Available Commands
The OpenHands CLI provides commands to help with settings and conversations. These commands work by typing/
followed by the command. To see a list of all the available commands run /help when running the CLI.
Settings and Configuration
You can update your model, API key, and other preferences using the/settings command. Just
follow the prompts:
- Basic settings: Choose a provider/model and enter your API key.
- Advanced settings: Set custom models and toggle memory condensation.
MCP Server Management
If you’re upgrading from a version before release 1.0.0, you’ll need to redo your MCP server configuration as the
format has changed from TOML to JSON.
~/.openhands/mcp.json file using this configuration format.
Example: Adding Web Search Capability
To add web search capability within your OpenHands CLI, we can use Tavily’s remote MCP server for AI-powered search and data extraction. To do so, you would create or edit ~/.openhands/mcp.json with the following, adding your Tavily API key in the appropriate place:
/mcp command in the CLI provides a read-only view of MCP server status:
- View active servers: Shows which MCP servers are currently active in the conversation.
- View pending changes: If the
mcp.jsonfile has been modified, shows which servers will be mounted when the conversation is restarted.
Tips and Troubleshooting
- Use
/helpat any time to see the list of available commands. - If you encounter permission issues, make sure your workspace directory is trusted and all required environment variables are set correctly.
- If you want to start over, use
/newto begin a fresh conversation without restarting the CLI.

