Command-line options

Most people never need this page. Command-line options are extra words you add when you start Cuebot, to change how it starts. For example, on Windows you can add them to a shortcut: right-click the shortcut, choose Properties, and add them at the end of Target. On a Mac, type them in Terminal after open -a Cuebot --args, like open -a Cuebot --args --minimized. On Linux, add them after the program name in a terminal or in your app menu's shortcut.

Option	What it does
--minimized	Start hidden in the tray (or minimized when there is no tray). Same as the Start minimized box on the Settings page, tab General.
--headless	Start with no window at all. Everything else runs, and the log is written to the terminal and the log file. Good for a computer without a screen. Stop it with Ctrl+C.
--data <folder>	Use another data folder. For a second setup or a USB stick.
--profile <name>	Open this profile (persona), like --profile "Night Owl". If Cuebot is already running, it switches to that profile. One shortcut per persona makes switching a double-click.
--reset-window	Forget where the window was and how big it was. Use it when the window is off-screen.
--shutdown	Close a Cuebot that is already running on the same data folder, with a window or headless.
--mcp-stdio	For AI apps: lets an app like Claude Desktop talk to a running Cuebot. See AI apps.
--backend=wayland / --backend=x11	Linux only: choose how the window is drawn. See Linux.
--help	List the options.

Settings > About lists these switches too, under Startup switches.

Every option also works with / instead of --, like Streamer.bot's /headless and /resetwindow. The one exception is --backend=… on Linux: it only works with --.

Environment variables

These are settings you put in your computer's environment instead of on the command line.

Variable	What it does
CUEBOT_DATA	The data folder, like --data. --data wins if you use both.
CUEBOT_BACKEND	Linux: wayland or x11.
CUEBOT_WAYLAND_TIMEOUT	Linux: seconds to wait for a Wayland window before trying X11 (20 if not set).

Only one Cuebot at a time

If you start Cuebot while it is already running, the running window comes to the front and the new one closes. (With --profile, the running Cuebot switches to that profile instead.) That way two copies can never write the same files. Copies with different data folders can run side by side.