Discover & Patch commands

bricks discover

Dumps the full site context in a single call — site info, CSS frameworks, global classes, and CSS variables. Designed for AI agents that need to understand the design system before generating content.

Basic usage

bricks discover --json

What it returns

{
  "site": {
    "url": "https://your-site.com",
    "bricksVersion": "2.3",
    "wpVersion": "6.9.4",
    "pluginVersion": "2.1.0",
    "elementTypes": ["section", "container", "heading", "..."],
    "breakpoints": [...]
  },
  "features": {
    "frameworks": ["acss"],
    "queryElements": ["posts", "products"],
    "woocommerce": true,
    "abilities": true
  },
  "frameworks": {
    "acss": { "name": "Automatic.css", "active": true, "..." }
  },
  "classes": {
    "total": 2701,
    "grouped": {
      "acss": ["grid--3", "btn--primary", "text--primary", "..."],
      "frames": ["fr-card", "fr-hero", "..."],
      "custom": ["my-custom-class"]
    }
  },
  "variables": ["--primary", "--secondary", "--space-m", "--h1", "..."]
}

Flags

Flag	Description
--json	Output as structured JSON (recommended)
--format	Output format: json or table

Use with AI agents

This is the recommended first call in any AI workflow. The output gives the agent everything it needs to generate HTML that matches the site’s design system:

# AI agent workflow
bricks discover --json          # Learn the design system
# Generate HTML using the CSS variables and classes from discover
bricks convert html --push 42 --stdin <<'HTML'
<section style="padding: var(--section-space-m)">...</section>
HTML

---

bricks patch

Update specific elements on a page without regenerating the full page. Sends only the changed settings — faster and cheaper than a full replace.

List elements (find IDs)

bricks patch 1338 --list

ID      TYPE        LABEL           PARENT  CLASSES
dbd436  section     Hero Section    0       section--dark
80b319  div         Container       dbd436
1b0af8  heading     Main Heading    80b319
ec76d6  text-basic  Subtitle        80b319

4 elements (hash: 4a6a8c942434934acc820ef08c67ca86)

Use --json for structured output:

bricks patch 1338 --list --json

Patch settings by element ID

# Change classes
bricks patch 1338 -e abc123 --set '_cssClasses=btn--primary hero-btn'

# Change text content
bricks patch 1338 -e abc123 --set 'text=Updated Heading'

# Change multiple settings at once
bricks patch 1338 -e abc123 --set '_display=flex' --set '_gap=var(--space-m)'

# Set complex/nested values with JSON
bricks patch 1338 -e abc123 --set '_background={"color":{"raw":"var(--primary)"}}'
bricks patch 1338 -e abc123 --set '_typography={"font-size":"var(--h2)","font-weight":"700"}'

# Remove a setting
bricks patch 1338 -e abc123 --rm '_padding'

Multi-element patch via stdin

For patching multiple elements at once, pipe JSON:

echo '{"patches":[
  {"id":"abc123","settings":{"_cssClasses":"hero-dark"}},
  {"id":"def456","settings":{"text":"New text","_display":"flex"}}
]}' | bricks patch 1338 --stdin

Flags

Flag	Description
--list	List elements with IDs (discover what to patch)
-e, --element	Element ID to patch
--set	Set a setting: key=value (repeatable)
--rm	Remove a setting key (repeatable)
--stdin	Read JSON patches from stdin
--dry-run	Show patch payload without sending
--json	Structured JSON output

When to use patch vs convert

Scenario	Command
Change classes on existing elements	bricks patch
Update text content	bricks patch
Tweak styles (colors, spacing, typography)	bricks patch
Build a new section from HTML	bricks convert html
Replace an entire page	bricks convert html --push ID
Add a section to an existing page	bricks convert html + REST API append

---

bricks init

Set up the project for AI agent discovery. Installs a Claude Code skill file and tests the site connection.

Basic usage

bricks init

Testing connection to https://your-site.com...
Connected: Bricks 2.3, WordPress 6.9.4, Plugin 2.1.0
Installed skill: .claude/skills/agent-to-bricks/SKILL.md

Ready. AI agents can now build Bricks pages.
Try: "Build me a hero section for page 42"

What it does

1. Tests the connection to your Bricks site (using config from ~/.agent-to-bricks/config.yaml)
2. Installs a skill file at .claude/skills/agent-to-bricks/SKILL.md that teaches Claude Code (and other AI agents) how to use the bricks CLI
3. Adds a pointer to your project’s CLAUDE.md if it exists

After running bricks init, AI agents will automatically discover the skill and know how to build Bricks pages without any user explanation.

Flags

Flag	Description
--skip-test	Skip the connection test (useful in CI or when config isn’t set up yet)
--json	Output result as JSON