Remote CLI Quick Start

Install remotecli, log in with your Remote account, and run your first commands.

Prerequisites

• A Remote account.
• macOS (Apple Silicon) or Linux (x86_64). There is no Windows binary yet.

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No API credentials needed

The CLI signs you in through your browser with your regular Remote account. You don't need an API token or an OAuth app for anything on this page.

Install

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/remoteoss/remote-cli/main/install.sh | sh

The installer puts the binary in ~/.local/bin, a directory you own, so no sudo is required. If that directory isn't on your PATH, add it:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"   # add to your shell profile

Verify the install:

remotecli --version

Prefer a manual download? Grab a binary from the latest release, make it executable, and place it on your PATH.

Recommended: install the agent skills

The binary bundles the two agent skills described in the introduction. With them installed, your coding agent knows how to drive the CLI for you and how to build against the Remote API:

remotecli skills list       # see the bundled skills
remotecli skills install    # install both to ~/.claude/skills

Pass --project to install into the current repository instead, or --dir PATH to target another agent's skills directory. Claude Code users can also install the plugin from the marketplace, as shown in the introduction. For more on working with Remote through AI, see Build with AI.

Log in

remotecli login

Your browser opens to Remote's sign-in page. Once you approve, the CLI stores the session locally in ~/.remote-cli/state.json. If your account has access to more than one company, the CLI saves them all and marks one as active. Switch the active company at any time:

remotecli use

Confirm who you're signed in as:

remotecli me

Connect to Sandbox

Released binaries default to production. To point the CLI at Sandbox instead, set the environment and log in again:

export REMOTE_ENVIRONMENT=sandbox
remotecli login

Your browser opens the Sandbox sign-in page. Sign in with your Sandbox Remote account, then pick a company with remotecli use if you have more than one. Confirm with remotecli me.

To switch back to production:

export REMOTE_ENVIRONMENT=production
remotecli login

remotecli login always replaces the previous session, so only one environment is active at a time.

Run your first commands

These commands only read data, so you can explore freely:

# List employments in your company
remotecli employments list --pretty

# Check an employee's leave balance
remotecli time-off balance --employment-id <employment_id>

# List payslips for an employment
remotecli payslips list --employment-id <employment_id>

Control the output

Every command supports table, JSON, and CSV output:

remotecli employments list --pretty            # table, compact column set
remotecli employments list --json              # JSON for scripts
remotecli employments list --all -o csv > employments.csv   # every page, spreadsheet-ready
remotecli employments list-columns             # discover the columns you can pick with --columns

Use it interactively

Flags are optional for most commands. Leave them out and the CLI walks you through the missing pieces with pickers and prompts. For example, to log time off:

remotecli time-off create

The CLI asks you to pick the employee from a list, choose one of their leave policies, and enter the start and end dates. Every prompt has a flag equivalent (--employment-id, --start-date, and so on), so anything you can do interactively you can also script.

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This one writes data

Unlike the commands above, time-off create records real time off. Signed in as a manager, admin, or owner, the entry is created as approved right away. Signed in as an employee, it becomes a request for your manager to approve.

Next steps

• Browse everything the CLI can do in the Introduction to the Remote CLI.
• Let an AI agent drive the CLI or help you build an integration: Build with AI.
• Building directly against the API? Head to the API reference.