From ec39ee7fc9cd3b82733b00247ff0116f2451309c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: contributor <foss.contributor@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2026 13:31:41 +0300
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] feat: add `--validate` option to `show` command

---
 packages/cli/src/index.ts | 10 ++++++++--
 packages/cli/src/show.ts  |  4 ++++
 2 files changed, 12 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/cli/src/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/index.ts
index 0a9ced4..f5f4942 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/index.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { z } from "zod";
 import { runPrep } from "./prep.js";
 import { WORKING_TREE_REF } from "./schema.js";
 import type { DiffScopeOptions } from "./scope.js";
-import { show } from "./show.js";
+import { show, validate } from "./show.js";
 
 const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 const { version } = require("../package.json") as { version: string };
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ interface DiffCommandOptions {
 	ref?: string;
 	pr?: string;
 	instructions?: string;
+	validate?: boolean;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -79,9 +80,14 @@ program
 	.option("--base <ref>", "Base ref to diff against (default: auto-detect main/master)")
 	.option("--compare <ref>", "Compare ref to diff against --base")
 	.option("--pr <ref>", "Review a GitHub pull request by number or URL")
+	.option("--validate", "Validate chapters without starting the server or opening the browser")
 	.addOption(refOption)
 	.action(async (jsonPath: string, refs: string[], opts: DiffCommandOptions) => {
-		await show(jsonPath, toDiffScopeOptions(refs, opts));
+		if (opts.validate) {
+			await validate(jsonPath, toDiffScopeOptions(refs, opts));
+		} else {
+			await show(jsonPath, toDiffScopeOptions(refs, opts));
+		}
 	});
 
 program.parseAsync(process.argv).catch((err) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/show.ts b/packages/cli/src/show.ts
index f713fd2..33d12b0 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/show.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/show.ts
@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ export async function show(jsonPath: string, options: DiffScopeOptions): Promise
 	closeDb();
 }
 
+export async function validate(jsonPath: string, options: DiffScopeOptions): Promise<void> {
+	await buildChaptersFile(jsonPath, options);
+}
+
 interface BuiltChaptersFile {
 	chaptersFile: ChaptersFile;
 	/** The reviewed PR's number when `--pr` was used, else null. */

From cdb763d4f3899315fe52fe7d06ab3ddf6ce34af6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: contributor <foss.contributor@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:25:33 +0300
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] docs: document `--validate` option in README

---
 README.md | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c099aa1..a5ed347 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ navigation.
 | `--compare <ref>` | Compare ref to diff against `--base` |
 | `--ref <mode>` | Diff scope: `work` (staged + unstaged + untracked), `staged`, or `unstaged` (default: auto-detect) |
 | `--pr <number-or-url>` | Review a GitHub pull request by number or URL (requires `gh`) |
+| `--validate` | Validate chapters without starting the server or opening the browser |
 | `--instructions <text>` | One-off instructions for chapter generation (up to 1000 characters; `prep` command) |
 
 Examples: