Phoenix Cli

---
name: phoenix-cli
description: >-
  Debug LLM applications using the Phoenix CLI. Fetch traces, analyze errors, structure trace
  review with open coding and axial coding, inspect datasets, review experiments, query annotation
  configs, and use the GraphQL API. Use when the user is analyzing traces or spans, investigating
  LLM/agent failures, deciding what to do after instrumenting an app, building failure taxonomies,
  choosing what evals to write, or asking "what's going wrong", "what kinds of mistakes", or
  "where do I focus" — even without naming a technique.
license: Apache-2.0
metadata:
  author: arize-ai
  compatibility: >-
    Requires Node.js (for npx) or global install of @arizeai/phoenix-cli. Optionally requires jq for
    JSON processing.
  version: 3.3.0
---

<!-- Generated from harness/github-copilot/skills/phoenix-cli/SKILL.md by harness/claude-code/scripts/convert_from_copilot.py. Edit the source, not this file. -->

# Phoenix CLI

Use the Phoenix CLI (`px` or `npx @arizeai/phoenix-cli`) to inspect traces, spans, sessions, datasets, experiments, prompts, annotation configs, profiles, and GraphQL data, then turn LLM application traffic into notes, taxonomies, eval targets, and concrete debugging evidence.

## When to invoke

- "What is going wrong in these Phoenix traces?"
- "Fetch recent LLM spans and analyze the errors."
- "Use open coding and axial coding on this agent traffic."
- "Inspect Phoenix datasets, experiments, or prompts."
- "Query Phoenix annotation configs or GraphQL."

## Prerequisites and context

- Use `px <resource> <action>` when installed globally, or `npx @arizeai/phoenix-cli <resource> <action>` when no install is available.
- Set `PHOENIX_HOST`, `PHOENIX_PROJECT`, and `PHOENIX_API_KEY` when the Phoenix instance requires them.
- Use `--format raw --no-progress` whenever output is piped to `jq`.
- Use singular resource commands with `list`, `get`, `annotate`, and `add-note` subcommands.

## Invocation

```bash
px <resource> <action>                          # if installed globally
npx @arizeai/phoenix-cli <resource> <action>    # no install required
```

The CLI uses singular resource commands with subcommands like `list` and `get`:

```bash
px trace list
px trace get <trace-id>
px trace annotate <trace-id>
px trace add-note <trace-id>
px trace-annotations delete
px span list
px span annotate <span-id>
px span add-note <span-id>
px span-annotations delete
px session list
px session get <session-id>
px session annotate <session-id>
px session add-note <session-id>
px session-annotations delete
px dataset list
px dataset get <name>
px project list
px project get <name>
px annotation-config list
px auth status
px profile list
px profile show [name]
px profile create <name>
px profile use <name>
px profile edit <name>
px profile delete <name>
```

## Setup

```bash
export PHOENIX_HOST=http://localhost:6006
export PHOENIX_PROJECT=my-project
export PHOENIX_API_KEY=your-api-key  # if auth is enabled
```

Always use `--format raw --no-progress` when piping to `jq`.

## Progressive disclosure and bundled resources

Read bundled references only when the workflow needs them.

- `references/open-coding.md`: free-form notes against sampled traces, spans, or sessions; includes the unit-of-analysis diagnostic and `.px/coding/<sanitized-identifier>.jsonl` sidecar rules.
- `references/axial-coding.md`: MECE taxonomy grouping, counts, eval-target selection, and `.px/coding/<sanitized-identifier>-axial.jsonl` handoff rules.

## Quick reference

| Task | Files |
| ---- | ----- |
| Look at sampled traces, spans, or sessions and write specific notes about what went wrong (no taxonomy yet) | [references/open-coding](references/open-coding.md) |
| Group those notes into a structured failure taxonomy and quantify what matters | [references/axial-coding](references/axial-coding.md) |

Both stages tag every artifact with one shared **coding annotation identifier** (descriptive shape, e.g. `coding-run:chatbot-context-loss-2026-05-06`) so the run is queryable, reversible, and viewable as a unit. Pass `--identifier <value>` explicitly on every `px` call — shell inheritance is unreliable across agent harnesses. Open coding writes notes via `px ... add-note` and records a small local JSONL sidecar at `.px/coding/<sanitized-identifier>.jsonl`; axial coding reads that sidecar as the deterministic handoff and records labels in `.px/coding/<sanitized-identifier>-axial.jsonl`. Pick the identifier once per run (see [references/open-coding.md](references/open-coding.md#coding-annotation-identifier-pick-this-first)), then share the Phoenix UI link from the wrap-up section. Revert is opt-in and runs three identifier-bound DELETEs only after explicit user confirmation.

