Operately CLI#

Operate an Operately instance through the operately CLI.

Quick Reference#

TaskCommandInstall CLInpm install -g @operately/operately-cliLoginoperately auth login --token <token>Interactive loginoperately auth loginLogin with flagsoperately auth login --method email-password --email user@example.com --password secret123456 --company-id <company-id> --access-mode full-access --profile workSign upoperately auth signupSign up with flagsoperately auth signup --method email-password --full-name "New User" --email newuser@example.com --password secret123456 --next-step laterJoin Companyoperately auth joinJoin Company with flagsoperately auth join --invite-token <token> --method email-password --email user@example.com --password secret123456Create companyoperately auth create-companyCreate company with flagsoperately auth create-company --method email-password --email user@example.com --password secret123456 --company-name "Acme Corp" --profile workList saved profilesoperately auth profilesAuth status (local config)operately auth statusWho am Ioperately auth whoamiLogoutoperately auth logoutSet profile pictureoperately people update_picture --avatar-file ./avatar.pngRemove profile pictureoperately people update_picture --clearUpload file to Docs & Filesoperately documents create_file --space-id <id> --file ./report.pdfList my assignmentsoperately people list_assignmentsList projectsoperately projects listGet projectoperately projects get --id <id> --include-spaceCreate projectoperately projects create --space-id <id> --name "Q2 Roadmap" --anonymous-access-level 0 --company-access-level 10 --space-access-level 70List goalsoperately goals listCreate goaloperately goals create --space-id <id> --name "Revenue Goal" --anonymous-access-level 0 --company-access-level 10 --space-access-level 70List tasksoperately tasks list --project-id <id>Create taskoperately tasks create --type project --id <project-id> --name "Design mockups" --milestone-id <id> --assignee-id null --due-date <date>List spacesoperately spaces listCreate documentoperately documents create_document --space-id <id> --name "Guide" --content "# Guide"List Docs & Files contentsoperately documents list_contents --space-id <id>List project templatesoperately project_templates list --space-id <id>Create project from templateoperately project_templates create_project --template-id <id> --space-id <id> --start-date <date> --name "..." --anonymous-access-level 0 --company-access-level 10 --space-access-level 70Full-text searchoperately companies search --query "..."Search Docs & Filesoperately documents search --space-id <id> --query "..."Restore document versionoperately documents restore_document_version --document-id <id> --version-number <n>

Verify CLI Is Installed#

Before any CLI operation, confirm the CLI is available:

bash

 operately --version

If this does not print the version number, the CLI is not installed. Stop and tell the user:

The Operately CLI is not installed. Install it with npm install -g @operately/operately-cli and then re-run this task.

Do not attempt to install the CLI on behalf of the user. Do not continue without a working CLI.

This skill documents Operately CLI 1.9.0 ( @operately/operately-cli). If operately --version reports an older release, ask the user to run npm update -g @operately/operately-cli before template, search, or document-history workflows.

Only after confirming the binary exists should you verify the session:

bash

operately auth whoami

Interpret failures carefully:

• command not found from whoami still means the CLI is missing.
• Authentication or connection errors mean the CLI exists but the current session cannot reach Operately yet. Tell the user the CLI is installed but the session/auth is not working, and ask them to login.

Core Workflow#

1. Authenticate#

Prefer direct token login for automation, CI, or any non-interactive task. Generate an API token in the Operately UI at Profile → API Tokens, then:

bash

operately auth login --token <your-token>
operately auth whoami

Important: If you don't specify --base-url when logging in, the CLI defaults to https://app.operately.com. For self-hosted or staging environments, always provide the --base-url flag:

