inline-cli by inline-chat

---
name: inline-cli
description: Explain and use the Inline CLI (`inline`) for authentication, chats, users, spaces, messages, search, bots, typing, notifications, tasks, schema, attachments, downloads, JSON output, and configuration. Use when asked how to use the Inline CLI or its commands, flags, outputs, or workflows.
---

# Inline CLI

## Global flags

- `--json`: Output raw JSON payloads (proto/RPC results) to stdout (available on all commands).
  - When `--json` is set and a command fails, the CLI prints a structured error JSON to stderr: `{"error":{"code","message","hint","examples"}}` and exits non-zero.
  - Table-only convenience flags are disabled in `--json` mode. Specifically: `inline users list --filter/--ids/--id`, `inline bots list --filter/--ids/--id`, and `inline chats list --ids/--id`.
  - `inline chats list --json` still supports `--filter`, `--limit`, and `--offset` for pre-filtered/paginated payloads.
  - Destructive commands never prompt in `--json` mode; pass `--yes` explicitly.
- `--pretty`: Pretty-print JSON output (default).
- `--compact`: Compact JSON output (no whitespace).

## Subcommands

### auth

- `inline auth login [--email [email protected] | --phone +15551234567]`
  - Run an interactive login flow.
  - If code is wrong, prompt to try again or edit email/phone (no hard exit).
- `inline auth me`
  - Fetch and print the current user (verifies your token is still valid).
- `inline auth logout`
  - Clear the stored token and current user.

### shortcuts and aliases

- `inline me` and `inline whoami`
  - Shortcut for `inline auth me`.
- `inline search ...`
  - Shortcut for `inline messages search ...`.
- `inline chat ...`, `inline thread ...`, `inline threads ...`
  - Aliases for `inline chats ...`.
- `inline bot ...`
  - Alias for `inline bots ...`.

### chats

- `inline chats list`
  - List chats with human-readable names, unread count, and last message preview (sender + text in one column).
- `inline chats list --json --filter "launch"`
  - Same `GetChatsResult` JSON payload, but pre-filtered by chat name/space/id for agent pipelines.
- `inline chats get [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42]`
  - Fetch a chat (thread or DM) by id.
- `inline chats participants --chat-id 123`
  - List participants for a chat, including join date.
- `inline chats add-participant --chat-id 123 --user-id 42`
  - Add a user to a chat.
- `inline chats remove-participant --chat-id 123 --user-id 42`
  - Remove a user from a chat.
- `inline chats create --title "Project" [--space-id 31] [--description "Spec"] [--emoji ":rocket:"] [--public] [--participant 42]`
  - Create a new chat or thread. If `--public` is set, participants must be empty.
- `inline chats create-dm --user-id 42`
  - Create a private chat (DM).
- `inline chats update-visibility --chat-id 123 [--public | --private --participant 42 --participant 99]`
  - Change a chat between public/private.
  - `--public` cannot include participants.
  - `--private` requires one or more `--participant` values.
- `inline chats rename --chat-id 123 --title "New title" [--emoji "🚀"]`
  - Rename a chat or thread.
- `inline chats mark-unread [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42]`
  - Mark a chat or DM as unread.
- `inline chats mark-read [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42] [--max-id 456]`
  - Mark a chat or DM as read. If `--max-id` is omitted, marks through the latest message.
- `inline chats delete --chat-id 123`
  - Delete a chat (space thread). Prompts for confirmation unless `--yes` is provided (`--json` requires `--yes`).

### bots

- Alias: `inline bot ...` maps to `inline bots ...`.
- `inline bots list [--filter "name"] [--ids | --id]`
  - List bots you can access.
- `inline bots create --name "Build Bot" --username build_bot [--add-to-space 31]`
  - Create a bot. Token is not printed in table output; use `inline bots reveal-token` explicitly. JSON includes the token.
- `inline bots reveal-token --bot-user-id 42`
  - Print (or JSON-return) an existing bot token by bot user id.

### typing

- `inline typing start [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42]`
  - Send a "typing" compose action.
- `inline typing stop [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42]`
  - Clear the compose action (stop typing).

