> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bastani.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Non-interactive use

> Orientation for running Atomic without the interactive TUI: print mode, the JSON event stream, and RPC.

# Non-interactive use

Atomic does not need a terminal UI. The same session engine backs three non-interactive entry points, and each one is documented in full elsewhere — this page only helps you pick.

| You want                                                 | Use                          | Read                                  |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| One prompt, one answer, then exit                        | Print mode (`-p`, `--print`) | [CLI reference](/reference/cli#modes) |
| A machine-readable stream of everything the session does | JSON event stream            | [JSON event stream](/json)            |
| A long-lived session another program drives              | RPC                          | [RPC](/rpc)                           |
| To embed Atomic in your own TypeScript program           | SDK                          | [SDK](/sdk)                           |

## Print mode

`atomic --print "..."` runs a single turn and exits. It also reads piped stdin and merges it into the prompt, so it composes with ordinary shell pipelines. Flags, exit codes, and the stdin merge rules are in the [CLI reference](/reference/cli).

## JSON events

When you need to observe a run rather than read it, the JSON event stream emits one structured record per message, tool call, and result. Use it for logging, CI annotations, or piping into another tool. The event shapes are in [JSON event stream](/json).

## RPC

RPC keeps a session alive and lets another process send prompts, answer prompts, and receive events over a protocol. Use it when a single request/response is not enough — editors, bots, and long-running services. Start at [RPC](/rpc) and the [RPC protocol](/rpc/protocol).

## Next steps

* [CLI reference](/reference/cli) for every flag and exit code.
* [Programmatic use](/programmatic) for choosing between the SDK, RPC, and the event stream.
* [Background and parallel work](/background-tasks) if the work should continue while you keep chatting interactively.