Algolia Cli

Algolia CLI

Manage Algolia search infrastructure from the terminal using the algolia CLI.

When to Use This Skill vs. algolia-mcp

| Need | Use | |------|-----| | Write/modify data (import, delete, update records) | algolia-cli (this skill) | | Manage configuration (settings, rules, synonyms) | algolia-cli (this skill) | | Auth (login, logout, signup via OAuth) | algolia-cli (this skill) | | Admin operations (API keys, profiles, index copy/move) | algolia-cli (this skill) | | Backup/restore indices | algolia-cli (this skill) | | Search queries and view results | algolia-mcp | | Analytics (top searches, click rates, no-results) | algolia-mcp | | Recommendations (related products, trending) | algolia-mcp |

Rule of thumb: If the user wants to read or analyze data → algolia-mcp. If they want to change, move, or manage data → algolia-cli.

Setup

Run /algolia-cli:cli-setup to install the CLI and configure a profile, or follow [Getting Started](references/getting-started.md).

Tip: algolia auth login is the easiest way to set up credentials — it handles OAuth sign-in and profile creation in one step. Use algolia profile add for non-interactive / CI setups where you already have an API key.

Command Quick Reference

Auth

| Task | Command | |-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------------| | Sign in (opens browser) | algolia auth login | | Sign in (select app by name)| algolia auth login --app-name "My App" --default | | Sign in (no browser / SSH) | algolia auth login --no-browser | | Sign out | algolia auth logout | | Create new account | algolia auth signup |

Profile

| Task | Command | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Add profile (non-interactive) | algolia profile add --name "default" --app-id "" --api-key "" --default | | List profiles | algolia profile list | | Remove a profile | algolia profile remove "" -y | | Set default profile | algolia profile setdefault "" |

Application

| Task | Command | |-----------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------| | List applications | algolia application list | | Create application | algolia application create --name "My App" --region CA | | Create (non-interactive, dry-run) | algolia application create --name "My App" --region CA --dry-run | | Switch active application | algolia application select --app-name "My App" |

API Keys

| Task | Command | |------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | List API keys | algolia apikeys list | | Create API key | algolia apikeys create --acl search,browse --description "..." --indices "idx1,idx2" | | Get API key | algolia apikeys get | | Delete API key | algolia apikeys delete -y |

Search

| Task | Command | |---------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------| | Search an index | algolia search --query "" | | Search with filters | algolia search --query "" --filters "" | | Paginated search | algolia search --query "" --hitsPerPage 10 --page 2 |

Indices

| Task | Command | |-------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------| | List all indices | algolia indices list | | Delete an index | algolia indices delete -y | | Clear records (keep settings) | algolia indices clear -y | | Copy index | algolia indices copy -y | | Copy only settings | algolia indices copy --scope settings -y | | Move/rename index | algolia indices move -y |

Objects (Records)

| Task | Command | |----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | Browse all records | algolia objects browse | | Browse specific attributes | algolia objects browse --attributesToRetrieve title,price | | Import records from file | algolia objects import -F data.ndjson | | Import from stdin | cat data.ndjson \| algolia objects import -F - | | Delete by IDs | algolia objects delete --object-ids id1,id2 -y | | Delete by filter | algolia objects delete --filters "type:obsolete" -y | | Partial update | algolia objects update -F updates.ndjson |

Settings

| Task | Command | |--------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------| | Get settings | algolia settings get | | Set a setting | algolia settings set --typoTolerance="false" | | Import settings from file | algolia settings import -F settings.json | | Import and forward to replicas | algolia settings import -F settings.json -f |

Rules

| Task | Command | |--------------------|------------------------------------------------------| | Browse all rules | algolia rules browse | | Import rules | algolia rules import -F rules.ndjson -y | | Replace all rules | algolia rules import -F rules.ndjson -c -y | | Delete rules by ID | algolia rules delete --rule-ids id1,id2 -y |

Synonyms

| Task | Command | |-----------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Browse all synonyms | algolia synonyms browse | | Import synonyms | algolia synonyms import -F synonyms.ndjson | | Replace all synonyms | algolia synonyms import -F synonyms.ndjson -r | | Delete synonyms by ID | algolia synonyms delete --synonym-ids id1,id2 -y | | Save a single synonym | algolia synonyms save --id my-syn --synonyms foo,bar |

Crawler

| Task | Command | |-------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------| | List crawlers | algolia crawler list | | List by app | algolia crawler list --app-id | | Get crawler details | algolia crawler get | | Get config only | algolia crawler get --config-only | | Create crawler | algolia crawler create -F config.json | | Start/resume crawler | algolia crawler run | | Pause crawler(s) | algolia crawler pause [ ...] | | Reindex crawler(s) | algolia crawler reindex [ ...] | | Unblock crawler | algolia crawler unblock -y | | Crawl specific URLs | algolia crawler crawl --urls url1,url2 | | Test URL against crawler | algolia crawler test --url | | Test with config override | algolia crawler test --url -F config.json | | Get crawl statistics | algolia crawler stats |

Most crawler commands support --dry-run to preview the request without sending it: create, run, pause, reindex, unblock, test.

