Use the MotherDuck CLI

Source Of Truth

Prefer the current MotherDuck CLI documentation and command reference. Read command help before relying on remembered flags because the command surface can evolve.
Before authoring or editing a Dive or Flight, run motherduck dive guide or motherduck flight guide. Those built-in guides are the current runtime contract.
Use motherduck <command> --help after a parsing or option error instead of guessing at syntax.

Reuse an authenticated CLI when available; check with motherduck status before starting a login flow.
For automation, pass MOTHERDUCK_TOKEN through the environment and set an absolute, task-specific MOTHERDUCK_HOME so parallel agents do not share credentials or assets.
Request --output json for machine-readable resource operations and check both the exit code and returned success field. motherduck query --output json returns a bare JSON array instead.
Redirect large query results to a file rather than pulling every row into model context.
Never run motherduck new merely because authentication is missing. Account creation requires an explicit signup request.
Treat dive push, flight push, scheduling, secret changes, and account creation as external mutations. Perform them only when the user's build/change request includes that outcome.