CLI

Install and use the Unkey CLI to manage API keys, rate limits, permissions, and identities from your terminal. Supports all core operations.

The Unkey CLI gives you direct access to the Unkey API from your terminal. Create and manage API keys, configure rate limits, set permissions, and query analytics, all without leaving the command line.

The CLI is early and provided on a best-effort basis. There are no breaking change guarantees for commands, flags, or output format. The underlying API is versioned and stable.

Installation

npm

npm install -g unkey

GitHub Releases

Download the latest binary for your platform from GitHub Releases.

# macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -L https://github.com/unkeyed/unkey/releases/latest/download/unkey_darwin_arm64 -o unkey
chmod +x unkey
sudo mv unkey /usr/local/bin/

Authentication

Before using the CLI, authenticate with your root key:

unkey auth login

This stores your key at ~/.unkey/config.toml. All subsequent commands use it automatically.

You can also pass a key per-command or via environment variable:

# Flag
unkey api keys create-key --root-key=unkey_xxx --api-id=api_123

# Environment variable
export UNKEY_ROOT_KEY=unkey_xxx
unkey api keys create-key --api-id=api_123

Usage

All API operations live under the unkey api command, organized by resource:

unkey api <resource> <action> [flags]

Resources

Resource	Description
apis	Create, get, delete API namespaces and list their keys
keys	Create, verify, update, delete keys and manage their permissions and roles
identities	Create, get, update, delete identities for grouping keys
permissions	Create, get, delete permissions and roles
ratelimit	Apply rate limits and manage overrides
analytics	Query key verification data with SQL

Examples

Create an API and issue a key:

unkey api apis create-api --name=payment-service-prod
unkey api keys create-key --api-id=api_1234abcd --name='Production Key' --enabled

Verify a key:

unkey api keys verify-key --key=sk_1234abcdef

Set up rate limiting:

unkey api ratelimit limit --namespace=api.requests --identifier=user_123 --limit=100 --duration=60000

Query analytics:

unkey api analytics get-verifications --query="SELECT COUNT(*) as total FROM key_verifications_v1 WHERE outcome = 'VALID' AND time >= now() - INTERVAL 7 DAY"

Manage permissions:

unkey api permissions create-permission --name=documents.read --slug=documents-read
unkey api keys add-permissions --key-id=key_1234abcd --permissions=documents.read,documents.write

Output

By default, the CLI prints the request ID, followed by the response data:

req_2c9a0jf23l4k567

{
  "id": "api_1234abcd",
  "name": "payment-service-prod"
}

For scripting, use --output=json to get the raw API response envelope (meta + data) as JSON on stdout:

unkey api apis create-api --name=my-api --output=json | jq '.data.id'

Send a typed JSON body

Every unkey api action accepts --body for sending a JSON string directly to the API. This is useful for AI agents and scripts that already produce an API request body:

REQUEST_BODY='{"apiId":"api_1234abcd","name":"Agent-created key"}'
unkey api keys create-key --body="$REQUEST_BODY" --output=json

Explicitly passing --body selects typed body mode. The CLI decodes the value into the endpoint’s generated SDK request type, then the SDK serializes that typed request. Malformed JSON is rejected locally. An explicitly empty value, including --body='', selects body mode and is rejected as malformed JSON. Request schema and business validation remain the API’s responsibility.

You cannot combine --body with request-building flags. Selecting body mode waives required request-building flag checks because the typed JSON supplies the request instead.

Operational flags continue to work in body mode. Your configured root key or --root-key is still used, while --api-url and --output keep their normal behavior.

Quote the JSON so your shell passes it as one argument. Single quotes are usually the clearest choice for inline JSON in Bash:

unkey api apis create-api \
  --body='{"name":"payment-service-prod"}'

Global Flags

Every command accepts these flags:

Flag	Description
--root-key	Override the root key (also: UNKEY_ROOT_KEY env var)
--api-url	Override the API base URL (default: https://api.unkey.com)
--config	Path to config file (default: ~/.unkey/config.toml)
--output	Output format. Use json for raw JSON
--body	Send this JSON string as the typed request body. You cannot combine it with request-building flags.

Help

Every command has built-in help with descriptions, flag details, and examples:

unkey --help
unkey api --help
unkey api keys --help
unkey api keys create-key --help