> **Workflow term vs. server annotation name.** The skill prose calls this value the **coding annotation identifier** (shell-variable hint: `CODING_ANNOTATION_IDENTIFIER`). The server-side annotation NAME used for the UI filter is unchanged — `coding_session_id` — for data compatibility with rows already written by previous runs. Don't try to rename the server-side annotation; treat the asymmetry as load-bearing.

## Procedure

1. Confirm the Phoenix target through CLI flags, environment variables, or the active profile; remember priority is CLI flags > env vars > active profile > built-in defaults.
2. Use `px auth status` before deep analysis when connection or authentication is uncertain.
3. Fetch the smallest entity set that answers the question: traces for whole interactions, sessions for multi-turn agent behavior, spans for mechanical failures, datasets/experiments/prompts for eval assets.
4. For qualitative analysis, pick one `CODING_ANNOTATION_IDENTIFIER`, pass `--identifier <value>` on every annotation or note command, then run open coding before axial coding.
5. Use `--format raw --no-progress` with `jq` for deterministic filtering and report the Phoenix UI link or exact blocker.

## Workflows

**"What do I do after instrumenting?" / "Where do I focus?" / "What's going wrong?"**
[open-coding](references/open-coding.md) → [axial-coding](references/axial-coding.md) → build evals for the top categories.

## Reference Categories

| Prefix | Description |
| ------ | ----------- |
| `references/open-coding` | Free-form notes against sampled traces, spans, or sessions — reach for it whenever the user wants to make sense of LLM traffic but has no failure categories yet. Includes a unit-of-analysis diagnostic so the workflow runs at the level the failure modes actually live at (trace for stateless single-shot calls, session for multi-turn agents, span for mechanical/in-isolation failures). |
| `references/axial-coding` | Inductive grouping of notes into a MECE taxonomy with counts — reach for it whenever the user has observations and needs categories or eval targets |

## Auth

```bash
px auth status                                # check connection and authentication
px auth status --endpoint http://other:6006   # check a specific endpoint
px auth status --profile staging              # check a named profile's connection
```

## Profiles

Named profiles let you switch between multiple Phoenix instances (local, staging, cloud) without juggling environment variables. Profiles are stored in `~/.px/settings.json` (or `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/px/settings.json`).

Configuration priority (highest to lowest): CLI flags > env vars > active profile > built-in defaults.

```bash
px profile list                              # list all profiles (shows active profile)
px profile show                              # show the active profile's settings
px profile show staging                      # show a named profile's settings
px profile create prod --endpoint https://app.phoenix.arize.com --api-key <key> --activate
px profile create local --endpoint http://localhost:6006 --project my-app
px profile use prod                          # switch the active profile
px profile edit prod                         # open profile JSON in $EDITOR (validates on save)
px profile delete prod --yes                 # delete a profile (--yes skips confirmation)
```

Use `--profile <name>` on any command to target a specific profile without changing the active one:

```bash
px trace list --profile staging --limit 10 --format raw --no-progress | jq .
px auth status --profile prod
```

`px profile create` options: `--endpoint <url>`, `--project <name>`, `--api-key <key>`, `--header <key=value>` (repeatable), `--activate`.

## Projects

```bash
px project list                                            # list all projects (table view)
px project list --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[].name' # project names as JSON
px project get my-project --format raw --no-progress       # single record by exact name
px project get my-project --format raw --no-progress | jq -r '.id'  # extract project id
```

`project get` exits with `ExitCode.FAILURE` (1) on a name miss and writes a `StructuredError` `{error, code: "FAILURE", hint}` to stderr in `--format json|raw`.

## Traces

```bash
px trace list --limit 20 --format raw --no-progress | jq .
px trace list --last-n-minutes 60 --limit 20 --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[] | select(.status == "ERROR")'
px trace list --since 2025-01-15T00:00:00Z --limit 50 --format raw --no-progress | jq .
px trace list --format raw --no-progress | jq 'sort_by(-.duration) | .[0:5]'
px trace list --include-notes --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[].notes'
px trace get <trace-id> --format raw | jq .
px trace get <trace-id> --format raw | jq '.spans[] | select(.status_code != "OK")'
px trace get <trace-id> --include-notes --format raw | jq '.notes'
px trace annotate <trace-id> --name reviewer --label pass
px trace annotate <trace-id> --name reviewer --score 0.9 --format raw --no-progress
px trace annotate <trace-id> --name reviewer --label pass --identifier "<coding-annotation-id>"  # tag with a coding annotation identifier
px trace add-note <trace-id> --text "needs follow-up"
px trace add-note <trace-id> --text "needs follow-up" --identifier "<coding-annotation-id>"  # tag + upsert on identifier
px trace-annotations delete --identifier "<coding-annotation-id>" --all -y            # nuke every annotation tied to this coding annotation identifier
```

`px <entity>-annotations delete` requires `--all` or both `--start-time` and `--end-time` and emits `{deleted: true, target, filter}` on success.

