`simpler` CLI

The simpler CLI is a token-lean, JSON-first command-line client for the entire SimplerDevelopment portal — posts, media, CRM, projects, email, commerce, Company Brain, and more. Its commands are generated from the portal's MCP tool manifest, so it has 451-tool parity with the MCP server by construction: every write goes through the same tool handlers, scope checks, and approval staging an AI agent would hit.

Installation#

npm install -g @simplerdevelopment/cli
simpler --help

Requires Node ≥ 22. The package has zero runtime dependencies.

Authentication#

Three ways to give the CLI an { apiUrl, apiKey } pair, highest precedence first:

Flags — --api-url <url> --api-key <key> on any command.
Environment variables — SIMPLER_API_URL and SIMPLER_API_KEY. Best for CI.
simpler auth login — interactive email + password sign-in:
```
simpler auth login --email you@example.com --api-url https://www.simplerdevelopment.com
```
On success it mints a 90-day API key and stores { apiUrl, apiKey } in ~/.simpler/config.json (mode 0600). The password is never accepted as a flag — it's read from a hidden prompt, or piped via --password-stdin for automation.

You can also mint a key in the portal UI under Settings → API Keys and paste it into SIMPLER_API_KEY.

Verify your setup at any time:

simpler doctor        # config source, connectivity, auth, manifest health
simpler auth status   # which key is active (redacted)

Finding commands#

Commands follow simpler <domain> <action> [--arg value ...]:

simpler --help              # top-level menu: built-ins + global flags
simpler manifest            # list every domain and its command count
simpler help posts          # all commands in a domain
simpler help posts list     # one command's arguments + an example

Tool arguments become kebab-case flags: posts_list's websiteId is --website-id.

simpler posts list --limit 10
simpler crm contacts-search --query "acme"
simpler kanban list-board --project-id 150

Output contract#

On a terminal, help renders as a readable menu and results are pretty-printed. When piped, or with --json, stdout carries exactly one JSON document — nothing else shares stdout:

{"success": true, "data": <payload>}
{"success": false, "error": {"message": "…", "code": "…"}}

Use --fields a,b,c to project only the fields you need:

simpler posts list --json --fields id,title,slug | jq '.data'

Exit codes#

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Remote/tool error
2	Usage/validation error (bad flag, missing arg, unknown command)
3	Auth/config missing or rejected
4	Destructive confirmation refused
5	Network unreachable/timeout

Destructive commands#

Commands that delete or irreversibly change data prompt for confirmation on a terminal and refuse to run non-interactively unless you pass --yes. Add --dry-run to see what would be sent without executing.

simpler posts delete --id 42            # prompts [y/N]
simpler posts delete --id 42 --yes      # CI-safe explicit consent

Using it in CI#

- run: npx @simplerdevelopment/cli doctor --json
  env:
    SIMPLER_API_URL: ${{ vars.SIMPLER_API_URL }}
    SIMPLER_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.SIMPLER_API_KEY }}

- run: npx @simplerdevelopment/cli posts list --json --fields id,title,updatedAt > posts.json

Relationship to the MCP server#

The CLI wraps the same POST /api/mcp endpoint AI agents connect to — it introduces zero new API surface. If you're wiring up Claude or another MCP client instead, see Connect an AI Agent.

simpler CLI