---
title: "tics"
description: "Find the prose tics in replies, the shapes a model repeats."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://clanka.jfa.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# tics

```sh
clanka tics [--json] [replies...]
```

Reads each file as one reply and prints the tics in it: a reveal after a
denial, calling something the real or only one, a run of clipped fragments.

The tics are guesses from a few words. They miss four in ten of the reveals,
half of the labels a reader would mark, and nearly every run of fragments.
One hit means little. The count over an evening is what to compare, and
`hermes/bench.sh` in the repository prints it.

[`clanka soul lint`](/cli/soul/#lint) looks for the same shapes in a
persona, since a companion copies the manner its soul is written in.

## Arguments

### `[replies...]`

Files holding one reply each. Without files, it reads standard input.

```sh
clanka tics bench/nova/t*.txt
```

## Flags

### `--json`

Print the tics as one JSON array, with an object per reply.

- Default: `false`

```sh
pbpaste | clanka tics --json
```

Source: https://clanka.jfa.dev/cli/tics/index.mdx