# npx awaitful reference

> Every command and flag of the Awaitful installer: install, status, --editor, --all, --dry-run. Zero dependencies, no network calls of its own.

- Source: https://awaitful.com/docs/cli-reference
- Updated: July 19, 2026

The complete reference for the Awaitful installer: every command, every flag, and every exit path. It is a small tool on purpose - it detects editors and asks them to install the extension, and that is all it does.

## Commands

```
npx awaitful
```

Detects your editors and installs the `awaitful.awaitful` extension from each editor's own marketplace. With several editors found, it asks which one - or all.

```
npx awaitful status
```

Prints, per detected editor, the installed Awaitful version or "not installed".

## Flags

| Flag | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| `--editor <id>` | Skip the prompt and target one editor: code, cursor, devin (named windsurf in the currently published installer), codium, code-insiders. |
| `--all` | Install to every detected editor, no prompt. |
| `--dry-run` | Print the exact commands it would run, run nothing. |
| `-v`, `--version` | Print the installer's own version. |
| `-h`, `--help` | Usage. |

## How detection works

Editors are probed in order - VS Code, Cursor, Devin (as Windsurf in the currently published installer), VSCodium, VS Code Insiders - first on your PATH, then in the well-known application locations for your platform, each candidate confirmed by asking it for its version. The installer needs Node 18 or newer and tells you plainly if yours is older.

## When something is off

-   **No editor found** - it prints the editors it looked for plus the manual install links ([VS Code Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=awaitful.awaitful), [Open VSX](https://open-vsx.org/extension/awaitful/awaitful)) and exits nonzero.
-   **Several editors, no interactive terminal** - it asks you to choose with `--editor` or `--all` and exits nonzero rather than guessing.
-   **Editor installed but not detected** - its command line tool is not on your PATH. In VS Code, run "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH" from the Command Palette, then try again.
-   **An unexpected crash** - it says so honestly ("this looks like a bug in the installer, not in your setup") and points at the issue tracker.

**Zero dependencies, zero network**

The [npm package](https://www.npmjs.com/package/awaitful) has no dependencies and makes no network requests of its own - both enforced by its test suite in the public repo. The only download is your editor fetching the extension from its own marketplace.

Next step after installing: [sign in from the editor](https://awaitful.com/docs/link-your-editor), or start from the walkthrough in [Install in one command](https://awaitful.com/docs/install).