bash

# Self-hosted instance
operately auth login --token <token> --base-url https://operately.yourcompany.com

# Check current base URL
operately auth whoami

Auth Flow Rules For Agents#

• operately auth login --token <token> is the safest path for automation and headless work. It validates the token and saves a profile without using the interactive bootstrap flow.
• If an agent must use operately auth login without an existing token, prefer passing all known login data as flags so the CLI only asks for the unavoidable manual steps.
• The two unavoidable manual login steps are: Google login browser confirmation, and email-code login verification-code entry from the user's email.
• If an agent must use operately auth signup, prefer passing all known signup data as flags so the CLI only asks for the unavoidable manual steps.
• The two unavoidable manual signup steps are: Google signup browser confirmation, and email/password signup verification-code entry from the user's email.
• All operately auth ... commands are handcrafted in cli/src/auth/, with the per-flow modules under cli/src/auth/flows/. They are not generated from backend external_endpoints, even though the rest of the CLI command surface is generated.
• Use interactive auth commands only when a human can answer prompts. For Google flows, also assume a browser is required.
• operately auth profiles and operately auth status only report local CLI config state. They do not prove the saved token is valid. Use operately auth whoami when you need remote verification.
• If the task involves choosing between login, signup, join, invite handling, or understanding which backend/internal endpoints the CLI will hit, read references/auth-flows.md before acting.

Agent-Friendly Login Examples#

Prefer these over the fully interactive bootstrap flow when the necessary details are already known:

bash

# Password login: fully flag-driven when company and access mode are known
operately auth login \
  --method email-password \
  --email user@example.com \
  --password secret123456 \
  --company-id <company-id> \
  --access-mode full-access \
  --profile work

# Email-code login: only the emailed verification code remains manual
operately auth login \
  --method email-code \
  --email user@example.com \
  --company-name "Acme Corp" \
  --access-mode read-only

# Google login: browser confirmation remains manual
operately auth login \
  --method google \
  --company-name "Acme Corp" \
  --access-mode full-access

Agent-Friendly Signup Examples#

Prefer these over the fully interactive signup flow when the necessary details are already known:

bash

# Email/password signup: only the emailed verification code remains manual
operately auth signup \
  --method email-password \
  --full-name "New User" \
  --email newuser@example.com \
  --password secret123456 \
  --next-step later

# Google signup: browser confirmation remains manual
operately auth signup \
  --method google \
  --next-step later

Authentication Options#

Three ways to provide authentication:

1. Saved profile (recommended for local use): bash

   operately auth login --token <token>
   
   

2. Environment variables (best for CI/scripts): bash

   export OPERATELY_API_TOKEN=op_live_xxx
   export OPERATELY_BASE_URL=https://app.operately.com
   export OPERATELY_PROFILE=default
   
   

3. Per-command flags (temporary overrides): bash

   operately people get_me --token <token> --base-url <url>
   
   

Priority: command flags > environment variables > saved profile.

Multiple Environments#

Use profiles for different environments:

bash

# Production (default)
operately auth login --token op_live_xxx

# Staging
operately auth login --token op_staging_xxx --profile staging --base-url https://staging.operately.com

# Local development
operately auth login --token op_local_xxx --profile local --base-url http://localhost:4000

Switch profiles:

bash

operately people get_me --profile staging
operately auth profiles

Interactive Auth Flow Summary#

• operately auth login is hybrid for password, email-code, and Google login: with no flags it is fully interactive, but any provided login flags suppress the matching prompts. Google login still requires browser confirmation, and email-code login still requires the emailed verification code. If no --method flag is provided, the interactive menu still includes prompted token entry as an option.
• operately auth signup is hybrid: with no flags it is fully interactive, but any provided signup flags suppress the matching prompts. Google signup still requires browser confirmation, and email/password signup still requires the emailed verification code.
• operately auth create-company is hybrid: with no flags it is fully interactive, but any provided flags suppress the matching prompts. It authenticates with email/password, email code, or Google OAuth, then creates a company and saves a full-access profile.
• operately auth join is hybrid: with no flags it is fully interactive, but any provided flags suppress the matching prompts. It starts from an invite token and routes differently for personal invites vs company-wide invites.
• When an interactive flow needs a profile name and --profile is not provided, the CLI prompts with the current active profile as the default; blank input accepts that default.
• In bootstrap login flows, the CLI usually exchanges a short-lived bootstrap token for a company-scoped API token and then saves the resulting profile.
• The detailed decision tree, prompt behavior, and endpoint mapping live in references/auth-flows.md.

