refactor(cli): centralize oclif base conventions

src/commands/internal/dev/npm-link-or-shim.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ export default class InternalDevNpmLinkOrShimCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
   static usage = ["internal dev npm-link-or-shim [--repo-root <path>]"];
   static examples = ["<%= config.bin %> internal dev npm-link-or-shim"];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     "repo-root": Flags.string({ description: "Repository root to expose", hidden: true }),
   };
 

src/commands/internal/dns/fix-coredns.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { Args, Flags } from "@oclif/core";
+import { Args } from "@oclif/core";
 import { NemoClawCommand } from "../../../lib/cli/nemoclaw-oclif-command";
 
 import { runFixCoreDns } from "../../../lib/actions/dns";
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ export default class InternalDnsFixCoreDnsCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     gatewayName: Args.string({ description: "OpenShell gateway name", required: false }),
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   };
 
   public async run(): Promise<void> {

src/commands/internal/dns/setup-proxy.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { Args, Flags } from "@oclif/core";
+import { Args } from "@oclif/core";
 import { NemoClawCommand } from "../../../lib/cli/nemoclaw-oclif-command";
 
 import { runSetupDnsProxy } from "../../../lib/actions/dns";
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ export default class InternalDnsSetupProxyCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     sandboxName: Args.string({ description: "Sandbox name", required: true }),
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   };
 
   public async run(): Promise<void> {

src/commands/internal/installer/normalize-env.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ export default class InternalInstallerNormalizeEnvCommand extends NemoClawComman
   static usage = ["internal installer normalize-env [--json]"];
   static examples = ["<%= config.bin %> internal installer normalize-env --provider cloud --json"];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     json: Flags.boolean({ description: "Print normalized values as JSON" }),
     "install-ref": Flags.string({ description: "NEMOCLAW_INSTALL_REF value" }),
     "install-tag": Flags.string({ description: "NEMOCLAW_INSTALL_TAG value" }),
@@ -29,7 +28,7 @@ export default class InternalInstallerNormalizeEnvCommand extends NemoClawComman
       NEMOCLAW_PROVIDER: flags.provider ?? process.env.NEMOCLAW_PROVIDER,
     });
 
-    if (flags.json) console.log(JSON.stringify(normalized, null, 2));
+    if (flags.json) this.logJson(normalized);
     else console.log(`ref=${normalized.installRef} provider=${normalized.provider.normalized ?? ""}`);
   }
 }

src/commands/internal/installer/plan.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ export default class InternalInstallerPlanCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
   static usage = ["internal installer plan [--json]"];
   static examples = ["<%= config.bin %> internal installer plan --json --provider nim --install-ref v0.1.0"];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     json: Flags.boolean({ description: "Print the installer plan as JSON" }),
     "install-ref": Flags.string({ description: "Install ref override" }),
     "install-tag": Flags.string({ description: "Install tag fallback" }),
@@ -44,7 +43,7 @@ export default class InternalInstallerPlanCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
       stampedVersion: flags["stamped-version"],
     });
 
-    if (flags.json) console.log(JSON.stringify(plan, null, 2));
+    if (flags.json) this.logJson(plan);
     else console.log(`Installer plan: ref '${plan.installRef}', version '${plan.installerVersion}'`);
   }
 }

src/commands/internal/installer/resolve-release-tag.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ export default class InternalInstallerResolveReleaseTagCommand extends NemoClawC
   static usage = ["internal installer resolve-release-tag [--json]"];
   static examples = ["<%= config.bin %> internal installer resolve-release-tag --install-ref v0.1.0"];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     json: Flags.boolean({ description: "Print the resolved ref as JSON" }),
     "install-ref": Flags.string({ description: "NEMOCLAW_INSTALL_REF value" }),
     "install-tag": Flags.string({ description: "NEMOCLAW_INSTALL_TAG value" }),
@@ -27,7 +26,7 @@ export default class InternalInstallerResolveReleaseTagCommand extends NemoClawC
       NEMOCLAW_INSTALL_TAG: flags["install-tag"] ?? process.env.NEMOCLAW_INSTALL_TAG,
     });
 
-    if (flags.json) console.log(JSON.stringify({ installRef }, null, 2));
+    if (flags.json) this.logJson({ installRef });
     else console.log(installRef);
   }
 }

src/commands/internal/uninstall/classify-shim.ts

@@ -17,14 +17,13 @@ export default class InternalUninstallClassifyShimCommand extends NemoClawComman
     path: Args.string({ description: "Shim path to classify", required: true }),
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     json: Flags.boolean({ description: "Print classification as JSON" }),
   };
 
   public async run(): Promise<void> {
     const { args, flags } = await this.parse(InternalUninstallClassifyShimCommand);
     const classification = classifyShimPath(args.path);
-    if (flags.json) console.log(JSON.stringify(classification, null, 2));
+    if (flags.json) this.logJson(classification);
     else console.log(`${classification.kind}: ${classification.reason}`);
   }
 }

