Scripts and agents

The CLI uses JSON mode when you pass --json or --jq, set KANEO_JSON=true, or pipe its output:

A successful command prints exactly one JSON value on stdout.
A failed command prints {"error": "message"} on stdout and exits with code 1.
JSON mode never prints colors, spinners, progress lines or images.

kaneo task list -p KAN --json | jq '.[] | select(.priority == "urgent") | .ticketId'

Pass --human to force styled output. Styled output respects NO_COLOR, FORCE_COLOR and TERM=dumb, and uses plain ASCII when the terminal cannot show Unicode. Ticket IDs and project names are clickable links in terminals that support them.

Filter with `--jq`

--jq filters the JSON output with a jq expression. The engine is built in, so you do not need jq installed. Each result goes on its own line, and strings print without quotes:

kaneo task list -p KAN --jq '.[].ticketId'
kaneo task list -p KAN --jq '.[] | select(.priority == "urgent") | .ticketId'
kaneo task view KAN-12 --jq '.url'
kaneo task mine --jq '.[] | {ticketId, dueDate}'

An invalid expression fails before any request is sent. Run the same command with --json to see the data the expression receives.

Long text and stdin

Comments and descriptions can come from a file or from stdin. Pass -F <file> to read a file, or - to read stdin:

kaneo comment add KAN-12 -F notes.md
git log -1 --format=%B | kaneo comment add KAN-12 -
kaneo project edit KAN -F README.md
kaneo task create "Write release notes" -p KAN -F notes.md
kaneo task attach KAN-12 screenshot.png -m "Before and after"

kaneo task create, task edit, comment add, comment edit, task attach, project create, project edit and workspace edit accept -F. kaneo comment add and kaneo task comment also read stdin when you leave out the text.

Confirmations

Commands that delete or remove data, such as kaneo task delete or kaneo label delete, ask for confirmation in a terminal. Deleting a project asks you to type its key, and deleting a workspace asks for its slug. In scripts, these commands stop with an error until you pass --yes:

kaneo task delete KAN-12 --yes

Call the API directly

kaneo api sends an authenticated request to any Kaneo API endpoint, like gh api does for GitHub. It uses the same server, credentials and output modes as the other commands. The path is under /api, and the /api prefix is optional:

kaneo api GET /user/me
kaneo api GET /task/assigned --query workspaceId=your-workspace-id
kaneo api PUT /task/status/your-task-id -f status=done
kaneo api POST /time-entry --input entry.json

-f key=value builds a JSON body. Values that parse as JSON keep their type, and dotted keys such as a.b=1 nest. --input reads the body from a file, or - for stdin. See the API reference for the available endpoints.

Agent skill

Coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Cursor can manage your Kaneo work through the CLI. The kaneo-cli skill shows them how: check the login and workspace first, read the JSON output, address tasks by ticket ID, and confirm with you before deleting anything.

npx skills add usekaneo/kaneo --skill kaneo-cli

Add -g to install it for every project. The skill is a single file in skills/kaneo-cli, so you can also copy it into your agent’s skills folder by hand. Agents that should talk to Kaneo without a shell can use the MCP server instead.

Start building

Command line

Endpoint reference

Scripts and agents

Filter with `--jq`

Long text and stdin

Confirmations

Call the API directly

Agent skill

​Filter with --jq

​Long text and stdin

​Confirmations

​Call the API directly

​Agent skill

Filter with `--jq`

Long text and stdin

Confirmations

Call the API directly

Agent skill