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

# CLI

> Interact with Onyx from the command line

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/danswer/cV8QQUi5wuA1ccgu/assets/overview/cli/cli_hero.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=cV8QQUi5wuA1ccgu&q=85&s=7612c78f087ca8153b2be71be1711cec" alt="Onyx CLI terminal interface" width="1910" height="1076" data-path="assets/overview/cli/cli_hero.png" />

The Onyx CLI is a terminal interface for chatting with your Onyx agents and querying your knowledge base.
Built with Go using [Bubble Tea](https://github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea),
it provides both an interactive TUI and non-interactive commands for scripting and automation.

## Installation

### PyPI (recommended)

```shell theme={null}
pip install onyx-cli
```

Or with uv:

```shell theme={null}
uv pip install onyx-cli
```

<Card title="PyPI Package" icon="python" href="https://pypi.org/project/onyx-cli/">
  pip install onyx-cli
</Card>

### Build from Source

Requires [Go 1.26+](https://go.dev/dl/).

```shell theme={null}
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx.git
cd onyx/cli
go build -o onyx-cli .
sudo mv onyx-cli /usr/local/bin/
```

## Setup

Run the interactive setup to configure your server URL and API key:

```shell theme={null}
onyx-cli configure
```

This prompts for your Onyx server URL and API key, tests the connection,
and saves config to `~/.config/onyx-cli/config.json`.

### Generating an Access Token

Navigate to **User Settings > Accounts & Access > New Access Token** (`/app/settings/accounts-access`)
to create an access token for the CLI.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/danswer/DRHjrX_vFbJ6PC2l/assets/overview/cli/access_tokens.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=DRHjrX_vFbJ6PC2l&q=85&s=ba1a1913b6395e950e9884be1acecc92" alt="Accounts & Access page showing the Access Tokens section" width="600" data-path="assets/overview/cli/access_tokens.png" />

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/danswer/DRHjrX_vFbJ6PC2l/assets/overview/cli/create_access_token.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=DRHjrX_vFbJ6PC2l&q=85&s=098c362887b25f5e8394561cc6b4b2cc" alt="Create Access Token modal with token name and expiration options" width="500" data-path="assets/overview/cli/create_access_token.png" />

### Environment Variables

Environment variables override config file values. This is useful for CI/CD pipelines and scripting.

| Variable          | Required | Description                                         |
| ----------------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| `ONYX_SERVER_URL` | No       | Server base URL (default: `https://cloud.onyx.app`) |
| `ONYX_API_KEY`    | Yes      | API key for authentication                          |
| `ONYX_PERSONA_ID` | No       | Default agent/persona ID                            |

### Validate Configuration

Verify that your configuration is correct and the server is reachable:

```shell theme={null}
onyx-cli validate-config
```

## Commands

| Command                    | Description                                |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| `onyx-cli`                 | Launch the interactive chat TUI (default)  |
| `onyx-cli ask`             | Ask a one-shot question (non-interactive)  |
| `onyx-cli agents`          | List available agents                      |
| `onyx-cli configure`       | Configure server URL and API key           |
| `onyx-cli validate-config` | Validate configuration and test connection |

### Interactive Chat

```shell theme={null}
onyx-cli
```

Opens a full-screen terminal UI for conversational interaction with your Onyx agents.

### One-Shot Questions

Ask a question and get a response without entering the TUI:

```shell theme={null}
onyx-cli ask "What is our company's PTO policy?"
```

Use `--agent-id` to target a specific agent:

```shell theme={null}
onyx-cli ask --agent-id 5 "Summarize our Q4 roadmap"
```

Use `--json` for structured NDJSON output (useful for scripting):

```shell theme={null}
onyx-cli ask --json "List all active API integrations"
```

| Flag               | Description                                |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------ |
| `--agent-id <int>` | Agent ID to use (overrides default)        |
| `--json`           | Output NDJSON events instead of plain text |

### List Agents

```shell theme={null}
onyx-cli agents
onyx-cli agents --json
```

Prints a table of available agent IDs, names, and descriptions.

## Slash Commands (Interactive TUI)

When using the interactive chat, the following slash commands are available:

| Command          | Description                   |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------- |
| `/help`          | Show help message             |
| `/new`           | Start a new chat session      |
| `/agent`         | List and switch agents        |
| `/attach <path>` | Attach a file to next message |
| `/sessions`      | List recent chat sessions     |
| `/clear`         | Clear the chat display        |
| `/configure`     | Re-run connection setup       |
| `/connectors`    | Open connectors in browser    |
| `/settings`      | Open settings in browser      |
| `/quit`          | Exit Onyx CLI                 |

## Using as an AI Coding Assistant Skill

The Onyx CLI can be used as a tool by AI coding assistants (such as Claude Code and Cursor)
to query your knowledge base directly from within your development environment.
A pre-built skill definition is available in the Onyx repository at
[`.cursor/skills/onyx-cli/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx/blob/main/cli/internal/embedded/SKILL.md).

Once configured, the AI assistant can call `onyx-cli ask` to look up company-specific information — policies,
internal docs, connected data sources — without leaving the editor.

### When the skill is invoked

The skill is triggered when you ask your AI assistant about:

* Company-specific information (policies, processes, documentation)
* Internal knowledge bases or connected data sources
* Anything referencing Onyx, "search Onyx", or querying company documents

It is **not** used for general programming questions or questions about code in the current repository.

### Configuration for agents

The simplest approach is to run `onyx-cli configure` once manually — after that,
AI assistants can invoke `onyx-cli ask` directly without any additional setup.

```shell theme={null}
onyx-cli configure
```

Alternatively, you can configure via environment variables,
which override the config file and are useful for CI/CD or sandboxed environments:

```shell theme={null}
export ONYX_SERVER_URL="https://your-onyx-server.com"
export ONYX_API_KEY="your-api-key"
```

### JSON output for structured parsing

Use `--json` to get NDJSON event output, which is easier for agents to parse programmatically:

```shell theme={null}
onyx-cli ask --json "List all active API integrations"
```

| Event Type          | Description                                                          |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `message_delta`     | Content token — concatenate all `content` fields for the full answer |
| `stop`              | Stream complete                                                      |
| `error`             | Error with `error` message field                                     |
| `search_tool_start` | Onyx started searching documents                                     |
| `citation_info`     | Source citation with `citation_number` and `document_id`             |

## Keyboard Shortcuts

| Key                        | Action                    |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| `Enter`                    | Send message              |
| `Escape`                   | Cancel current generation |
| `Ctrl+O`                   | Toggle source citations   |
| `Ctrl+D`                   | Quit (press twice)        |
| `Scroll` / `Shift+Up/Down` | Scroll chat history       |
| `Page Up` / `Page Down`    | Scroll half page          |