# Which command do I need?

> A task-to-command decision table for CommitBrief — staged review, historic diffs, PR review, CI gating, agent self-review, credential scanning, commit graphs, and commit messages — each row linked to the page that covers it in full.

CommitBrief docs · v1.x · Guides

Canonical URL: https://commitbrief.com/docs/1.x/which-command/

---

CommitBrief's commands do genuinely different jobs, not eight ways to do the
same job. This table maps a task to the command, and the command to the page
that covers its flags and limits in full.

| I want to… | Command | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Review my staged (or unstaged) changes locally | `commitbrief` / `commitbrief --unstaged` | [The default — staged changes](/docs/1.x/review-scopes#the-default--staged-changes) |
| Review an arbitrary range — a branch, a merge commit, three commits ago | `commitbrief diff <range>` | [Historic ranges](/docs/1.x/review-scopes#historic-ranges--commitbrief-diff) |
| Post review comments on a GitHub pull request | `commitbrief remote pr <number>` | [Review a GitHub PR](/docs/1.x/remote-pr) |
| Fail CI when a change carries too many findings, above a per-severity budget | `commitbrief guard` | [Policy gate](/docs/1.x/policy-gate) |
| Let an AI agent self-review before it submits code | `commitbrief mcp` | [MCP server](/docs/1.x/mcp-server) |
| Scan the working tree and git history for committed credentials | `commitbrief leaks` | [Credential audit](/docs/1.x/leaks) |
| See which commits a filter selected, or a branch's ahead/behind topology | `commitbrief map` | [Commit graph](/docs/1.x/commit-graph) |
| Turn a staged diff into a commit message, then commit it | `commitbrief commit` | [Generate a commit message](/docs/1.x/commit) |

Two commands are missing from that table on purpose: `summary` (a
plain-language digest of a diff — not a decision between alternatives, just
a different output; see [`commitbrief summary`](/docs/1.x/summary)) and
`list` (the full command reference, generated from the binary you have
installed — see [`commitbrief list`](/docs/1.x/list)).
Every flag any of the commands above accepts is in the
[flag reference](/docs/1.x/flags).

This table is a starting point, not a substitute for the linked pages.
`guard` and `commitbrief --fail-on <severity>` overlap on purpose — a single
threshold versus a richer per-severity budget, see
[Gate CI on review findings](/docs/1.x/ci-gate) for which one fits your
pipeline — and `remote pr` is also the mode the
[GitHub Action](/docs/1.x/github-action) drives for you in CI. Pick the row
that matches your task, then read the page it points to before you script
around it.

## See also

- [Getting started](/docs/1.x/getting-started) — what CommitBrief is, before
  you pick a command.
- [`commitbrief list`](/docs/1.x/list) — the full command reference.
- [Flags](/docs/1.x/flags) — every flag, grouped by command.