Auth: Crawler commands require ALGOLIA_CRAWLER_USER_ID and ALGOLIA_CRAWLER_API_KEY env vars, or crawler_user_id/crawler_api_key in the profile config file.

Synonym Type Guide

Choosing the right synonym type matters for search quality:

• synonym (regular/two-way): All terms are interchangeable. Use when the words truly mean the same thing in both directions.

Example: "sneakers" ↔ "trainers" — searching either should find the other.

• oneWaySynonym: Only the input term expands to include the synonyms, not the reverse. Use when a short/abbreviated term should match longer/specific terms, but not vice versa.

Example: "TV" → "television", "flat screen" — searching "TV" finds "television" results, but searching "television" does NOT return "TV" results.

Rule of thumb: If the user says "searching X should also match Y", that's one-way (input: X, synonyms: [Y]). If they say "X and Y should be equivalent/interchangeable", that's two-way.

Describe

| Task | Command | |----------------------------|----------------------------------| | Describe root command tree | algolia describe | | Describe a command | algolia describe search | | Describe a subcommand | algolia describe objects browse |

Key Conventions

1. Always use non-interactive mode. Destructive commands need -y (or --confirm) to skip confirmation prompts. This includes objects delete, indices delete/clear/copy/move, rules import/delete, synonyms delete, and apikeys delete. Without -y, the CLI will hang waiting for user input. Note: objects import, objects update, and synonyms import do not have a -y flag — they run non-interactively by default.
2. ndjson format. objects browse, objects import, rules browse/import, and synonyms browse/import use newline-delimited JSON (one JSON object per line), not JSON arrays.
3. Profile flag. Use -p to target a non-default profile. Omit it to use the default.
4. Credential precedence. Environment variables override all other configuration. The resolution order is: env vars > CLI flags (--application-id, --api-key) > profile config file > default profile. Supported env vars: ALGOLIA_APPLICATION_ID, ALGOLIA_API_KEY, ALGOLIA_ADMIN_API_KEY, ALGOLIA_SEARCH_HOSTS, ALGOLIA_CRAWLER_USER_ID, ALGOLIA_CRAWLER_API_KEY. If env vars are set, --profile/-p is ignored for those credentials.
5. Wait flag. Use -w (or --wait) when subsequent commands depend on the operation completing (e.g., import then search).
6. Pipe between commands. Copy data across indices: algolia objects browse SRC | algolia objects import DST -F -
7. JSON output. Use --output json (or -o json) when you need machine-readable output.

Common Workflows

Migrate records between indices (with field filtering)

algolia objects browse SOURCE --attributesToRetrieve objectID,title,price \
  | algolia objects import DEST -F - -w

Full index backup

algolia objects browse MY_INDEX > my_index_records.ndjson
algolia settings get MY_INDEX > my_index_settings.json
algolia rules browse MY_INDEX > my_index_rules.ndjson
algolia synonyms browse MY_INDEX > my_index_synonyms.ndjson

Note: settings use .json (standard JSON), everything else uses .ndjson (newline-delimited JSON).

Restore from backup

algolia objects import MY_INDEX -F my_index_records.ndjson -w
algolia settings import MY_INDEX -F my_index_settings.json -w
algolia rules import MY_INDEX -F my_index_rules.ndjson -c -y -w
algolia synonyms import MY_INDEX -F my_index_synonyms.ndjson -r -w

Direct Invocation

If the skill doesn't trigger automatically, users can invoke it directly:

• /algolia-cli — Load the full skill into context for any Algolia CLI task
• /algolia-cli:cli-setup — Install the CLI and configure a profile

This is useful when the request is brief (e.g., "import my data into Algolia") and the skill might not auto-trigger.

Reference Docs

• [Getting Started](references/getting-started.md) — Installation and profile setup
• [Command Reference](references/commands.md) — Full syntax, flags, and examples for every command

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: algolia
• Source: algolia/skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.