### Trace JSON shape

```
Trace
  traceId, status ("OK"|"ERROR"), duration (ms), startTime, endTime
  annotations[] (with --include-annotations, excludes note)
    name, result { score, label, explanation }
  notes[] (with --include-notes)
    name="note", result { explanation }
  rootSpan  — top-level span (parent_id: null)
  spans[]
    name, span_kind ("LLM"|"CHAIN"|"TOOL"|"RETRIEVER"|"EMBEDDING"|"AGENT"|"RERANKER"|"GUARDRAIL"|"EVALUATOR"|"UNKNOWN")
    status_code ("OK"|"ERROR"|"UNSET"), parent_id, context.span_id
    notes[] (with --include-notes)
      name="note", result { explanation }
    attributes
      input.value, output.value          — raw input/output
      llm.model_name, llm.provider
      llm.token_count.prompt/completion/total
      llm.token_count.prompt_details.cache_read
      llm.token_count.completion_details.reasoning
      llm.input_messages.{N}.message.role/content
      llm.output_messages.{N}.message.role/content
      llm.invocation_parameters          — JSON string (temperature, etc.)
      exception.message                  — set if span errored
```

## Spans

```bash
px span list --limit 20                                    # recent spans (table view)
px span list --last-n-minutes 60 --limit 50                # spans from last hour
px span list --since 2025-01-15T00:00:00Z --limit 50       # spans since a timestamp
px span list --span-kind LLM --limit 10                    # only LLM spans
px span list --status-code ERROR --limit 20                # only errored spans
px span list --name chat_completion --limit 10             # filter by span name
px span list --trace-id <id> --format raw --no-progress | jq .   # all spans for a trace
px span list --parent-id null --limit 10                   # only root spans
px span list --parent-id <span-id> --limit 10              # only children of a span
px span list --include-annotations --limit 10              # include annotation scores
px span list --include-notes --limit 10                    # include span notes
px span list --attribute llm.model_name:gpt-4 --limit 10  # filter by string attribute
px span list --attribute llm.token_count.total:500 --limit 10  # filter by numeric attribute
px span list --attribute 'user.id:"12345"' --limit 10     # force string match for numeric-looking value
px span list --attribute session.id:sess:abc:123 --limit 20  # colon in value OK (split on first colon only)
px span list --attribute llm.model_name:gpt-4 --attribute session.id:abc --limit 10  # AND multiple filters
px span list output.json --limit 100                       # save to JSON file
px span list --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[] | select(.status_code == "ERROR")'
px span annotate <span-id> --name reviewer --label pass
px span annotate <span-id> --name checker --score 1 --annotator-kind CODE
px span annotate <span-id> --name reviewer --label pass --identifier "<coding-annotation-id>"  # tag with a coding annotation identifier
px span add-note <span-id> --text "verified by agent"
px span add-note <span-id> --text "verified by agent" --identifier "<coding-annotation-id>"  # tag + upsert on identifier
px span-annotations delete --identifier "<coding-annotation-id>" --all -y           # nuke every annotation tied to this coding annotation identifier
```

### Span JSON shape

```
Span
  name, span_kind ("LLM"|"CHAIN"|"TOOL"|"RETRIEVER"|"EMBEDDING"|"AGENT"|"RERANKER"|"GUARDRAIL"|"EVALUATOR"|"UNKNOWN")
  status_code ("OK"|"ERROR"|"UNSET"), status_message
  context.span_id, context.trace_id, parent_id
  start_time, end_time
  attributes
    input.value, output.value          — raw input/output
    llm.model_name, llm.provider
    llm.token_count.prompt/completion/total
    llm.input_messages.{N}.message.role/content
    llm.output_messages.{N}.message.role/content
    llm.invocation_parameters          — JSON string (temperature, etc.)
    exception.message                  — set if span errored
  annotations[] (with --include-annotations, excludes note)
    name, result { score, label, explanation }
  notes[] (with --include-notes)
    name="note", result { explanation }
```

## Sessions

```bash
px session list --limit 10 --format raw --no-progress | jq .
px session list --order asc --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[].session_id'
px session list --include-annotations --include-notes --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[].notes'
px session get <session-id> --format raw | jq .
px session get <session-id> --include-annotations --format raw | jq '.session.annotations'
px session get <session-id> --include-notes --format raw | jq '.session.notes'
px session annotate <session-id> --name reviewer --label pass
px session annotate <session-id> --name reviewer --score 0.9 --format raw --no-progress
px session annotate <session-id> --name reviewer --label pass --identifier "<coding-annotation-id>"  # tag with a coding annotation identifier
px session add-note <session-id> --text "verified by agent"
px session add-note <session-id> --text "verified by agent" --identifier "<coding-annotation-id>"  # tag + upsert on identifier
px session-annotations delete --identifier "<coding-annotation-id>" --all -y              # nuke every annotation tied to this coding annotation identifier
```