src/commands/internal/uninstall/plan.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ export default class InternalUninstallPlanCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
   static usage = ["internal uninstall plan [--json] [--delete-models] [--keep-openshell]"];
   static examples = [`${CLI_NAME} internal uninstall plan --json --yes`];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     json: Flags.boolean({ description: "Print the uninstall plan as JSON" }),
     yes: Flags.boolean({ description: "Accepted for parity with run-plan; ignored while planning" }),
     "delete-models": Flags.boolean({ description: `Plan removal of ${CLI_DISPLAY_NAME}-pulled Ollama models` }),
@@ -31,7 +30,7 @@ export default class InternalUninstallPlanCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
       gatewayName: flags.gateway,
       keepOpenShell: flags["keep-openshell"] ?? false,
     });
-    if (flags.json) console.log(JSON.stringify(plan, null, 2));
+    if (flags.json) this.logJson(plan);
     else console.log(`Uninstall plan: ${plan.steps.length} steps for gateway '${plan.gatewayName}'`);
   }
 }

src/commands/internal/uninstall/run-plan.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ export default class InternalUninstallRunPlanCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
   static usage = ["internal uninstall run-plan [--yes] [--keep-openshell] [--delete-models]"];
   static examples = [`${CLI_NAME} internal uninstall run-plan --yes`];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     yes: Flags.boolean({ description: "Skip the confirmation prompt" }),
     "keep-openshell": Flags.boolean({ description: "Leave the openshell binary installed" }),
     "delete-models": Flags.boolean({ description: `Remove ${CLI_DISPLAY_NAME}-pulled Ollama models` }),

src/lib/cli/oclif-command-metadata.test.ts

@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
 import { Config as OclifConfig } from "@oclif/core";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
+type OclifCommandClass = {
+  flags?: Record<string, unknown>;
+};
+
 function extendsNemoClawCommand(commandClass: unknown): boolean {
   if (typeof commandClass !== "function") return false;
   let current = Object.getPrototypeOf(commandClass) as { name?: string } | null;
@@ -14,6 +18,14 @@ function extendsNemoClawCommand(commandClass: unknown): boolean {
   return false;
 }
 
+function commandOwnsHelpFlag(commandClass: unknown): boolean {
+  return (
+    typeof commandClass === "function" &&
+    Object.hasOwn(commandClass as OclifCommandClass, "flags") &&
+    Object.hasOwn((commandClass as OclifCommandClass).flags ?? {}, "help")
+  );
+}
+
 describe("oclif command metadata", () => {
   it("keeps discovered commands on the shared NemoClaw oclif base", async () => {
     const config = await OclifConfig.load(process.cwd());
@@ -27,6 +39,18 @@ describe("oclif command metadata", () => {
     expect(nonConforming).toEqual([]);
   });
 
+  it("keeps the help flag centralized on the shared base command", async () => {
+    const config = await OclifConfig.load(process.cwd());
+    const duplicatedHelpFlags: string[] = [];
+
+    for (const command of config.commands) {
+      const commandClass = await command.load();
+      if (commandOwnsHelpFlag(commandClass)) duplicatedHelpFlags.push(command.id);
+    }
+
+    expect(duplicatedHelpFlags).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
   it("keeps public discovered commands documented in oclif statics", async () => {
     const config = await OclifConfig.load(process.cwd());
     const publicCommands = config.commands.filter((command) => command.hidden !== true);

src/lib/commands/credentials.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { Flags } from "@oclif/core";
 import { NemoClawCommand } from "../cli/nemoclaw-oclif-command";
 
 import { printCredentialsUsage } from "./credentials/common";
@@ -18,7 +17,6 @@ export default class CredentialsCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     "<%= config.bin %> credentials reset nvidia-prod --yes",
   ];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   };
 
   public async run(): Promise<void> {

src/lib/commands/credentials/list.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { Flags } from "@oclif/core";
 import { NemoClawCommand } from "../../cli/nemoclaw-oclif-command";
 
 import { CLI_NAME } from "../../cli/branding";
@@ -17,7 +16,6 @@ export default class CredentialsListCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
   static usage = ["credentials list"];
   static examples = ["<%= config.bin %> credentials list"];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   };
 
   public async run(): Promise<void> {

src/lib/commands/credentials/reset.ts

@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ export default class CredentialsResetCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     }),
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     yes: Flags.boolean({ char: "y", description: "Skip the confirmation prompt" }),
   };
 

src/lib/commands/debug.ts

@@ -80,7 +80,6 @@ export default class DebugCliCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     "<%= config.bin %> debug --output /tmp/nemoclaw-debug.tar.gz",
   ];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     quick: Flags.boolean({ char: "q", description: "Only collect minimal diagnostics" }),
     output: Flags.string({ char: "o", description: "Write a tarball to FILE" }),
     sandbox: Flags.string({ description: "Target sandbox name" }),

src/lib/commands/deploy.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { Args, Flags } from "@oclif/core";
+import { Args } from "@oclif/core";
 import { NemoClawCommand } from "../cli/nemoclaw-oclif-command";
 