Method prerequisites — confirm access BEFORE choosing a method:

MethodRequired access--tokenThe API token itselfemail-password (login)Email address AND passwordemail-password (signup)Email address AND inbox access (a code is sent during signup)email-codeEmail address AND inbox access (a code is sent and must be read)googleBrowser access for the OAuth confirmation step

• Never choose Google OAuth in headless, CI, or automated contexts — it always requires a human to confirm in the browser.
• Never choose email-code without confirmed inbox access — a code is always sent and must be entered.
• Always pass known values as flags ( --method, --email, --password, --company-name, etc.) to suppress every prompt that can be suppressed. Only leave a step interactive when it is truly unavoidable (browser confirmation or entering an emailed code).

2. Command Structure#

Commands follow the API endpoint naming:

bash

operately <namespace> <endpoint_name> [flags]

Examples:

bash

operately people get_me
operately people update_picture --avatar-file path-to-avatar-file
operately projects list
operately goals create --name "Q2 Revenue Goal" --space-id s1 --anonymous-access-level 0 --company-access-level 10 --space-access-level 70
operately tasks update_status --task-id t1 --type project --status.id done --status.label "Done" --status.color green --status.index 2 --status.value done --status.closed true
operately documents create_file --space-id s1 --file path-to-file

3. Input Flags#

Flags map to API fields using kebab-case:

Simple values:

bash

operately projects update_name --project-id p1 --name "New Name"

Booleans:

bash

operately projects get --id p1 --include-space
operately projects get --id p1 --include-space=true

Include flags ( --include-*)

Include flags request extra related data or expanded result sets in the response. If an include flag is omitted, that data is not returned, but that does not mean the underlying resource does not have it. It means the CLI/API did not preload it. If the matching include flag was requested and the field is still missing, then treat that as the resource/data not existing for that object.

Examples:

• operately projects get --id p1 will return the base project without space, milestones, or contributors.
• operately projects get --id p1 --include-space --include-milestones requests those fields explicitly.
• operately projects get --id p1 --include-subscription-list is required before using notification subscription commands that need the subscription_list.

When reading CLI help:

• Keep the flat Input flags: list in mind.
• If help ends with Include flag behavior:, treat the listed resources as opt-in fields.
• Do not infer “no milestones”, “no contributors”, or similar conclusions just because the field is missing from a response unless the matching include flag was requested.

Nulls:

bash

operately goals update_due_date --goal-id g1 --due-date null

Arrays (repeat the flag):

bash

operately notifications mark_many_as_read --ids n1 --ids n2

Nested objects (dot-index notation):

bash

operately projects update_task_statuses \
  --project-id p1 \
  --task-statuses.0.id ts1 \
  --task-statuses.0.label "To Do" \
  --task-statuses.1.id ts2 \
  --task-statuses.1.label "Done"

Markdown content:

Many commands accept markdown content (documents, descriptions, check-ins, discussions). For anything beyond a single short sentence, use file input ( --<field>-file <path>) instead of inline strings. File input preserves formatting perfectly without shell escaping issues.

Recommended: file input for multiline content

bash

# Write content to a temp file, then pass the path
cat > /tmp/description.md << 'EOF'
# Q2 Roadmap

## Goals

1. Launch new feature
2. Improve performance

## Timeline

- **May:** Design phase
- **June:** Development
- **July:** Launch
EOF

operately projects update_description \
  --project-id p1 \
  --description-file /tmp/description.md

# Discussion with rich formatting
cat > /tmp/post.md << 'EOF'
Hey team. Here's the weekly update:

- Shipped the new landing page
- Fixed 3 bugs in check-in flow
- Started work on notifications

Next week we focus on **goal reviews**.
EOF

operately spaces create_discussion \
  --space-id s1 \
  --title "Weekly Update" \
  --body-file /tmp/post.md

# Document creation
operately documents create_document \
  --space-id s1 \
  --name "API Documentation" \
  --content-file ./api-docs.md

File input flag pattern: For any flag that accepts markdown, append -file to use a file path instead:

• --body → --body-file <path>
• --description → --description-file <path>
• --content → --content-file <path>

Inline strings (for short, single-line content only):

bash

# Only use inline --body/--content/--description for simple one-liners
operately documents create_document \
  --space-id s1 \
  --name "Quick Note" \
  --content "A short note with **bold** text."

