xaffinity-cli-usage

name	xaffinity-cli-usage
description	Runs xaffinity CLI commands directly in bash to search, export, filter, and manage Affinity CRM data.
when_to_use	Use when the user explicitly asks about CLI commands, bash scripts, xaffinity flags, CSV export, or mentions "xaffinity" by name. Also use when MCP tools are not available and user needs CRM data access. Do NOT use for pipeline history analysis (use pipeline-history skill) or structured queries via MCP (use query-language skill) when those skills are available.

xaffinity CLI Usage

REQUIRED FIRST STEP: Verify API Key

STOP. Before doing ANYTHING else, run this command:

xaffinity config check-key --json

This MUST be your first action when handling any Affinity request.

If "configured": true - Use the pattern field from the output for ALL subsequent commands:

• If "pattern": "xaffinity --dotenv --readonly <command> --json" -> use --dotenv
• If "pattern": "xaffinity --readonly <command> --json" -> no --dotenv needed

If "configured": false - Stop and help user set up. The xaffinity CLI resolves the API key in this order:

1. AFFINITY_API_KEY env var
2. AFFINITY_API_KEY_FILE env var (path to a file containing the key — Docker secrets / k8s convention)
3. AFFINITY_API_KEY_COMMAND env var (shell command whose stdout is the key — git-credential-helper style; works with op / pass / vault / macOS security)
4. --api-key-file <path> or --api-key-stdin CLI flags
5. xaffinity config setup-key config file (saved to system keychain on supported platforms)

For most users:

• Tell them: "You need to configure an Affinity API key first."
• Direct them: Affinity -> Settings -> API -> Generate New Key
• Tell them to run: xaffinity config setup-key (do NOT run it for them - it's interactive)

For users with an existing secret manager (1Password, vault, pass, Keychain), suggest AFFINITY_API_KEY_COMMAND as a credential-helper-style integration instead.

Cowork-specific edge case: if you are running inside a Claude Cowork session and the host CLI is configured but check-key returns configured: false, the key likely lives in a host-only location (env var, ~/.config/, keychain, host-only credential helper) that the microVM does not mount. Two host-portable options:

• Project .env + --dotenv — create a project-scope .env file with AFFINITY_API_KEY=…. The project workdir IS mounted into the VM. This is the most common Cowork path.
• AFFINITY_API_KEY_FILE — write the key to a file in the project workdir (e.g., .xaffinity-key, gitignored, chmod 600) and export AFFINITY_API_KEY_FILE=/path/to/.xaffinity-key. Equivalent reach as .env but works without --dotenv on the command line.

AFFINITY_API_KEY_COMMAND is generally NOT useful in Cowork because the helper binaries (op, pass, vault, security) typically aren't installed in the VM.

Session cache: Started automatically on first xaffinity use. If AFFINITY_SESSION_CACHE is not set, it will be initialized when you run your first xaffinity command — this shares metadata across commands and avoids redundant API calls.

Common pitfalls (READ THIS FIRST)

1. --json emits a single object, not NDJSON. Parse with json.load(proc.stdout) and read data["data"]["rows"]. Do NOT split on newlines — there's exactly one newline (the trailing one).

2. Never redirect stderr to /dev/null. Every CLI safety signal — "results truncated", "unknown option", "--filter client-side" — lives on stderr. Dropping stderr is how you ship a silent-zero-match result and call it a duplicate check.

3. --filter on list export requires --all, --max-results, or --first-page-only. The CLI errors on the unscoped case (v1.13+). Filtering is client-side; for large lists prefer --saved-view (server-side) or --company-id / --person-id (entity-scoped, cheap).

4. Duplicate checks: use --company-id / --person-id, not --filter. xaffinity list export "Pipeline" --company-id 555 returns 0 or more rows for that exact company. Zero rows + the emitted warning is the "not on list" signal. No page-1 confusion possible.

5. Check meta.truncated on every JSON response. If payload["meta"]["truncated"] is true, the answer is incomplete. truncationReason names the cause (currently: firstPageOnly).

6. Side-effecting commands: capture, then parse. A pipeline like xaffinity note create --content "..." --company-id 123 | python3 -c "json.loads(...)" runs the create first, then parses. If you forgot --json, the parser crashes and the pipeline exits 1 — but the note was already created. The agent then "retries" and creates a duplicate. Always capture output to a variable first, then parse:

out=$(xaffinity --json note create --content "..." --company-id 123)
note_id=$(printf '%s' "$out" | jq -r '.data.note.id')

The CLI also emits a duplicate-note warning to stderr when an identical content arrives within 5 minutes from the same author, but that's only a safety net — capture-then-parse is the actual fix.

