CLI

lockdocs <package> [question]   Docs for the version this project pins (no question: overview)
lockdocs resolve [filter]       Pinned versions and where their docs are
lockdocs docs <question>        Search all direct dependencies (--pkg to focus)
lockdocs api <symbol>           Exact signature + doc comment
lockdocs fetch [package...]     Once: upstream docs at each version's git tag, missing packages, the model
lockdocs index [package]        Build indexes ahead of time and show what they hold
lockdocs upgrade <pkg> <ver>    Pro: API changes from the pinned version to <ver>, with your call sites
lockdocs licence status|activate <token>   Show or activate a lockdocs Pro licence (free to run)
lockdocs cache [clean]          Show or delete the cache
lockdocs setup                  Configure MCP clients (--client a,b --dry-run --remove --fetch)
lockdocs mcp                    MCP server on stdio (also the default with no command and non-terminal stdin)
lockdocs version

Option
-C, --root <dir>	Project directory (default: current)
--pkg <package>	Package for docs / api
--upgrade-to <version>	With docs --pkg: the Pro upgrade report (same as lockdocs upgrade)
--tokens <n>	Answer budget (default 1200)
--fetch	Also allow exact registry packages and major-version docs sites during queries
--no-fetch	Disable query package/docs downloads; cached docs remain usable
--offline	Never download, not even the embedding model
--json	Machine-readable output

Global options work before or after the command, including the package-name shorthand. These pairs return the same pinned versions and file:line citations:

lockdocs resolve -C ./project --offline --json
lockdocs --json --offline -C ./project resolve
lockdocs docs "reject unknown keys" --pkg zod -C ./project --offline
lockdocs --root ./project --offline docs "reject unknown keys" --pkg zod
lockdocs api z.object -C ./project --offline
lockdocs --offline -C ./project api z.object

An explicit command (or package name) always runs as a CLI query, even with closed or piped stdin; it does not wait for an MCP request. To launch the stdio server, use lockdocs mcp. The existing flags-only form, such as lockdocs --offline -C ./project, also starts MCP. With no arguments, lockdocs starts MCP when stdin is not a terminal and shows help in a terminal.

Exit code 1 with a message on stderr when a package is not a dependency or not installed. Exit code 3: the command is part of lockdocs Pro and no valid licence is configured (set LOCKDOCS_LICENCE_TOKEN or run lockdocs licence activate <token>).

Public release-tag docs are fetched anonymously on first docs / api use by default. LOCKDOCS_FETCH=0 opts out; LOCKDOCS_OFFLINE=1 also disables the embedding model download.

Public npm import entrypoints

api follows the installed package's declaration exports from its public import entrypoint. With --pkg zod, it answers for import … from "zod", not whichever same-named declaration appears elsewhere in the package. Select another public edition explicitly:

lockdocs api z.email --pkg zod/v4 --offline
lockdocs api zod/v4.z.email --offline

Answers cite the exact package version, declaration file and line, public import path, and declaration entrypoint/export conditions. A missing export returns not_exported; incomplete applicability returns unresolved; conflicting conditional declarations return ambiguous. None is an exact match or silently substitutes an internal symbol. Alternate public imports are listed separately with their applicability. JSON answers expose status, import, applicability and alternatives. The MCP api tool accepts the same path in package.

These queries still work from installed files offline, without an account or a licence. Dynamic JavaScript exports, external-package re-exports and declaration syntax that cannot be traced are reported as unresolved rather than guessed.