Egnyte CLI lets AI tools such as Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor work with Egnyte files directly from Desktop App. Once it is connected, AI assistant can find, read, organize, and share content in Egnyte on user’s behalf, with the same permissions they already have.
- Egnyte CLI is in Limited Availability and will roll out to all customers in upcoming Desktop App releases. To request this feature, contact the Product team
- If the option to install Egnyte CLI is not visible in Desktop App, it means the feature is not enabled on the domain.
- Egnyte CLI in Desktop App does not work alongside an npm installation of Agentic CLI.
- The Egnyte skill must be installed in the AI tool for the tool to use the Egnyte CLI.
Overview
Egnyte CLI is the integrated version of the open-source Egnyte Agentic CLI. Desktop App installs it and reuses sign-in, so there is no need to install anything with npm or log in separately.
Once Egnyte CLI is installed, a dedicated Egnyte CLI tab appears in Desktop App. The tab explains how to connect an AI tool and gives examples of what it can do.
With Egnyte CLI, AI tools can:
- Search and read files across Egnyte domains
- Upload, move, rename, and organize files and folders in bulk. Unlike the Egnyte MCP connector, Egnyte CLI can upload any file type and size, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, image, video, and CAD files
- Apply tags and manage sharing without leaving AI tool
- Use advanced Egnyte capabilities beyond basic file access, such as AI, permissions, and audit events
- Actions that change content, such as deleting or moving files, support a preview (--dry-run) so users can review what will happen before it runs.
- Egnyte CLI in Desktop App does not work if the open-source version of Agentic CLI is already installed through npm (npm install -g @egnyte/agentic-cli). Only one of them can be used at the same time. If the npm version is installed, it needs to be removed first (npm uninstall -g @egnyte/agentic-cli), then Egnyte CLI from Desktop App can be installed.
Install Egnyte CLI
- In Desktop App, click user profile icon and select Install Egnyte CLI.
- When the installation is complete, a system notification appears and the Egnyte CLI tab is added to Desktop App.
- A new tab will for Egnyte CLI will be shown.
Egnyte CLI uses the account user is signed in with in the Desktop App. If the user has connected more than one Egnyte domain, the AI tool can work with each of them.
Update or Uninstall Egnyte CLI
Egnyte CLI is a separate application and it updates independently from Desktop App. When a new version is available, it can be updated from the Desktop App. Uninstalling Desktop App does not uninstall Egnyte CLI. To remove it, uninstall Egnyte CLI separately using Add or Remove programs Windows functionality.
Install the Egnyte Skill in the AI Tool
For an AI tool to use Egnyte CLI, the Egnyte Skill must be installed in that tool. Without it, the tool does not know that Egnyte CLI is available or how to use it.
The Egnyte skill covers how to use both the Egnyte MCP connector and Egnyte CLI. It tells AI tool which one to use for each task and how to run commands safely, for example by previewing changes before running them.
- Download the Egnyte skill.
- Add it to the AI tool, following that tool's instructions for installing skills.
- Ask the AI tool to work with Egnyte files. For example; Search for the Q3 budget in /Shared/Finance.
Available Commands
It is usually not required to use them manually, as AI Agent can easily discover and choose which command to use for a desired outcome. All commands start with egnyte.
- AI tool can only do what user's Egnyte permissions allow.
- The commands available may differ slightly between versions. Run egnyte schema --list to see what is available.
File System (egnyte fs)
| Command | What it Does |
| fs get | Get file or folder details, or list a folder's contents |
| fs mkdir | Create a folder |
| fs rename | Rename a file or folder |
| fs move | Move a file or folder |
| fs copy | Copy a file or folder |
| fs delete | Delete a file or folder |
| fs upload | Upload a file |
| fs upload-chunked | Upload a large file (over 10 MB) in chunks |
| fs download | Download a file by path |
| fs download-by-id | Download a file by its ID |
| fs get-content | Read a file's text content |
| fs list-metadata-namespaces | List custom metadata namespaces and fields |
| fs set-metadata | Set custom metadata on a file |
Search (egnyte search)
| Command | What it Does |
| search | Full-text search |
| search advanced | Search with metadata filters, date ranges, and folder scoping |
AI (egnyte ai)
| Command | What it Does |
| ai ask | Ask a question about the content |
| ai ask-document | Ask a question about a specific file |
| ai summarize | Summarize a file |
| ai hybrid-search | Search by meaning and keywords combined |
| ai list-kbs | List Knowledge Bases |
| ai ask-kb | Ask a question of a Knowledge Base |
Agents (egnyte agents)
| Command | What it Does |
| agents list | List available Egnyte AI agents |
| agents ask | Ask an agent a question |
| agents status | Check the status of a running agent request |
Sharing and Collaboration
| Command | What it Does |
| links create / list / get / delete | Manage shared links |
| notes add / list / get / delete | Manage notes (comments) on files |
| lock lock / get / unlock | Lock a file to prevent concurrent edits, check lock status, or unlock |
Administration
| Command | What it Does |
| users list / get / create / update / delete | Manage users |
| groups list / get / create / update / delete | Manage groups |
| perms get-user / set-user / delete-user | Manage user permissions on a folder |
| perms get-group / set-group / delete-group | Manage group permissions on a folder |
| perms get-by-user | Check a user's permission level on a folder |
| events get-cursor / list | View the audit trail of file and folder activity |
| trash list / restore / delete | View, restore, or permanently delete trashed items |
| projects list / get / create / update / delete | Manage project folders |
Other
| Command | What it Does |
| whoami | Show the account user is connected with |
| userinfo | Show user live user profile from Egnyte |
| profiles list / use / remove | Manage connected domains |
| schema --list | List every available operation and its parameters |