Hex CLI: project run recomputes the draft, app run executes published

TL;DR

Pass --wait (or use --json mode) or your script will proceed before results exist. When automating Hex from the CLI, match the command to the target: hex project run to recompute the draft notebook during development, hex app run to execute the published app with input parameters for delivery.

Steps

1. When automating Hex from the CLI, match the command to the target: hex project run to recompute the draft notebook during development, hex app run to execute the published app with input parameters for delivery. Pass --wait (or use --json mode) or your script will proceed before results exist. Agents that poll app results should use the timeout and poll-interval flags rather than busy-looping.

When to use

You are seeing this: They are different commands with different targets; running the draft is not the same as running the app. Use this skill when you run into "Hex CLI: project run recomputes the draft, app run executes published".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Source: Community Hex CLI skill (documented workflow): hex project run recomputes the draft notebook, while hex app run executes the published app with parameters. They are different commands with different targets; running the draft is not the same as running the app. In JSON mode the app run waits by default, but in plain text mode you must pass --wait to block until completion. Always use --json when parsing output programmatically.

Verified resolution: When automating Hex from the CLI, match the command to the target: hex project run to recompute the draft notebook during development, hex app run to execute the published app with input parameters for delivery. Pass --wait (or use --json mode) or your script will proceed before results exist. Agents that poll app results should use the timeout and poll-interval flags rather than busy-looping.

Source URL: https://github.com/seanoliver/dotfiles-sean/blob/HEAD/ai/skills/hex/SKILL.md