# A practical guide to Rive CLI and coding agents > A practical guide to using Rive CLI and RML with a coding agent to build, inspect and test interactive graphics, including account, signing and export limits. By BIG CHANGE Editorial Published: 2026-09-27T00:12:27.556Z Updated: 2026-09-27T00:17:31.324Z Canonical: https://bigchange.ai/blog/rive-cli-rml-coding-agents-guide ![A designer holds a controller while viewing an orange jointed animation shape on a wall-mounted display, with a smaller screen of indented lines nearby.](https://bigchange.ai/api/media/file/rive-cli-animation-hero-v2.png) AI-generated conceptual illustration by BIG CHANGE. Rive's new CLI lets a coding agent work on interactive graphics as project files. The agent can write Rive Markup Language (RML), Luau scripts and shaders, then ask the CLI to compile, inspect, test and render the result. A person can watch the local preview and revise the design. Rive staff introduced the CLI as a **technical preview on September 11**; [Rive's Downloads page](https://rive.app/downloads), checked September 27, lists it under **Early Access**. This checklist follows [Rive's documentation](https://rive.app/docs/cli/overview). BIG CHANGE reviewed the docs only. We did not install the CLI, build a file or test an agent-produced graphic. Rive's [video walkthrough](https://youtu.be/Y3E33otHeLE) shows the intended human-and-agent process. ## The big change - **What changed:** Rive scenes now have a text-based path for coding agents. An agent can edit RML in a project folder, while the CLI compiles a `.riv` for runtimes or a `.rev` for further work in the Editor. - **Why it matters:** Designers and front-end or game developers can review source changes alongside their other project files and use CLI checks while iterating. They still need to judge the rendered design and interactions before using the asset in a product. - **What to watch:** Moving a local prototype to the web is a separate decision. Files with scripts need a signed `--publish` build; a clean `.riv` also needs an account-file binding and a Cadet-or-higher workspace. Check those conditions and the final graphic before deployment. ## The documented to-do list 1. **Check access and install.** Rive lists macOS on Apple Silicon, Linux x86\_64 and Windows as supported. Its [Getting Started guide](https://rive.app/docs/cli/getting-started) provides separate installer instructions for Windows and macOS/Linux; use the current Windows instructions on that page. Run `rive doctor` after installation. The command reference also documents `rive --version`; record the version you actually install because this is preview software. Rive's September 11 announcement said the CLI was free without limits *during the preview*. That dated statement does not establish a permanent CLI price. The [current plan table](https://rive.app/pricing) concerns Rive accounts and the built-in Editor Agent, so check current terms before publishing. 2. **Create a text project and open the preview.** `rive create myproject` makes `scene.rml`, `rive.yaml`, agent instructions in `AGENTS.md` and `CLAUDE.md`, and a `.gitignore`. Run `rive myproject` in one terminal. According to Rive, it watches the folder, rebuilds on saves and writes `myproject/build/myproject.riv`. The starter scene has an artboard, timeline and state machine, but nothing drawn yet. Its initial preview is a dark rectangle. 3. **Give a coding agent the project folder and a specific design task.** Rive's [AI Agents guide](https://rive.app/docs/cli/agents) names Claude Code, Cursor or another agent able to read and write files and run shell commands. The generated instructions tell the agent how to use `rive docs` and `rive schema` to find supported objects and properties. RML is XML: elements represent Rive types, attributes represent their properties and nesting connects objects. The agent can also edit `.luau` scripts, `.wgsl` shaders and project assets. Ask it to work in stages so you can redirect layout and behavior while the preview updates. 4. **Check the build and what it contains.** Ask the agent to run `rive myproject --verify`, which compiles without writing a `.riv`, and `rive inspect myproject --summary`, which reports problems and object counts. For the full resolved scene, `rive inspect myproject --json` is documented. If the project needs a distributable local file without opening the preview, `rive myproject --once` writes an unsigned `.riv`. These checks can find compilation errors and missing or unexpected scene objects. [Rive's RML guide](https://rive.app/docs/runtimes/advanced-topic/rml) warns that a clean build does not establish that a graphic looks or behaves as intended. 5. **Capture the states that matter.** `rive myproject --screenshot=out.png` renders a PNG without a window. Rive's [examples](https://rive.app/docs/cli/examples) use `--advance=1s` for a frame after the animation starts, `--viewport=390x844` for a chosen layout size, `--data=battery/level=100` for bound data and `--pointer=click@120,60 --advance=20` for a simulated click. Choose values and coordinates from your own scene. Compare captures across states and viewport sizes, then inspect them yourself. A capture without `--advance` is the authored rest pose; it is not necessarily the opening animation frame. 6. **Run script tests where the project has them.