# Use \n for line breaks in inline strings (fragile, not recommended for complex content)
operately projects update_description \
  --project-id p1 \
  --description "# Title\n\nOne paragraph."

Binary file uploads:

Some commands accept a real local file path and upload the bytes, not just markdown content:

bash

# Update your profile picture from a local image
operately people update_picture --avatar-file ./avatar.png

# Remove your profile picture
operately people update_picture --clear

# Upload one file into Docs & Files
operately documents create_file \
  --space-id s1 \
  --file ./quarterly-report.pdf

# Upload one file into a folder
operately documents create_file \
  --space-id s1 \
  --folder-id f1 \
  --file ./quarterly-report.pdf \
  --name "Quarterly Report" \
  --description-file ./quarterly-report.md

Rules for file inputs:

• people update_picture accepts --avatar-file <path> to upload or --clear to remove the current picture.
• documents create_file accepts exactly one --file <path> per command.
• documents create_file --name overrides the base filename while preserving the source extension.
• --description-file <path> still means "load markdown from disk"; the uploaded binary stays on --file <path>.
• Do not try to create blobs manually first. These commands already handle blob creation, upload, preview generation, and finalization.

Supported markdown:

• Headings: # H1, ## H2, ### H3
• Bold: **text**, Italic: *text*
• Lists: - item or 1. item
• Links: [text](url)
• Code: `inline` or ```block```
• Line breaks: \n (inline only; files handle this naturally)

Access Levels:

Many create commands require access level parameters to control who can view and interact with resources:

• --anonymous-access-level - Access for non-authenticated users (not supported yet, always use 0)
• --company-access-level - Access for company members
• --space-access-level - Access for space members

Access level values:

• 0 - No access
• 10 - View only
• 40 - Comment
• 70 - Edit
• 100 - Full access

Common pattern for team resources:

bash

--anonymous-access-level 0 \
--company-access-level 10 \
--space-access-level 70

Note: Get commands use generic --id parameter, while create/update commands use entity-specific IDs like --project-id, --goal-id, etc.

4. Output Options#

bash

# Pretty JSON (default)
operately people get_me

# Compact JSON
operately people get_me --compact

# Save to file
operately projects get --id p1 --output ./project.json

# Verbose mode (shows request details)
operately people get_me --verbose

Available Namespaces#

The CLI provides access to the external API across these namespaces:

• comments - Comment management on live resources
• companies - Company settings, members, permissions, search
• documents - Docs & Files: documents, files, links, folders, search, version history
• goals - Goal management, check-ins, targets
• notifications - Notification preferences and subscriptions
• people - User and team member management, including profile picture updates
• project_templates - Reusable project blueprints (library, plan, contributors, template Docs & Files)
• projects - Project management, milestones, check-ins, contributors
• reactions - Emoji reactions to content
• spaces - Space (team/department) management
• tasks - Task management across projects and spaces

The CLI also exposes a kpis namespace; this skill does not document KPI workflows.

Assignments and Reviews#

Get all items requiring your attention or review with a single command:

bash

operately people list_assignments

This returns assignments categorized into three groups:

• due_soon - Items you own that are overdue, due today, or due soon
• needs_review - Items where you are the reviewer (check-ins, retrospectives) awaiting acknowledgment
• upcoming - Items you own with future due dates

Each category contains groups of assignments organized by their origin (project, goal, or space). Assignments include:

• Milestones - Project milestones you own
• Tasks - Project and space tasks assigned to you
• Projects - Projects you own or are reviewing
• Goals - Goals you own or are reviewing
• Check-ins - Project and goal check-ins requiring your review
• Retrospectives - Closed project/goal retrospectives requiring your review

The response structure groups related items together and sorts by urgency, making it easy to prioritize your work. Items needing review show the author's name and what action is required.

See: references/assignments-and-reviews.md for detailed examples, filtering techniques, and integration workflows.

