits 3 with `start it with any run in another terminal`; it never auto-starts one.

## 5. Inspect

- **Sync** — `any sync-status space $SPACE`, `any sync-status subscribe`.
- **Search index** — `any search $SPACE "reranker"`; check `vectorStatus` in the reply.
- **Raw datasets** — `any query-subscribe $SPACE $OBJ --dataset chat_messages --limit 20 --sort='-_ver.id'` prints one JSON line per SSE frame.
- **Diagnostics** — `any debug space $SPACE` / `any debug object $SPACE $OBJ` dump head-sync counters and per-object tree state (unstable output, diagnostic only).
- **Logs** — one stream on stderr through the SDK logger; `--log-level debug` or `ANY_LOG_LEVEL=debug`. Add an absolute file path under `log.outputPaths` in `config.yaml` to tee to a file ([Debugging](https://docs.any.org/operations/debugging.md.txt)).

## The data dir

```
~/.any/                         # dataDir — a ROOT that can hold several accounts
├── config.yaml                 # optional
├── models/                     # shared embedder model cache (~600 MB, downloaded once)
└── <accountId>/
    ├── wallet.key              # standalone: account + device keys (0600)
    ├── device.key              # managed: this device's key only (0600)
    ├── server.lock             # single-instance lock (an OS file lock)
    ├── server.pid              # holder's pid, for error messages only
    ├── server.addr             # holder's bound address, read by the CLI
    ├── sdk/                    # any-store databases — owned by the SDK
    ├── files/                  # file bytes, one CARv2 per root CID
    └── index/                  # local search index — derived, safe to delete
```

Two servers may share a root as long as they serve different accounts on different ports. The `index/` directory is derived state: removing it with the server stopped is safe, and the next start re-indexes every space from the change feed. Never delete `files/` by hand — a file that has not been backed up yet has its only copy there ([Data dir](https://docs.any.org/operations/data-dir.md.txt)).

Config precedence is file → `ANY_*` env → flags; the file is looked up at `--config`, `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/any/config.yaml`, `~/.config/any/config.yaml`, then `<data-dir>/config.yaml` ([Configuration](https://docs.any.org/operations/configuration.md.txt)).

## Building from source

```bash
make build                                  # → bin/any (+ bin/llamacpp for the local embedder)
go test ./...
```

`make build` adds the local embedder (`-tags llamacpp`) and its llama.cpp libraries; a bare `go build` serves full-text search, and vector search only through an online provider named by `index.openai.*`. `go test ./...` runs everything except the local-embedder tests, which `make test` adds. On NixOS run builds and the binary through `nix develop -c …` so the local embedder finds `libffi` ([Builds and CI](https://docs.any.org/operations/builds-and-ci.md.txt)).

> **Note.** An unconfigured binary syncs against the **production** network. For experiments use a staging or local nodeconf via `ANY_NETWORK_NODECONF_PATH`, or the embedded placeholder that joins no network at all ([Networks](https://docs.any.org/quickstart/networks.md.txt)).