### users

- `inline users list [--filter "name"] [--ids | --id]`
  - List users that appear in your chats (derived from getChats).
  - `--filter` matches name, username, email, or phone.
  - `--ids` prints one user id per line.
  - `--id` requires exactly one match and prints that id.
- `inline users get --id 42`
  - Fetch one user by id (from the same getChats payload).

### spaces

- `inline spaces list`
  - List spaces referenced by your chats (derived from getChats).
- `inline spaces members --space-id 31`
  - List members in a space.
- `inline spaces invite --space-id 31 [--user-id 42 | --email [email protected] | --phone +15551234567] [--admin] [--public-chats]`
  - Invite a user to a space (role is optional; defaults to server behavior).
- `inline spaces delete-member --space-id 31 --user-id 42`
  - Remove a member from a space (prompts for confirmation; use `--yes` to skip; `--json` requires `--yes`).
- `inline spaces update-member-access --space-id 31 --user-id 42 [--admin | --member] [--public-chats]`
  - Update a member's access/role. Provide `--admin` or `--member` (and optional `--public-chats`).

### notifications

- `inline notifications get`
  - Show current notification settings.
- `inline notifications set [--mode all|none|mentions|only-mentions|important] [--silent | --sound]`
  - Update notification settings.

### update

- `inline update`
  - Download and install the latest release for this machine.

### doctor

- `inline doctor`
  - Print diagnostic info (system, config, paths, auth state).

### tasks

- `inline tasks create-linear --chat-id 123 --message-id 456 [--space-id 31]`
  - Create a Linear issue from a message.
- `inline tasks create-notion --chat-id 123 --message-id 456 --space-id 31`
  - Create a Notion task from a message.

### schema

- `inline schema proto`
  - Print bundled protobuf source files.

### messages

- `inline messages list [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42] [--limit 50] [--offset-id 456] [--translate en] [--since "yesterday"] [--until "today"]`
  - List chat history for a chat or DM.
  - `--translate <lang>` fetches translations and includes them in output.
- `inline messages export [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42] [--limit 50] [--offset-id 456] [--since "1w ago"] [--until "today"] --output PATH`
  - Export chat history to a JSON file.
- `inline messages search [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42] --query "onboarding" [--query "alpha beta"] [--limit 50] [--since "today"] [--until "tomorrow"]`
  - Search messages in a chat or DM.
  - `--query` is repeatable; each query can contain space-separated terms (ANDed within a query, ORed across queries). Extra whitespace is collapsed.
  - `--since` and `--until` accept relative time expressions like `yesterday`, `2h ago`, `monday`, `2024-01-15`, or RFC3339.
- `inline messages get --chat-id 123 --message-id 456 [--translate en]`
  - Fetch one full message by id (includes media + attachments).
- `inline messages send [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42] [--text "hi" | --message "hi" | --msg "hi" | -m "hi"] [--stdin] [--reply-to 456] [--mention USER_ID:OFFSET:LENGTH ...] [--attach PATH ...] [--force-file]`
  - Send a message (markdown parsing enabled). Mentions are provided via `--mention` with UTF-16 offsets.
  - `--stdin` reads message text from stdin.
  - `--attach` is repeatable. Each attachment is sent as its own message; `--text` is reused as the caption.
  - Folders are zipped before upload. Attachments over 200MB are rejected.
  - `--force-file` uploads photos/videos as files (documents).
  - `--mention` is repeatable and must match the message text (`user_id:offset:length` with UTF-16 units).
- `inline messages forward --from-chat-id 123 --message-id 456 --to-chat-id 789 [--no-header]`
  - Forward one or more messages between chats or DMs.
  - Repeat `--message-id` to forward multiple messages.
- `inline messages edit [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42] --message-id 456 [--text "updated" | --message "updated" | --msg "updated" | -m "updated" | --stdin]`
  - Edit a message by id.
- `inline messages delete [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42] --message-id 456 [--message-id 789]`
  - Delete one or more messages (prompts for confirmation; use `--yes` to skip; `--json` requires `--yes`).
- `inline messages add-reaction [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42] --message-id 456 --emoji "👍"`
  - Add an emoji reaction to a message (emoji characters only, no `:shortcode:`).
- `inline messages delete-reaction [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42] --message-id 456 --emoji "👍"`
  - Remove an emoji reaction from a message (emoji characters only, no `:shortcode:`).
- `inline messages download [--chat-id 123 | --user-id 42] --message-id 456 [--output PATH | --dir PATH]`
  - Download the attachment from a message.