Projects#

Create Project#

bash

operately projects create \
  --space-id s1 \
  --name "Q2 Product Roadmap" \
  --anonymous-access-level 0 \
  --company-access-level 10 \
  --space-access-level 70

Get Project#

bash

operately projects get \
  --id p1 \
  --include-space \
  --include-milestones

If you omit --include-space or --include-milestones, those fields will be absent from the response even when the project has a space or milestones. Missing included data usually means “not preloaded,” not “does not exist.”

Update Project#

bash

operately projects update_name --project-id p1 --name "Q2 Roadmap"
operately projects update_description --project-id p1 --description "# Overview\n\nQ2 goals..."
operately projects update_due_date --project-id p1 --due-date 2024-06-30

Milestones#

bash

# Create milestone
operately projects create_milestone \
  --project-id p1 \
  --name "Launch" \
  --due-date 2024-06-30

# List milestones
operately projects list_milestones --project-id p1

# Update milestone
operately projects update_milestone_title \
  --milestone-id m1 \
  --title "Public Launch"

operately projects update_milestone_due_date \
  --milestone-id m1 \
  --due-date 2024-07-15

Project Check-ins#

bash

# Create check-in
operately projects create_check_in \
  --project-id p1 \
  --status on_track \
  --description "# Progress\n\nCompleted design phase."
  # Publish later instead: add --scheduled-at (see "Scheduling Posts")

# List check-ins
operately projects list_check_ins --project-id p1

# Acknowledge check-in
operately projects acknowledge_check_in --id ci1

Editing a published check-in: you can fully edit only the latest project check-in, and only within 72 hours of posting. Outside that window (or for any older check-in), update_check_in still saves --description but silently ignores --status — the call succeeds, so do not assume the status changed.

Contributors#

bash

# Add contributor
operately projects create_contributor \
  --project-id p1 \
  --person-id u1 \
  --responsibility "Design lead" \
  --permissions edit_access \
  --role reviewer

# List contributors
operately projects list_contributors --project-id p1

# Update contributor
operately projects update_contributor \
  --contrib-id c1 \
  --responsibility "Lead designer and UX researcher"

Goals#

Create Goal#

bash

operately goals create \
  --space-id s1 \
  --name "Q2 Revenue Goal" \
  --champion-id u1 \
  --reviewer-id u2 \
  --anonymous-access-level 0 \
  --company-access-level 10 \
  --space-access-level 70

Goal Hierarchy#

bash

# Create child goal
operately goals create \
  --space-id s1 \
  --name "Increase MRR" \
  --parent-goal-id g1 \
  --anonymous-access-level 0 \
  --company-access-level 10 \
  --space-access-level 70

# Update parent
operately goals update_parent_goal \
  --goal-id g2 \
  --parent-goal-id g1

# Search for parent goals
operately goals search_parent_goal --query "Revenue" --goal-id g1

Targets#

bash

# Create target
operately goals create_target \
  --goal-id g1 \
  --name "Monthly Revenue" \
  --start-value 50000 \
  --target-value 100000 \
  --unit "USD"

# Update target value
operately goals update_target_value \
  --goal-id g1 \
  --target-id t1 \
  --value 75000

Goal Check-ins#

bash

# Create check-in
operately goals create_check_in \
  --goal-id g1 \
  --status on_track \
  --due-date 2026-04-01 \
  --content "Making good progress on Q2 targets"
  # Publish later instead: add --scheduled-at (see "Scheduling Posts")

# List check-ins
operately goals list_check_ins --goal-id g1

# Acknowledge check-in
operately goals acknowledge_check_in --id ci1

Goal Lifecycle#

bash

# Close goal
operately goals close \
  --goal-id g1 \
  --success achieved \
  --success-status achieved \
  --retrospective "# Retrospective\n\nWe exceeded our target."

# Reviewer acknowledges retrospective (authors cannot acknowledge their own)
operately goals acknowledge_retrospective --goal-id g1

# Reopen goal
operately goals reopen --id g1 --message "Reopening after new planning input."

Tasks#

Create Task#

bash

operately tasks create \
  --type project \
  --id p1 \
  --milestone-id m1 \
  --name "Design mockups" \
  --assignee-id u1 \
  --due-date 2024-06-15

Note: Tasks require --type ("project" or "space") and --id (project or space ID) parameters.

