MarkBack

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CLI How-Tos ​

The CLI is available as markback or the shorthand mb. It supports adding feedback, linting, normalization, record listing, statistics, format conversion, and V1-to-V2 upgrades.

Add Feedback ​

bash
# Add feedback to a file (creates or appends to .mb sidecar)
mb ./data/output.txt "approved; quality=high"

# With additional metadata
mb ./data/output.txt "good; clarity=high" --by alice --tag review --tag batch-1

# Specify the input/prompt that produced the content
mb ./data/output.txt "approved" --input ./prompts/prompt.txt

Lint Records ​

bash
# Lint a file or directory
mb --lint data.mb
mb --lint ./datasets/

# JSON output
mb --lint data.mb --json

# Skip checks
mb --lint data.mb --no-source-check --no-canonical-check

Use linting to catch structural errors (missing feedback, malformed headers) and format warnings (non-canonical layout).

Normalize to Canonical Format ​

bash
# Normalize in place
mb --normalize input.mb

Canonicalization ensures stable diffs and consistent formatting across records. V1 headers are automatically upgraded to V2.

List Records ​

bash
mb --list data.mb
mb --list ./datasets/

Listing is useful for quick inspection or piping into other tools.

Statistics ​

bash
mb --stats data.mb
mb --stats ./datasets/

Shows record counts, tag breakdowns, and reviewer summaries.

Convert Between Formats ​

bash
mb --convert input.mb --to multi
mb --convert input.mb --to compact

Supported --to values: single, multi, compact.

Upgrade V1 Files to V2 ​

bash
# Upgrade V1 files in place (replaces @uri→@id, @source→@file, @prior→@input)
mb --upgrade *.mb

# Preview what would change without writing
mb --upgrade *.mb --dry-run

Storage Workflows ​

Inline Records ​

project/
  training-data.mb
bash
mb --lint training-data.mb
mb --list training-data.mb

Compact Label List ​

project/
  image-labels.mb
bash
mb --lint image-labels.mb
mb --stats image-labels.mb

Sidecar Files ​

project/
  data/
    output.txt
    output.txt.mb
    image.png
    image.png.mb
bash
mb --lint data/

Configuration ​

FILE_MODE in .env controls how outputs are written:

  • git: overwrite output files in place (best for Git workflows)
  • versioned: never overwrite; append a timestamp to new output files

Create a starter config:

bash
mb --init