** `rive myproject --test` runs the project's Luau `Tests` scripts. Rive documents `--verify --format=json` and `--test --format=json` for automated checks; failed builds and tests return nonzero exits. An agent can use those reports to revise its source. Tests only cover assertions actually written, so review the interactions the tests omit. 7. **Choose the account path when the local prototype is ready.** A `.riv` is the runtime asset; a `.rev` opens for editing in the Rive Editor. Rive says local creation, preview, verification, tests and screenshots work signed out and offline. `rive login` is needed for `--publish`, `--rev`, `rive push`, `rive pull` and importing a remote account file. To start from an exported Editor backup, `rive create myproject --from-rev=myfile.rev` works without login. To start from an account file, use `rive create myproject --from-remote-file` after login. The latter links the project to that file: `rive push myproject` uploads a revision; `rive pull myproject` brings Editor changes down and **overwrites local scene, scripts and assets** after confirmation. Review local changes before pulling. 8. **Check signing and export limits before shipping.** `rive myproject --publish` writes a signed `.riv` and requires login. Rive says web runtimes and its CDN reject unsigned scripts, so a file containing scripts for the web must use this path. `--publish` may add a watermark. Rive's [command reference](https://rive.app/docs/cli/reference/commands) says a clean `.riv` requires the project to be bound to an account file through `rive push` and that file to be in a workspace on Cadet or higher. The watermark condition applies even if the scene has no scripts. `--rev=` also requires login and can accompany `--once` or `--publish`; it writes an Editor file, not a runtime substitute. Check the current account plan and the actual exported result before deployment. Rive also has an [AI Agent built into the Editor](https://rive.app/docs/editor/ai-agent). It opens from the Editor sidebar and is subject to the Editor's plan and AI credit terms. This guide's folder-and-terminal workflow uses a coding agent paired with the CLI; the two agent routes have different interfaces and billing contexts. ## Sources & further reading - [Rive CLI overview](https://rive.app/docs/cli/overview) explains the terminal workflow, output formats, preview and account-file exchange. - [Getting Started](https://rive.app/docs/cli/getting-started) gives supported systems, installation, scaffold contents, local build and sign-in conditions. - [Working with AI Agents](https://rive.app/docs/cli/agents) shows how a coding agent uses the generated project instructions and CLI feedback. The [built-in Editor Agent guide](https://rive.app/docs/editor/ai-agent) describes the separate Editor interface. - [RML guide](https://rive.app/docs/runtimes/advanced-topic/rml), [command reference](https://rive.app/docs/cli/reference/commands) and [examples](https://rive.app/docs/cli/examples) substantiate the file model, exact commands, testing, capture behavior and publishing limits. - [September 11 staff announcement](https://community.rive.app/c/announcements/introducing-the-rive-cli-and-rml) dates the technical preview and its temporary free-CLI statement. [Downloads](https://rive.app/downloads) currently labels the CLI Early Access; [pricing](https://rive.app/pricing) lists account plans. Watch [Rive's video walkthrough](https://youtu.be/Y3E33otHeLE) for the human-and-agent process. ## Sources - [Rive CLI overview](https://rive.app/docs/cli/overview) — Defines CLI purpose, local .riv and Editor .rev outputs, live preview, inspect/test/capture capabilities and remote file exchange. - [Rive CLI Getting Started](https://rive.app/docs/cli/getting-started) — Documents supported platforms, installation, project scaffold, preview output, .rev and remote import, login needs, script signing and watermark conditions. - [Working with AI Agents](https://rive.app/docs/cli/agents) — Documents use with external coding agents, generated agent instructions, reference lookup, verification, inspection and staged human steering. - [Rive Markup Language](https://rive.app/docs/runtimes/advanced-topic/rml) — Defines RML structure, text project compilation and the separate compile, inspect and visual checks; explicitly says a clean build does not establish intended behavior or appearance. - [Rive CLI Command Reference](https://rive.app/docs/cli/reference/commands) — Primary reference for the precise commands, flags, exit behavior, remote push/pull, account authentication, signing, .rev export and clean .riv requirements. - [Rive CLI Examples](https://rive.app/docs/cli/examples) — Shows headless screenshots, advance, viewport, data and pointer input, Luau tests and JSON reports; examples are documented, not run by BIG CHANGE. - [Rive AI Agent](https://rive.app/docs/editor/ai-agent) — Describes Rive's separate built-in Editor Agent and its plan and AI credit context. - [Rive Downloads](https://rive.app/downloads) — Current page lists Rive CLI under Early Access. - [Rive Pricing](https://rive.app/pricing) — Lists current account and Editor Agent plan terms; treated separately from the dated preview-CLI pricing statement. - [Introducing the Rive CLI and RML](https://community.rive.app/c/announcements/introducing-the-rive-cli-and-rml) — Rive staff announcement calls the release a technical preview and says the CLI is free without limits during that preview. Also explains .riv/.rev/RML roles and links a walkthrough. - [Rive CLI walkthrough](https://youtu.be/Y3E33otHeLE) — Owner-supplied video link, included in the body and sources; no video-specific scene or result claims are made.