List Tasks#

bash

operately tasks list --project-id p1

Update Task#

bash

# Update status
operately tasks update_status --task-id t1 --type project --status.id done --status.label "Done" --status.color green --status.index 2 --status.value done --status.closed true

# Update assignee
operately tasks update_assignee --task-id t1 --type project --assignee-id u2

# Update due date
operately tasks update_due_date --task-id t1 --type project --due-date 2024-06-20

# Update description
operately tasks update_description \
  --task-id t1 \
  --type project \
  --description "# Task Details\n\nCreate high-fidelity mockups."

Move Task#

bash

# Move to different milestone
operately tasks update_milestone --task-id t1 --milestone-id m2

# Move with ordering
operately tasks update_milestone_and_ordering \
  --task-id t1 \
  --milestone-id m2 \
  --index 0

For template blueprint tasks, use project_templates update_milestone_and_ordering instead. See Project Template Workflows.

Project Templates#

bash

# List templates in a space
operately project_templates list --space-id s1

# Create a project from a template
operately project_templates create_project \
  --template-id pt1 \
  --space-id s1 \
  --start-date 2026-09-01 \
  --name "Q4 Launch" \
  --anonymous-access-level 0 \
  --company-access-level 10 \
  --space-access-level 70

See: references/project-template-workflows.md for lifecycle, scheduling offsets, contributors, template Docs & Files, and live-vs-template routing.

Spaces#

Create Space#

bash

operately spaces create \
  --name "Engineering" \
  --mission "Build great products" \
  --company-permissions 10 \
  --public-permissions 0

Manage Members#

bash

# Add members
operately spaces add_members \
  --space-id s1 \
  --members.0.id u1 \
  --members.0.access-level 70 \
  --members.1.id u2 \
  --members.1.access-level 40

# List members
operately spaces list_members --space-id s1

# Remove member
operately spaces delete_member --space-id s1 --member-id u1

# Update permissions
operately spaces update_members_permissions \
  --space-id s1 \
  --members.0.id u1 \
  --members.0.access-level 70

Space Tools#

bash

# List available tools
operately spaces list_tools --space-id s1

# Enable templates only (partial update)
operately spaces update_tools \
  --space-id s1 \
  --tools.templates-enabled true

Docs & Files#

See Docs & Files Reference for detailed workflows.

Every space, project, and goal has a Docs & Files hub. Scope hub-level commands with --space-id, --project-id, or --goal-id (mutually exclusive). Do not look up a hub ID via spaces list_tools — pass the space, project, or goal ID directly.

For folder-scoped listing, --folder-id alone is enough (no space/project ID required).

Folder Management#

bash

# Create folder at root
operately documents create_folder \
  --space-id s1 \
  --name "Guides"

# Create nested folder
operately documents create_folder \
  --space-id s1 \
  --folder-id f1 \
  --name "Onboarding"

# Rename folder
operately documents rename_folder \
  --folder-id f1 \
  --new-name "Team Guides"

# Move folder
operately documents update_parent_folder \
  --resource-id f2 \
  --resource-type "folder" \
  --new-folder-id f1

Documents#

bash

# Create document at root
operately documents create_document \
  --space-id s1 \
  --name "Getting Started" \
  --content "# Getting Started\n\nWelcome to the team."

# Create document in folder
operately documents create_document \
  --space-id s1 \
  --folder-id f1 \
  --name "Onboarding Guide" \
  --content "# Onboarding\n\nFirst steps..."