 import { runDeployAction } from "../actions/global";
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ export default class DeployCliCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     }),
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   };
 
   public async run(): Promise<void> {

src/lib/commands/deprecated/start.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { Flags } from "@oclif/core";
 import { NemoClawCommand } from "../../cli/nemoclaw-oclif-command";
 
 import { CLI_NAME } from "../../cli/branding";
@@ -17,7 +16,6 @@ export default class DeprecatedStartCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
   static usage = ["start"];
   static examples = ["<%= config.bin %> start"];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   };
 
   public async run(): Promise<void> {

src/lib/commands/deprecated/stop.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { Flags } from "@oclif/core";
 import { NemoClawCommand } from "../../cli/nemoclaw-oclif-command";
 
 import { CLI_NAME } from "../../cli/branding";
@@ -17,7 +16,6 @@ export default class DeprecatedStopCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
   static usage = ["stop"];
   static examples = ["<%= config.bin %> stop"];
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   };
 
   public async run(): Promise<void> {

src/lib/commands/gateway-token.ts

@@ -59,7 +59,6 @@ export default class GatewayTokenCliCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     }),
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     quiet: Flags.boolean({ char: "q", description: "Suppress the stderr security warning" }),
   };
 

src/lib/commands/onboard/common.ts

@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ export type OnboardFlags = {
 
 export function buildOnboardFlags(): Record<string, any> {
   return {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     "non-interactive": Flags.boolean({ description: "Run without interactive prompts" }),
     resume: Flags.boolean({
       description: "Resume an interrupted onboarding session",

src/lib/commands/sandbox/channels/common.ts

@@ -54,6 +54,5 @@ export const channelMutationArgs = {
 };
 
 export const channelMutationFlags = {
-  help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   "dry-run": Flags.boolean({ description: "Preview the change without applying it" }),
 };

src/lib/commands/sandbox/channels/list.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { Flags } from "@oclif/core";
 import { NemoClawCommand } from "../../../cli/nemoclaw-oclif-command";
 
 import { listSandboxChannels } from "../../../actions/sandbox/policy-channel";
@@ -18,7 +17,6 @@ export default class SandboxChannelsListCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     sandboxName: sandboxNameArg,
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   };
 
   public async run(): Promise<void> {

src/lib/commands/sandbox/config/get.ts

@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ export default class SandboxConfigGetCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     sandboxName: sandboxNameArg,
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     key: Flags.string({ description: "Dotpath to read from the sanitized config" }),
     format: Flags.string({
       description: "Output format",

src/lib/commands/sandbox/config/set.ts

@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ export default class SandboxConfigSetCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     sandboxName: sandboxNameArg,
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     key: Flags.string({ description: "Dotpath to update in the config" }),
     value: Flags.string({ description: "Value to write; JSON values are parsed when possible" }),
     restart: Flags.boolean({ description: "Signal the sandbox agent process to reload after writing" }),

src/lib/commands/sandbox/connect.ts

@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ export default class ConnectCliCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     sandboxName: Args.string({ name: "sandbox", description: "Sandbox name", required: true }),
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     "probe-only": Flags.boolean({ description: "Recover and check the sandbox without opening SSH" }),
     "dangerously-skip-permissions": Flags.boolean({ hidden: true }),
   };

src/lib/commands/sandbox/doctor.ts

@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ export default class SandboxDoctorCliCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     }),
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     json: Flags.boolean({ description: "Emit machine-readable JSON diagnostics" }),
   };
 

src/lib/commands/sandbox/hosts/common.ts

@@ -50,6 +50,5 @@ export const hostAliasAddArgs = {
 };
 
 export const hostAliasMutationFlags = {
-  help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   "dry-run": Flags.boolean({ description: "Preview the JSON patch without applying it" }),
 };

src/lib/commands/sandbox/hosts/list.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { Flags } from "@oclif/core";
 import { NemoClawCommand } from "../../../cli/nemoclaw-oclif-command";
 
 import { getHostsRuntimeBridge, hostAliasSandboxArgs } from "./common";
@@ -15,7 +14,6 @@ export default class HostsListCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
   static examples = ["<%= config.bin %> sandbox hosts list alpha"];
   static args = hostAliasSandboxArgs;
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   };
 
   public async run(): Promise<void> {

src/lib/commands/sandbox/logs.ts

@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ export default class SandboxLogsCommand extends NemoClawCommand {
     }),
   };
   static flags = {
-    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
     follow: Flags.boolean({ description: "Follow logs until interrupted" }),
     tail: Flags.integer({
       char: "n",

src/lib/commands/sandbox/policy/common.ts

@@ -50,7 +50,6 @@ export function appendCommonPolicyFlags(
 export const policyMutationArgs = { sandboxName: sandboxNameArg, preset: presetArg };
 
 export const policyMutationFlags = {
-  help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
   yes: Flags.boolean({ char: "y", description: "Skip the confirmation prompt" }),
   force: Flags.boolean({ description: "Skip the confirmation prompt" }),
   "dry-run": Flags.boolean({ description: "Preview without applying" }),