## Examples

- Login and greet user:
  - `inline auth login` (prompts for email/phone + code, then prints welcome name)
- Verify who you are:
  - `inline auth me`
  - Shortcut: `inline me`
- Check diagnostics:
  - `inline doctor`
- List chats/threads:
  - `inline chats list`
  - Alias: `inline thread list`
- Update chat visibility:
  - `inline chats update-visibility --chat-id 123 --public`
  - `inline chats update-visibility --chat-id 123 --private --participant 42 --participant 99`
- Search messages in a chat:
  - `inline messages search --chat-id 123 --query "design review"`
  - JSON: `inline messages search --chat-id 123 --query "design review" --json`
  - Shortcut: `inline search --chat-id 123 --query "design review"`
- Translate and list messages:
  - `inline messages list --chat-id 123 --translate en`
- Filter messages by time:
  - `inline messages list --chat-id 123 --since "yesterday"`
  - `inline messages list --chat-id 123 --since "2h ago" --until "1h ago"`
- Export messages to a file:
  - `inline messages export --chat-id 123 --output ./messages.json`
  - `inline messages export --chat-id 123 --since "1w ago" --output ./recent.json`
- Send message with multiple attachments:
  - `inline messages send --chat-id 123 --text "FYI" --attach ./photo.jpg --attach ./spec.pdf`
- Reply to a message:
  - `inline messages send --chat-id 123 --reply-to 456 --text "on it"`
- Forward a message:
  - `inline messages forward --from-chat-id 123 --message-id 456 --to-chat-id 789`
- Send a message with a mention entity:
  - `inline messages send --chat-id 123 --text "@Sam hello" --mention 42:0:4`
- Download an attachment:
  - `inline messages download --chat-id 123 --message-id 456 --dir ./downloads`
- Rename a thread:
  - `inline chats rename --chat-id 123 --title "New title"`
- Bots:
  - `inline bots list`
  - `inline bots create --name "Build Bot" --username build_bot`
  - `inline bots reveal-token --bot-user-id 42` (token is not printed by default)
- Tasks:
  - `inline tasks create-linear --chat-id 123 --message-id 456`
  - `inline tasks create-notion --chat-id 123 --message-id 456 --space-id 31`
- Typing:
  - `inline typing start --chat-id 123`
  - `inline typing stop --chat-id 123`
- Edit and delete a message:
  - `inline messages edit --chat-id 123 --message-id 456 --text "updated"`
  - `inline messages delete --chat-id 123 --message-id 456`
- Invite and manage members:
  - `inline spaces invite --space-id 31 --email [email protected]`
  - `inline spaces update-member-access --space-id 31 --user-id 42 --admin`
- JQ pipelines for lists:
  - `inline users list --json | jq -r '.users[] | "\(.id)\t\(.first_name) \(.last_name)\t@\(.username // "")\t\(.email // "")"'`
  - `inline users list --json | jq -r '.users[] | select((.first_name + " " + (.last_name // "") + " " + (.username // "") + " " + (.email // "")) | ascii_downcase | contains("mo")) | "\(.id)\t\(.first_name) \(.last_name)"'`
- `inline chats list --json | jq -r '.chats[] | "\(.id)\t\(.title // "")\tspace:\(if .space_id == null then "dm" else (.space_id | tostring) end)"'`
- `inline chats list --json | jq -r '.dialogs[] | select(.unread_count > 0) | "\(.chat_id)\tunread:\(.unread_count)"'`
- `inline messages list --chat-id 123 --json | jq -r '.messages[] | "\(.id)\t\(.from_id)\t\((.message // "") | gsub("\n"; " ") | .[0:80])"'`
- `inline schema proto --json --compact | jq -r '.files[].name'`

## Agent Tips

### Finding users quickly

```bash
inline users list | grep -i "partial_name"
```

Faster than parsing JSON when you just need user ID.