# Update document
operately documents update_document \
  --document-id d1 \
  --name "Updated Guide" \
  --content "# Updated Content" \
  --expected-version 3

# Publish draft
operately documents publish_document --document-id d1

# Version history
operately documents list_document_versions --document-id d1
operately documents get_document_version --document-id d1 --version-number 2
operately documents restore_document_version --document-id d1 --version-number 2 --expected-current-version 5

Links#

bash

# Create link at root
operately documents create_link \
  --space-id s1 \
  --name "Company Handbook" \
  --url "https://handbook.example.com" \
  --type "other"

# Create link in folder
operately documents create_link \
  --space-id s1 \
  --folder-id f1 \
  --name "Design System" \
  --url "https://design.example.com" \
  --type "other" \
  --description "Our design system documentation"

File Uploads#

bash

# Upload file at root
operately documents create_file \
  --space-id s1 \
  --file ./report.pdf

# Upload file into a folder
operately documents create_file \
  --project-id p1 \
  --folder-id f1 \
  --file ./spec.pdf \
  --name "Product Spec"

List Contents#

bash

# List root contents
operately documents list_contents --space-id s1

# List folder contents
operately documents list_contents --folder-id f1

# Include metadata
operately documents list_contents \
  --space-id s1 \
  --include-comments-count \
  --include-children-count

Discussions#

Create Discussion#

bash

# Space discussion
operately spaces create_discussion \
  --space-id s1 \
  --title "Q2 Planning" \
  --body "# Q2 Planning\n\nLet's discuss priorities."
  # Publish later instead: add --scheduled-at (see "Scheduling Posts")

# Space discussion from a markdown file
operately spaces create_discussion \
  --space-id s1 \
  --title "Q2 Planning" \
  --body-file ./q2-planning.md

# Project discussion
operately projects create_discussion \
  --project-id p1 \
  --title "Architecture Review" \
  --message "# Architecture\n\nProposed changes..."

# Goal discussion
operately goals create_discussion \
  --goal-id g1 \
  --title "Target Adjustment" \
  --message "Should we revise our targets?"

List Discussions#

bash

operately spaces list_discussions --space-id s1
operately projects list_discussions --project-id p1
operately goals list_discussions --goal-id g1

Scheduling Posts#

Goal check-ins, project check-ins, and space discussions can be written now and published later. Add --scheduled-at <datetime> when creating them:

• operately goals create_check_in --scheduled-at ...
• operately projects create_check_in --scheduled-at ...
• operately spaces create_discussion --scheduled-at ...

Scheduling is not available for goal or project discussions.

Datetime format: a full ISO-8601 timestamp with a timezone offset, and it must be in the future. A date alone ( 2026-08-01) or a time without an offset ( 2026-08-01T09:00:00) is rejected. Offsets are stored as UTC.

bash

operately projects create_check_in \
  --project-id p1 \
  --status on_track \
  --description "Weekly update" \
  --scheduled-at 2026-08-01T09:00:00Z          # UTC
  # or a local offset, e.g. --scheduled-at 2026-08-01T09:00:00-03:00

A scheduled item stays unpublished ( state: scheduled) until its time. Before it publishes, use the matching update command ( goals update_check_in, projects update_check_in, spaces update_discussion) to change it:

• --scheduled-at <new datetime> reschedules it.
• --state published publishes it now; --state draft turns it into a draft.

Comments#

Routing: Use comments/* for live work (projects, goals, spaces, tasks, check-ins, hub docs/files/links). Use project_templates create_comment, update_comment, and delete_comment for comments on template blueprint content only.

bash

# Create comment
operately comments create \
  --entity-id e1 \
  --entity-type "project_check_in" \
  --content "Great progress!"

# List comments
operately comments list --entity-id e1 --entity-type "project_check_in"

# Update comment
operately comments update --comment-id c1 --parent-type project_check_in --content "Updated comment"

# Delete comment
operately comments delete --comment-id c1 --parent-type project_check_in

Notifications#

bash

# List notifications
operately notifications list

# Get unread count
operately notifications get_unread_count

# Mark as read
operately notifications mark_as_read --id n1

# Mark many as read
operately notifications mark_many_as_read \
  --ids n1 \
  --ids n2

# Mark all as read
operately notifications mark_all_as_read

# Check subscription status (uses resource-id)
operately notifications is_subscribed \
  --resource-id r1 \
  --resource-type project

# Get subscription-list-id from the resource first
operately projects get \
  --id r1 \
  --include-subscription-list

# Subscribe to resource (uses subscription-list-id from above)
operately notifications subscribe \
  --subscription-list-id <subscription-list-id> \
  --type project

# Unsubscribe from subscription list (uses subscription-list-id)
operately notifications unsubscribe \
  --subscription-list-id <subscription-list-id>

If subscription_list is missing from the projects get response, do not assume the project lacks one. It means --include-subscription-list was omitted and the field was not preloaded.

