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Version: v2 (current)

Install on Windows

Install the PanDev Metrics CLI plugin on Windows in about 3 minutes. After this guide your terminal activity (base command + timestamp) shows up in PanDev Metrics dashboards.

Before you begin​

  • Windows 10 or 11 with PowerShell (5.1 or newer, preinstalled)
  • A PanDev Metrics account
  • Your API token — open the PanDev Metrics web app, go to Settings → Plugins → CLI, and copy the value from the Enter your token step. Tokens start with pandev_. The token already carries your workspace and server, so there is nothing else to configure.

Step 1 — Install the plugin​

Open PowerShell as Administrator (right-click PowerShell → Run as administrator) and run:

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pandev-metriks/pandev-cli/main/install.ps1 | iex
note

The install script must run from an elevated (Administrator) PowerShell — it registers the background daemon at the system level.

The script downloads the CLI binary, puts it on your PATH, and registers the background daemon so it starts with your session.

If the script is blocked

PowerShell may block remote scripts depending on your execution policy. Allow it for the current session and run the command again:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

This affects only the current PowerShell window — it does not change your machine-wide policy.

Step 2 — Authenticate​

Sign in with your API token:

pandev login -t <YOUR_TOKEN_HERE>

Replace <YOUR_TOKEN_HERE> with the token you copied from the web app. The token is stored locally so the daemon reconnects automatically after restarts.

Step 3 — Verify​

Confirm that the daemon is running and authenticated:

pandev status

Check that heartbeats are accumulating:

pandev time

You can also open Settings → Plugin → CLI plugin in the PanDev Metrics UI — your machine should appear with a recent heartbeat timestamp.

Useful commands​

pandev --help                 # List every command the plugin exposes
pandev status                 # Daemon health and auth state
pandev time                   # CLI activity captured today
pandev login -t <TOKEN>       # Re-authenticate with a new token

Update​

Re-run the install script from an Administrator PowerShell to pull the latest version:

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pandev-metriks/pandev-cli/main/install.ps1 | iex

Uninstall​

Uninstalling takes two actions and a check. The order matters: the first action is done by the pandev command itself, and after the second one the command is gone.

1. Remove the shell hooks

pandev uninstall-hooks

This strips the PanDev blocks from your PowerShell profile ($PROFILE) and from Git Bash's ~/.bashrc. Windows does not let a package run its own code while it is being removed, so this has to happen first.

2. Remove the package

In a regular PowerShell window — no administrator rights needed:

Get-AppxPackage PandevInc.PandevCLIPlugin | Remove-AppxPackage

Or through the Windows UI: open Settings → Apps → Installed apps (Apps & features on Windows 10), find PanDev CLI Plugin, and select Uninstall.

Along with the package, Windows removes the pandev command, the background daemon together with its startup entry, and the plugin's local data: the stored token, logs, and the queue of events not yet sent.

3. Check the result

In the same PowerShell window:

if (Get-AppxPackage PandevInc.PandevCLIPlugin) { 'PanDev CLI is still installed' } else { 'PanDev CLI removed' }

PanDev CLI removed means the package is gone. The pandev command no longer resolves after that — this is expected.

Full cleanup: publisher certificate and PowerShell policy

After the package is removed, two settings made during installation stay on the machine. They do not affect the system, and removing them is optional.

Publisher certificate. Windows installs packages from outside the Microsoft Store only when the machine trusts their publisher, so the installer added the PanDev certificate to the local machine's Trusted People store. To remove it, open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Get-ChildItem Cert:\LocalMachine\TrustedPeople | Where-Object Subject -like 'CN=PanDev*' | Remove-Item

Script execution policy. So that the hook in your PowerShell profile can load, the first pandev login set the RemoteSigned policy for your user. To go back to the default:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy Undefined

Skip this step if you set RemoteSigned yourself or other tools rely on it.

Troubleshooting​

iwr ... | iex fails with a script execution error

Your PowerShell execution policy is blocking remote scripts. Allow them for the current session and re-run the install command:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
pandev: command not found after installation

The installer adds the CLI to your PATH, but the current PowerShell window started before that change. Close and reopen PowerShell, then run pandev status again.

pandev status says "not authenticated"

Re-run pandev login -t <YOUR_TOKEN_HERE> with a fresh token from the web app. Make sure you copied the full token with no leading or trailing spaces.

pandev status shows the daemon as not running

Re-run the install script (Step 1) to re-register the daemon, then check pandev status again.

Self-signed certificate on on-prem server

The plugin honours the Windows certificate store. Import your organisation's root CA into Trusted Root Certification Authorities (run certmgr.msc → Trusted Root Certification Authorities → Certificates → Import).

No data in the dashboard after 30 minutes

Confirm three things:

  1. pandev status reports authenticated and running
  2. pandev time shows a non-zero value
  3. The token belongs to the same account you are viewing in the PanDev Metrics UI
After uninstalling, Git Bash prints command_queue.jsonl: No such file or directory after every command

The package was removed without running pandev uninstall-hooks first: the hook is still in ~/.bashrc and tries to write into the plugin's folder, which no longer exists. Open the file in Git Bash:

nano ~/.bashrc

In nano, delete the whole hook block:

  1. Ctrl+W, type HOOK START, Enter — the cursor jumps to the first line of the block: # --- PANDEV GIT BASH HOOK START ---.
  2. Home, then Alt+A — starts the selection; Mark Set appears at the bottom.
  3. Hold ↓ to extend the selection until it fully covers the line # --- PANDEV GIT BASH HOOK END ---.
  4. Ctrl+K — delete the selection.
  5. Ctrl+O, then Enter — save the file.
  6. Ctrl+X — exit nano.

Selecting with the mouse does not work: nano does not see that selection, and Ctrl+K would delete a single line instead of the block. Then open a new Git Bash window — the message is gone.

The matching block in your PowerShell profile (from # --- PANDEV POWERSHELL HOOK START --- through # --- PANDEV POWERSHELL HOOK END ---) does nothing once the package is gone and produces no errors. You can remove it the same way: notepad $PROFILE.

FAQ​

Where do I get the token?​

Open the PanDev Metrics web app, go to Settings → Plugins, click CLI, and copy the value from the Enter your token step. The same step has Rotate token and Revoke token.

The token is issued for the workspace you are currently signed into, and one token is active per workspace — the same one works for the IDE plugins and the browser extensions.

Which terminals are supported?​

The plugin hooks into the shell, so PowerShell and Windows Terminal both produce heartbeats. Commands run inside WSL are captured by the Linux build instead.

Do I need administrator rights?​

Yes. Run the install script from a PowerShell window opened as Administrator — it registers the background daemon at the system level. After installation, day-to-day commands (pandev status, pandev time, pandev login) run in a normal, non-elevated window.

How do I switch accounts or servers?​

Run pandev login -t <NEW_TOKEN> with a token from the target account. The new token replaces the old one.