How to use
- Copy the installation command and review the source package before installing it in your own agent environment.
- Check the source document for required tools, credentials and supported hosts.
- Describe your input and desired deliverable; review the output against the source material.
npx skills add https://github.com/cloudcannon/agent-skills --skill cloudcannon-cliBefore you start
- Installation does not include a model subscription, API allowance or permission to access your files.
- Repository stars and installation counts describe activity, not an independent quality or security test.
Rendered from the source repository. Headings, examples, code, tables, links, and referenced images are preserved.
The CloudCannon CLI
@cloudcannon/cli has two halves. The local half reads and writes files in the working directory and needs no account. The remote half talks to the CloudCannon API, needs credentials, and acts on live sites.
When to use
- Finding out whether a command exists for a task, and what its flags are
- Authenticating, or setting the CLI up in CI
- Listing, inspecting, or creating sites and organisations
- Reading or changing files on a hosted site, and committing those changes
- Triggering a rebuild, or reading build and sync logs
- Changing an existing site's build configuration
- Listing form submissions
When not to use
- Deciding what belongs in `cloudcannon.config.yml` — that is `cloudcannon-configuration`. This skill runs
configureandvalidate; that skill owns what their output should say. - Running the site locally in CloudCannon —
cloudcannon devis covered end to end by `cloudcannon-dev-server`, including the rebuild loop and the/__apisurface. - Calling the CloudCannon API from code — that is `cloudcannon-sdk`. It also owns the surface no command reaches: DAMs, backups, sync history and pulls, site scans, screenshots, provider connections,
site.copy,site.delete. - Authoring editable regions or snippets — `cloudcannon-visual-editing` and `cloudcannon-snippets`.
The rule that costs the most
MUST confirm with the user before any command that writes to a hosted site.
Why: the remote half is not a sandbox. sites files commit pushes to the site's real git repository, sites rebuild starts a real build, and sites update-build-config changes how every future build runs. None of them prompt, and none are undone by re-running the command.
The read-only remote commands — every list, every get, every print-* — are safe to run unprompted.
Local and remote
| Half | Commands | Credentials | Acts on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local | configure detect-*, configure generate, validate | None | Files in the working directory |
| Local | dev | None | A built output directory |
| Remote | orgs, sites, builds, inboxes, login/logout | Required | Live sites over the API |
MUST NOT assume a command is local because it reads rather than writes. sites files get reads, but reads it over the API from a hosted site.
Requirements
Node 24 or newer (the current LTS). Install globally with npm i -g @cloudcannon/cli, or invoke with npx @cloudcannon/cli <command>.
Quick start
# What commands exist, and what flags does one take
npx @cloudcannon/cli --help
npx @cloudcannon/cli sites files commit --help
# Local: generate and check a configuration
npx @cloudcannon/cli configure generate --auto --initial-site-settings
npx @cloudcannon/cli validate
# Remote: authenticate, then read
npx @cloudcannon/cli login
npx @cloudcannon/cli sites listContents
| File | Covers |
|---|---|
| SKILL.md (this file) | Routing, the local/remote split, the live-site rule |
| commands.md | The full command surface, and querying documentation.json for exact flags |
| authentication.md | Credential methods, their precedence, where they are stored, CI setup |
| editing-sessions.md | sites files — the staged-changes model, committing, discarding |
| troubleshooting.md | Symptom → cause → fix |
Common mistakes
| Excuse | Reality |
|---|---|
| "I'll write out the flags for this command from memory." | Flags change between releases. Query documentation.json or run --help. See commands.md. |
| "Build settings can only be changed in the dashboard." | sites update-build-config changes them for an existing site. See commands.md § Changing build configuration. |
| "I uploaded the file, so the site has it." | An upload lands in an editing session, not the repository. It is not live until committed. See editing-sessions.md. |
| "The command printed nothing, so it failed." | Read commands print JSON to stdout and nothing else. An empty result is an empty array, not an error — check the exit code. |
"--site needs the UUID." | It accepts a name, ID, UUID, or domain. |