Notification Recipients on Mutations#

Many content mutations accept --send-notifications-to-everyone and repeated --subscriber-ids flags (check-ins, documents, discussions, goal close/reopen, etc.). Prefer targeted --subscriber-ids over notifying everyone.

People#

bash

# Get current user
operately people get_me

# Get user by ID
operately people get --id u1

# List people
operately people list

# Search people
operately people search --query "john"

# Update profile
operately people update \
  --id u1 \
  --title "Senior Engineer" \
  --manager-id u2

# Set profile picture from a local image
operately people update_picture --avatar-file ./avatar.png

# Remove profile picture
operately people update_picture --clear

Company#

bash

# Get company
operately companies get

# List companies
operately companies list

# Get work map
operately companies get_work_map

# Full-text search (preferred)
operately companies search --query "roadmap" --sort best_match

# Quick/broad lookup
operately companies quick_search --query "roadmap"
operately companies global_search --query "roadmap"

# Create member
operately companies create_member \
  --full-name "John Doe" \
  --email "john@example.com" \
  --title "Engineer"

Help System#

The CLI provides built-in help at three levels:

Namespace-level help - List all commands in a namespace:

bash

operately <namespace>
operately <namespace> --help

Examples:

bash

operately projects
operately goals --help

Both forms display all available commands within that namespace.

Command-level help - Show command description and parameters:

bash

operately <namespace> <command> --help

Examples:

bash

operately projects create --help
operately goals update_target_value --help

This displays:

• Command description
• All required parameters (marked with (required))
• All optional parameters
• Parameter types and formats

Auth command help - Show all flags, validation rules, and examples for any auth subcommand:

bash

operately auth <command> --help
operately help auth <command>

Examples:

bash

operately auth login --help
operately auth join --help
operately auth create-company --help
operately auth signup --help

This displays the full flag list, accepted method aliases, validation rules, and copy-paste examples for that specific auth command. Always run this before executing an auth command when uncertain about available flags or their constraints.

Auth overview help - List all auth subcommands:

bash

operately auth
operately help auth

General help:

bash

operately help

Exit Codes#

• 0 - Success
• 1 - Auth precondition not met (e.g., logout attempted when not logged in)
• 2 - CLI usage/validation error
• 3 - Missing authentication token/config
• 4 - API 4xx error (client error)
• 5 - API 5xx/network/fatal error (server error)

Troubleshooting#

Authentication Failures#

Check authentication setup:

bash

operately auth profiles
operately auth status
operately auth whoami

Interpret them differently:

• operately auth profiles lists saved local profiles, marks the active one, and shows saved metadata/base URLs.
• operately auth status checks whether the CLI has local profile/token config.
• operately auth whoami checks whether the current token actually works against the target Operately instance.

If token is invalid or expired, login again:

bash

operately auth login --token <new-token>

Command Not Found#

Verify CLI is installed:

bash

command -v operately
npm list -g @operately/operately-cli

Update to latest version:

bash

npm update -g @operately/operately-cli
operately --version

API Errors#

Use verbose mode to see request details:

bash

operately projects get --id p1 --verbose

Check the API response for specific error messages.

Missing Required Fields#

Use help to see required flags:

bash

operately help projects create

Required fields are marked with (required) in the help output.

When to Use Other Skills#

This is the primary skill for Operately CLI operations. Future skills may include:

• operately-automation - CI/CD integration patterns
• operately-reporting - Analytics and reporting workflows

References#

• Project Workflows - Project lifecycle and milestone management
• Project Template Workflows - Reusable templates and live-vs-template routing
• Goal Workflows - OKR patterns and goal tracking
• Task Workflows - Task management best practices for projects and spaces
• Space Workflows - Space management, members, tools, and access control
• Docs & Files - Knowledge base organization, search, and version history
• Collaboration Patterns - Team collaboration workflows
• Assignments and Reviews - Assignments inbox and review workflows