The CLI is designed for interactive and agent-driven use. Commands and their underlying APIs may change between releases. Do not take a dependency on this CLI for recurring production pipelines.
Quickstart
Already familiar with CLIs? Get up and running quickly.Quickstart
Quickstart
- Clone and install the CLI:
- Set your API key:
- Verify the connection:
Benefits
The Wherobots CLI provides a powerful and flexible interface to Wherobots Cloud, with features designed for both interactive use and automation:Built for AI-assisted workflows
Built for AI-assisted workflows
Use the CLI from AI-powered terminals like Claude Code, OpenCode, and Cursor. Your AI assistant translates natural language into the correct CLI commands. Install agent skills to give your agent domain-specific Wherobots knowledge for more accurate results.
Always up to date
Always up to date
Commands are generated dynamically from the Wherobots API. New endpoints and capabilities are available immediately without a CLI update.
Submit and monitor jobs from your terminal
Submit and monitor jobs from your terminal
Create Job runs, stream logs in real time, and check metrics without leaving the command line. Local script files are automatically uploaded to managed storage.
Flexible output for scripting and automation
Flexible output for scripting and automation
Switch between human-readable table output and JSON output to integrate the CLI into shell scripts, CI/CD pipelines, and orchestration tools.
Dry-run mode for safe exploration
Dry-run mode for safe exploration
Use the
--dry-run flag to print the equivalent curl command instead of executing it, so you can inspect exactly what the CLI will send.Before you start
Before using the Wherobots CLI, ensure you have the following:Wherobots requirements
Wherobots requirements
- A Wherobots Account within a Community, Professional or Enterprise Organization. See Create a Wherobots Account. While the Wherobots CLI can be used with any Organization Edition, some API features, like job runs, require a paid subscription.
- A Wherobots API key. See API Keys.
Local requirements
Local requirements
- GitHub CLI (
gh) installed and authenticated with access to thewherobots/wbc-clirepository.
Install the CLI
Clone the repository and run the install script to download the latest release binary:Configure authentication
The CLI authenticates with your Wherobots API key, passed through an environment variable.Export your API key
Set the To persist this across sessions, add the export to your shell profile (for example,
WHEROBOTS_API_KEY environment variable in your shell:~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc).Environment variables
The CLI uses the following environment variables for configuration:| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
WHEROBOTS_API_KEY | Required. API key | — |
WHEROBOTS_API_URL | API base URL | https://api.cloud.wherobots.com |
WHEROBOTS_UPLOAD_PATH | S3 root for file uploads | Auto-resolved |
OPENAPI_CACHE_TTL | OpenAPI spec cache duration | 15m |
OPENAPI_HTTP_TIMEOUT | Spec fetch timeout | 30s |
Add agent skills
If you use the CLI from an agentic terminal (OpenCode, Claude Code, Cursor, or similar), installing Wherobots agent skills gives the agent structured context about Wherobots workflows, APIs, and best practices. This leads to fewer errors and more reliable multi-step operations. Install all Wherobots skills:Troubleshooting
The following are common issues you may encounter when using the Wherobots CLI, along with their causes and solutions:Error: WHEROBOTS_API_KEY is not set
Error: WHEROBOTS_API_KEY is not set
Cause: The CLI cannot find an API key in your environment.Solution:
- Export the variable:
export WHEROBOTS_API_KEY='<your-key>'. - Check that the variable is set in the shell session where you are running the CLI (not just in another terminal).
401 Unauthorized
401 Unauthorized
Command not found: wherobots
Command not found: wherobots
Cause: The binary is not on your
PATH.Solution:- Verify the install directory:
ls ~/.local/bin/wherobots. - Add the directory to your
PATH:export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH". - If you built from source, the binary is at
bin/wherobotsinside the repository.
OpenAPI spec fetch failed
OpenAPI spec fetch failed
Cause: The CLI cannot reach the Wherobots API to download the specification.Solution:
- Check your network connection and proxy settings.
- The CLI falls back to a cached spec at
~/.cache/wherobots/spec.json. If the cache is stale, delete it and retry. - Increase the timeout with
OPENAPI_HTTP_TIMEOUT=60s.
Next steps
Review the following resources to explore more features of Wherobots Cloud and the CLI:Agentic terminal usage
Use the CLI with AI-powered terminals like Claude Code and OpenCode for natural language job management.
MCP Server
Configure and use the MCP Server for advanced data exploration and query generation.

