outline-cli

CLI for the Outline wiki/knowledge base API.

Install

From GitHub (recommended)

npm install -g github:Doist/outline-cli

From source

git clone https://github.com/Doist/outline-cli.git
cd outline-cli
npm install
npm run build
npm link

Auth

OAuth login (recommended)

ol auth login     # opens browser for OAuth authorization
ol auth login --base-url <your-outline-url> # skip base URL prompt for this login
ol auth login --client-id <your-client-id>  # skip prompt for this login
ol auth login --callback-port 54969         # override local callback port
ol auth status    # show current auth state
ol auth logout    # clear saved credentials

Setup:

1. Create a public OAuth app in Outline (Settings → Applications)
2. Set the redirect URI to http://localhost:54969/callback
3. Run ol auth login and enter your OAuth client ID when prompted (or pass it directly with --client-id <your-client-id>)
4. If needed, pass --base-url <your-outline-url> or set OUTLINE_URL (for self-hosted instances or non-default URLs)
5. If needed, pass --callback-port <port> or set OUTLINE_OAUTH_CALLBACK_PORT and register http://localhost:<port>/callback in your OAuth app

The client ID is saved for future logins. You can also set OUTLINE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID for your local environment.

Manual token login

If you prefer using an API token directly:

ol auth login --token <your-api-token>

Generate a token in Outline under Settings → API Tokens.

Configuration

Token resolution: OUTLINE_API_TOKEN env var → ~/.config/outline-cli/config.json.

Base URL resolution: OUTLINE_URL env var → config file → https://app.getoutline.com.

Callback port resolution for OAuth login: --callback-port → OUTLINE_OAUTH_CALLBACK_PORT → 54969.

Self-hosted instances: pass --base-url or set OUTLINE_URL (you can still provide it interactively).

Commands

# Search
ol search "query" --limit 10 --collection <id> --status published

# Documents (alias: ol doc)
ol document list --collection <id> --sort updatedAt --direction DESC
ol document get <urlId>              # renders markdown for terminal
ol document get <urlId> --raw        # outputs raw markdown
ol document open <urlId>             # opens in browser
ol document create --title "Title" --collection <id> --file doc.md --publish
ol document update <urlId> --file updated.md
ol document delete <urlId> --confirm
ol document move <urlId> --collection <target-id>
ol document archive <urlId>
ol document unarchive <urlId>

# Collections (alias: ol col)
ol collection list
ol collection get <id>
ol collection create --name "Engineering" --color "#4CAF50"
ol collection update <id> --name "New Name"
ol collection delete <id> --confirm

Output modes

All commands support:

• Default: colored human-readable output
• --json: pretty-printed JSON (essential fields)
• --json --full: all fields
• --ndjson: one JSON object per line (for piping)

Development

npm install
npm run dev          # watch mode
npm run type-check   # typecheck without emitting
npm run test         # run tests
npm run build        # compile to dist/