Linkly AI CLI

Command-line interface for Linkly AI — search your local documents from the terminal.

The CLI connects to the Linkly AI desktop app's MCP server, giving you fast access to your indexed documents without leaving the terminal.

Prerequisites

By default, the Linkly AI desktop app must be running with MCP server enabled. The CLI automatically discovers the app via ~/.linkly/port. Alternatively, use LAN mode (--endpoint + --token) or Remote mode (--remote with a saved API key) — see Connection Modes.

Installation

macOS / Linux

curl -sSL https://updater.linkly.ai/cli/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://updater.linkly.ai/cli/install.ps1 | iex

Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

brew tap LinklyAI/tap
brew install linkly

Cargo

cargo install linkly-ai-cli

GitHub Releases

Pre-built binaries for all platforms are available on the Releases page.

Platform	File
macOS (Apple Silicon)	linkly-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
macOS (Intel)	linkly-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
Linux (x86_64)	linkly-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Linux (ARM64)	linkly-aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Windows (x64)	linkly-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip

From Source

cargo install --path .

Usage

Search Documents

linkly search "machine learning"
linkly search "API design" --limit 5
linkly search "notes" --type pdf,md,docx

Option	Description
--limit <N>	Maximum results (default: 20, max: 50)
--type <types>	Filter by document types, comma-separated (e.g. pdf,md,docx,txt,html)

View Document Outline

Get structural outlines for one or more documents (IDs come from search results):

linkly outline <doc-id>
linkly outline <id1> <id2> <id3>

Locate Lines in a Document

linkly grep "pattern" <doc-id>
linkly grep "error|warning" <doc-id> -C 3 -i
linkly grep "TODO" <doc-id> --mode count

Option	Description
-C, --context	Lines of context before and after each match
-B, --before	Lines of context before each match
-A, --after	Lines of context after each match
-i	Case-insensitive matching
--mode	Output mode: content or count
--limit	Maximum matches (default: 20, max: 100)

Read Document Content

linkly read <doc-id>
linkly read <doc-id> --offset 50 --limit 100

Option	Description
--offset <N>	Starting line number (1-based)
--limit <N>	Number of lines to read (max: 500)

Check Status

linkly status

MCP Bridge Mode

Run as a stdio MCP server for Claude Desktop, Cursor, or other MCP clients:

linkly mcp

Claude Desktop configuration (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linkly-ai": {
      "command": "linkly",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Self-Update

linkly self-update

Connection Modes

The CLI supports three connection modes:

Mode	Flags	Auth	How it works
Local	(default)	None (localhost)	Reads ~/.linkly/port, connects to 127.0.0.1
LAN	--endpoint <url> --token <token>	Bearer token from desktop app	Direct connection to a LAN device
Remote	--remote	API Key via auth set-key	Connects via https://mcp.linkly.ai tunnel

Note: --endpoint and --token are required together for LAN access and conflict with --remote. For remote access, use linkly auth set-key. The mcp command also accepts --endpoint alone (without --token).

Remote mode setup

# Save your API Key (from https://linkly.ai/dashboard)
linkly auth set-key lkai_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

# Search via remote tunnel
linkly search "machine learning" --remote

LAN mode with token

# Connect to another device on the same network (token from desktop Settings → MCP)
linkly search "report" --endpoint http://192.168.1.100:60606/mcp --token your_lan_token

Options

Connection options (--endpoint, --token, --remote) are available on search, grep, outline, read, and status commands. --endpoint alone is also available on mcp. --json is available on all commands.

Flag	Scope	Description
--endpoint <url>	LAN	Connect to a specific MCP endpoint (e.g. http://192.168.1.100:60606/mcp), requires --token
--token <token>	LAN	Bearer token for LAN authentication (required with --endpoint, conflicts with --remote)
--remote	Remote	Connect via https://mcp.linkly.ai tunnel (conflicts with --endpoint, requires auth set-key)
--json	Global	Output in JSON format (useful for scripting)
-V, --version	Global	Print version
-h, --help	Global	Print help

Examples

# Local search (default, requires desktop app running)
linkly search "budget report"

# Search across LAN with token
linkly search "budget report" --endpoint http://192.168.1.100:60606/mcp --token abc123

# Search via remote tunnel
linkly search "TODO" --remote

# JSON output for scripting
linkly search "TODO" --json | jq '.content'

# Pipe document content
linkly read abc123 --limit 50 | head -20

License

Apache-2.0