Get started in 2 minutes
From download to your first technical debt report.
1. Download the CLI
Grab the binary for your OS from the download page, or use the command line:
# macOS Apple Silicon
curl -LO https://debtlens.app/downloads/debtlens_0.3.1_darwin_arm64.tar.gz
tar xzf debtlens_0.3.1_darwin_arm64.tar.gz && sudo mv debtlens /usr/local/bin/
# macOS Intel
curl -LO https://debtlens.app/downloads/debtlens_0.3.1_darwin_amd64.tar.gz
tar xzf debtlens_0.3.1_darwin_amd64.tar.gz && sudo mv debtlens /usr/local/bin/
# Linux x86_64
curl -LO https://debtlens.app/downloads/debtlens_0.3.1_linux_amd64.tar.gz
tar xzf debtlens_0.3.1_linux_amd64.tar.gz && sudo mv debtlens /usr/local/bin/
# Linux ARM64
curl -LO https://debtlens.app/downloads/debtlens_0.3.1_linux_arm64.tar.gz
tar xzf debtlens_0.3.1_linux_arm64.tar.gz && sudo mv debtlens /usr/local/bin/
2. Run a free local analysis
Point the CLI at any Git repository. It produces an HTML report in the current directory with your health score and 8 risk metrics.
debtlens analyze /path/to/your/repo
This is completely free and offline. No account, no network call, no data sent anywhere.
3. Connect to the hub
With a Pro or Business license, activate it on your machine and push reports to the hub for AI-powered insights and PDF export.
# Activate your license (once per machine)
debtlens activate <your-license-key>
# Analyze + push to the hub
debtlens report /path/to/your/repo
4. What happens next
- Claude generates an executive narrative with three cost dimensions: firefighting cost (bug-fix burn), debt servicing (maintenance overhead), and recovery investment (one-time cleanup estimate) — all in euros.
- Download a PDF from your dashboard — ready to share with your CFO. Includes health score, financial impact, risk signals, and AI recommendations ordered by ROI.
- Historical tracking starts automatically — see how your costs and health score evolve over time.
Command reference
The CLI is intentionally small. It analyzes locally and, optionally, pushes aggregated scores to the hub. Every feature that depends on historical data — trends, comparisons, AI narrative, PDFs — lives in the hub web dashboard.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| debtlens analyze <path> | Run local analysis, generate HTML / JSON / summary output |
| debtlens report <path> | Analyze + push aggregated scores to the hub (requires license) |
| debtlens activate <key> | Activate your license on this machine |
| debtlens ping | Check license status and quota usage |
| debtlens revoke | Deactivate this machine |
Supported output formats for analyze: summary (default), json (for CI pipelines), html (standalone report).
Need history, compare, or the CFO-ready PDF? Sign in at your account — those live in the hub.