### Session JSON shape

```
SessionData
  id, session_id, project_id
  start_time, end_time
  token_count_prompt, token_count_completion, token_count_total  — cumulative across all LLM spans in the session (int, default 0)
  annotations[] (with --include-annotations, excludes note)
    name, result { score, label, explanation }
  notes[] (with --include-notes)
    name="note", result { explanation }
  traces[]
    id, trace_id, start_time, end_time
```

## Datasets / Experiments / Prompts

```bash
px dataset list --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[].name'
px dataset get <name> --format raw | jq '.examples[] | {input, output: .expected_output}'
px dataset get <name> --split train --format raw | jq .    # filter by split
px dataset get <name> --version <version-id> --format raw | jq .
px experiment list --dataset <name> --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[] | {id, name, failed_run_count}'
px experiment get <id> --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[] | select(.error != null) | {input, error}'
px prompt list --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[].name'
px prompt get <name> --format text --no-progress   # plain text, ideal for piping to AI
```

## Annotation Configs

```bash
px annotation-config list                                           # list all configs (table view)
px annotation-config list --format raw --no-progress | jq '.[].name' # config names as JSON
```

## GraphQL

For ad-hoc queries not covered by the commands above. Output is `{"data": {...}}`.

```bash
px api graphql '{ projectCount datasetCount promptCount evaluatorCount }'
px api graphql '{ projects { edges { node { name traceCount tokenCountTotal } } } }' | jq '.data.projects.edges[].node'
px api graphql '{ datasets { edges { node { name exampleCount experimentCount } } } }' | jq '.data.datasets.edges[].node'
px api graphql '{ evaluators { edges { node { name kind } } } }' | jq '.data.evaluators.edges[].node'

 # Introspect any type
px api graphql '{ __type(name: "Project") { fields { name type { name } } } }' | jq '.data.__type.fields[]'
```

Key root fields: `projects`, `datasets`, `prompts`, `evaluators`, `projectCount`, `datasetCount`, `promptCount`, `evaluatorCount`, `viewer`.

## Docs

Download Phoenix documentation markdown for local use by coding agents.

```bash
px docs fetch                                # fetch default workflow docs to .px/docs
px docs fetch --workflow tracing             # fetch only tracing docs
px docs fetch --workflow tracing --workflow evaluation
px docs fetch --dry-run                      # preview what would be downloaded
px docs fetch --refresh                      # clear .px/docs and re-download
px docs fetch --output-dir ./my-docs         # custom output directory
```

Key options: `--workflow` (repeatable, values: `tracing`, `evaluation`, `datasets`, `prompts`, `integrations`, `sdk`, `self-hosting`, `all`), `--dry-run`, `--refresh`, `--output-dir` (default `.px/docs`), `--workers` (default 10).

## Output template

```markdown
## Phoenix CLI analysis

**Status:** complete | blocked
**Target:** `<profile | PHOENIX_HOST | endpoint>`
**Project:** `<PHOENIX_PROJECT or selected project>`
**Commands run:**
- `px auth status`
- `<px command with --format raw --no-progress>`

| Artifact | Filter | Count | Evidence |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| Traces | `<filter>` | <count> | `<trace-id>` |
| Spans | `<filter>` | <count> | `<span-id>` |
| Sessions | `<filter>` | <count> | `<session-id>` |
| Datasets/experiments/prompts | `<filter>` | <count> | `<name or id>` |

### Findings
- <finding with trace/span/session evidence>

### Coding run
**Identifier:** `<coding-run:...>`
**Sidecars:** `.px/coding/<sanitized-identifier>.jsonl`, `.px/coding/<sanitized-identifier>-axial.jsonl`
**Next eval targets:** <top categories or none>
```

## Quality gate

- [ ] Connection and authentication were checked or the blocker is explicit.
- [ ] Commands use singular resources such as `trace`, `span`, `session`, `dataset`, `project`, `annotation-config`, `profile`, and `auth`.
- [ ] Piped JSON commands include `--format raw --no-progress`.
- [ ] Trace, span, and session findings cite IDs and relevant fields such as `status_code`, `exception.message`, `input.value`, `output.value`, token counts, or notes.
- [ ] Open coding precedes axial coding when the user has no taxonomy yet.
- [ ] Every annotation or note in a coding run uses the same `--identifier <coding-annotation-id>` and preserves `coding_session_id` as the server-side annotation name.
- [ ] Revert commands using `px <entity>-annotations delete --identifier <coding-annotation-id> --all -y` run only after explicit user confirmation.
- [ ] Sidecar files under `.px/coding/` are reported when created or consumed.

## References

- [Phoenix application](https://app.phoenix.arize.com)