### DM: last 5 messages + download media

```bash
# Find the DM user id by name/email/username
USER_ID="$(inline users list --filter "sam" --id)"

# Read the last 5 messages
inline messages list --user-id "$USER_ID" --limit 5 --json --compact

# Download media from the last 50 messages
inline messages list --user-id "$USER_ID" --limit 50 --json --compact \
  | jq -r '.messages[] | select(.media != null) | .id' \
  | while read -r MESSAGE_ID; do
      inline messages download --user-id "$USER_ID" --message-id "$MESSAGE_ID" --dir ./downloads
    done
```

### Filtering messages with jq

```bash
# Get last N outgoing messages (your messages)
inline messages list --user-id ID --json | jq '[.messages[] | select(.out == true)] | .[0:3]'

# Get last N incoming messages (their messages)
inline messages list --user-id ID --json | jq '[.messages[] | select(.out == false)] | .[0:3]'
```

### Multi-term search for feedback/bugs

```bash
inline messages search --user-id ID --query "bug" --query "issue" --query "loom" --query "broken" --limit 30 --json
```

Each --query is ORed together - useful for finding feedback items.

### Common patterns

- Use --user-id for DMs instead of looking up chat IDs
- Use --json + jq for programmatic filtering
- Use default (non-JSON) mode for quick human-readable output

### More quick tips

```bash
# Page back with offset-id
inline messages list --chat-id ID --limit 50 --offset-id 1234

# Get the latest message id
inline messages list --chat-id ID --limit 1 --json | jq '.messages[0].id'

# Export a batch for offline review
inline messages export --chat-id ID --limit 500 --output ./chat.json

# Compact JSON for pipelines
inline messages list --chat-id ID --json --compact | jq '.messages | length'
```

## JSON samples

Chat list (GetChatsResult, truncated to essential fields):

```
{
  "dialogs": [
    {
      "peer": { "type": { "Chat": { "chat_id": 340 } } },
      "space_id": 31,
      "archived": false,
      "pinned": false,
      "read_max_id": 1,
      "unread_count": 0,
      "chat_id": 340,
      "unread_mark": false
    }
  ],
  "chats": [
    {
      "id": 340,
      "title": "Main",
      "space_id": 31,
      "description": "Main chat for everyone in the space",
      "emoji": null,
      "is_public": true,
      "last_msg_id": 1,
      "peer_id": { "type": { "Chat": { "chat_id": 340 } } },
      "date": 1754585453
    }
  ],
  "spaces": [
    { "id": 31, "name": "Design", "creator": false, "date": 1750000000 }
  ],
  "users": [
    {
      "id": 1000,
      "first_name": "Ava",
      "last_name": "Chen",
      "username": "ava",
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "min": false,
      "bot": false
    }
  ],
  "messages": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "from_id": 1000,
      "peer_id": { "type": { "Chat": { "chat_id": 340 } } },
      "chat_id": 340,
      "message": null,
      "out": true,
      "date": 1754585453,
      "media": {
        "media": {
          "Document": {
            "document": {
              "id": 32,
              "file_name": "recording.mp4",
              "mime_type": "video/mp4",
              "size": 6932635,
              "cdn_url": "https://..."
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
```

Message list (GetChatHistoryResult, truncated to essential fields):

```
{
  "messages": [
    {
      "id": 456,
      "from_id": 42,
      "peer_id": { "type": { "Chat": { "chat_id": 123 } } },
      "chat_id": 123,
      "message": "Ship it",
      "out": true,
      "date": 1733184000,
      "attachments": {
        "attachments": [
          {
            "id": 9001,
            "attachment": {
              "UrlPreview": {
                "id": 88,
                "url": "https://...",
                "site_name": "Docs",
                "title": "Spec",
                "description": "API rollout spec"
              }
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}
```