Chift CLI - Chift

Command-line access to Chift

Use the Chift CLI to discover Chift API operations, inspect required inputs, and call Unified API endpoints with structured output from your terminal or coding agent. Chift’s API is organized around consumers, connections, integrations, and Unified APIs such as accounting, POS, ecommerce, invoicing, banking, payment, and PMS. The CLI keeps those concepts close to the terminal. Most API commands follow the same grouped structure as the API reference and use the consumer_id as the route context for endpoints that act on a specific consumer.

Agent-friendly execution

Return structured JSON or YAML and keep responses focused for smaller AI context.

Open source

View the source, report issues, or contribute on GitHub.

Installation

Install the CLI

Download and install the latest release with a single command.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chift-oneapi/chift-cli/master/install.sh | sh

Configure authentication

Save your Chift account ID, client ID, and client secret once. The CLI validates the credentials by fetching an access token. Missing values open an interactive terminal form.

chift auth setup
chift auth check

You can also pass credentials directly for non-interactive use:

chift auth setup \
  --account-id <account_id> \
  --client-id <client_id> \
  --client-secret <client_secret>

First use

On first use the CLI fetches and caches the OpenAPI schema automatically. Browse available commands, search for an operation, or use --next at any level to see what to do next.

chift --help
chift accounting --help
chift schema search supplier
chift accounting suppliers --next

To update an existing install:

chift update

Agent skill

The CLI ships with an agent skill that teaches coding agents how to drive it. Install the skill with the skills CLI:

npx skills add chift-oneapi/chift-cli

Discovering and calling endpoints

Inspecting endpoint inputs

Use --schema or --next to see the merged input schema before calling an endpoint. The CLI rejects unknown parameters before sending any request.

chift accounting suppliers get --schema
chift accounting suppliers get --next

Passing inputs

consumer_id is route context. Set it once via environment variable or pass it as the first positional argument:

export CHIFT_CONSUMER_ID=<consumer_id>
chift accounting folders list

# or inline:
chift accounting folders list <consumer_id>

Pass other path and query parameters as KEY=VALUE positional values or with --param:

chift accounting suppliers get <consumer_id> supplier_id=<supplier_id>

chift accounting suppliers get <consumer_id> \
  --param supplier_id=<supplier_id> \
  --param folder_id=<folder_id>

Posting data

For POST and PATCH operations, pass a JSON body with --json or use KEY=VALUE pairs. Mutating operations require --force.

chift accounting suppliers create <consumer_id> \
  --force \
  name="Acme Corp" \
  currency_code=EUR

chift accounting suppliers create <consumer_id> \
  --force \
  --json '{"name": "Acme Corp", "currency_code": "EUR"}'

Output and filtering

API commands return JSON by default. Use --output yaml for YAML, or --debug to write debug logs to stderr.

chift accounting folders list <consumer_id> --fields id,name,parent.id
chift accounting suppliers list <consumer_id> --filter name=Acme
chift accounting suppliers list <consumer_id> page=2 size=50

--fields keeps only selected fields from the response. --filter filters list responses client-side. For paginated responses, the CLI applies both to the items array. Pagination uses the API’s own page and size query parameters.

Environment variables

The CLI loads environment variables at startup from a .env file or shell exports.

Variable	Description	Default
`CHIFT_CONSUMER_ID`	Default consumer, avoids passing `consumer_id` on every command	—
`CHIFT_ALLOWED_OPERATIONS`	Comma-separated list of allowed operation classes: `read`, `write`, `dangerous`, `all`	all
`CHIFT_SHOW_PLATFORM_ENDPOINTS`	Show `consumers`, `integrations`, and `connections` endpoint groups	`false`
`CHIFT_SHOW_INTERNAL_ENDPOINTS`	Show `general`, `datastores`, `syncs`, `issues`, `m-c-p`, and `webhooks` endpoint groups	`false`

Restricting operations

Set CHIFT_ALLOWED_OPERATIONS to limit which operation classes the CLI executes for business vertical endpoints. This is particularly useful for AI agents that should only read data.

CHIFT_ALLOWED_OPERATIONS=read chift accounting suppliers list <consumer_id>

Scope metadata takes precedence when present. Without scopes, GET/HEAD/OPTIONS are read, POST/PATCH are write, and DELETE is dangerous. Platform and internal endpoint groups keep their full command set regardless of this setting.

Schema cache

The command tree is generated from the OpenAPI schema. The CLI fetches and caches the schema automatically on first use. Refresh it manually when needed:

chift schema update
chift schema tree
chift schema search invoice

Why it helps AI workflows

AI coding tools work best when they can discover capabilities, inspect schemas, and receive compact structured output. The Chift CLI supports that workflow by:

Discovering available Chift API operations from the terminal
Guiding agents step-by-step with --next at any command level
Inspecting the inputs required by an endpoint before sending a request
Returning JSON by default, with YAML available when needed
Reducing large responses with --fields and --filter
Restricting operations with CHIFT_ALLOWED_OPERATIONS so agents only perform safe actions
Requiring --force for mutating operations such as POST, PATCH, PUT, and DELETE

For AI agents, start with chift auth check, use chift schema search or --help to discover the right endpoint, then call --schema before sending business data. Set CHIFT_ALLOWED_OPERATIONS=read to prevent accidental writes.

Relationship with MCP

The Chift MCP server is the recommended option when your AI tool supports MCP and should access Chift through a tool interface. The CLI is a strong complement for terminal-based agents, local scripts, CI checks, and debugging sessions. Use it whenever you want to see the exact API request and response shape.

​Command-line access to Chift

Agent-friendly execution

Open source

​Installation

​Agent skill

​Discovering and calling endpoints

​Inspecting endpoint inputs

​Passing inputs

​Posting data

​Output and filtering

​Environment variables

​Restricting operations

​Schema cache

​Why it helps AI workflows

​Relationship with MCP

Command-line access to Chift

Installation

Agent skill

Discovering and calling endpoints

Inspecting endpoint inputs

Passing inputs

Posting data

Output and filtering

Environment variables

Restricting operations

Schema cache

Why it helps AI workflows

Relationship with MCP