7. Person/company field values require numeric IDs, not names. xaffinity list entry field 999 --set Owner "Jane Doe" aborts with an "Invalid entity ID" error before any write. Resolve names to IDs first:

owner_id=$(xaffinity --readonly --json person ls --query "Jane Doe" \
  | jq -r '.data.rows[0].id')
xaffinity list entry field 999 --set Owner "$owner_id"

As of v0.7 the CLI pre-validates ALL --set values before issuing any API call, so a bad person id no longer leaves prior --set Status=... writes committed. The lookup is still required though — the CLI does not auto-resolve names.

IMPORTANT: Write Operations Require Explicit User Request

Always use --readonly unless user explicitly requests writes.

Write operations include creating, updating, or deleting:

• Notes, interactions, reminders
• List entries, field values
• Persons, companies, opportunities

Destructive Commands Require Double Confirmation

IMPORTANT: Before executing ANY delete command, you MUST:

1. Look up the entity first to show the user what will be deleted
2. Ask the user in your response by showing them the entity details and requesting confirmation
3. Wait for user's next message - do NOT proceed until they explicitly confirm
4. Only after user confirms should you run the delete with --yes

Example flow:

User: "Delete person 123"
You: xaffinity --readonly person get 123 --json
You: "This will permanently delete John Smith (ID: 123, email: [e-mail]).
      Type 'yes' to confirm deletion."
[Stop here and wait for user's response]

User: "yes"
You: xaffinity person delete 123 --yes

Destructive commands: person delete, company delete, opportunity delete, note delete, reminder delete, field delete, list entry delete, interaction delete

Note: This is conversation-based confirmation - you ask, then wait for the user's next message. The --yes flag bypasses the CLI's interactive prompt, but you must get explicit user confirmation in the conversation first.

Critical Patterns

Pattern	Purpose
--readonly	Prevent accidental data modification (ALWAYS use unless writing)
--json	Structured, parseable output (ALWAYS use for commands you will parse)
--max-results N	Limit results (ALWAYS use on list/search commands). Aliases: --limit, -n
--yes	Skip confirmation on delete commands (use after user confirms)
--help	Discover command options (USE THIS, don't guess flags)

IMPORTANT: Always limit results. Use --max-results on every ls, list export, interaction ls, and note ls command. Start small (10-50), increase only if needed. Unbounded queries can return hundreds of KB of data and make many API calls.

Extract only what you need. When you know which fields you need, pipe through jq instead of dumping the full JSON response. Skip this when exploring data for the first time.

# Get a person's ID for a follow-up command
xaffinity --readonly person get email:[e-mail] --json | jq -r '.data.person.id'

# Get just the fields you need to answer the user
xaffinity --readonly person get 123 --json | jq '.data.person | {id, firstName, lastName, primaryEmail}'

# Get entity names from a list export
xaffinity --readonly list export "Pipeline" --max-results 20 --json | jq '[.data.rows[] | {entityName, entityId}]'

Multi-Source Tasks: Use a Script

When a task needs data from 2 or more CLI commands (e.g., person details + interactions + list entries), write a single bash script instead of running commands one-by-one. Each separate command dumps its full JSON into the conversation — chaining 3-5 commands can waste hundreds of KB of context on raw data you only need a few facts from.

Use a script when: combining entity details with interactions, cross-referencing list entries with entities, generating summaries from multiple queries.

A single command is fine when: simple lookups (person get email:...), single writes (note create), quick searches (person ls --query).

Bash + jq

Session caching is already active (set up at session start), so just use jq to extract the summary:

# Example: "Summarize my interactions with Acme in Q1"
CID=$(xaffinity --readonly company get domain:acme.com --json \
  | jq -r '.data.company.id')

xaffinity --readonly interaction ls --type all --company-id "$CID" \
  --after 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z --before 2025-03-31T23:59:59Z \
  --max-results 200 --json \
  | jq '{
    company: "Acme",
    total: (.data.interactions | length),
    by_type: (.data.interactions | group_by(.type)
              | map({type: .[0].type, count: length}))
  }'

This outputs ~200 bytes instead of ~100 KB of raw JSON.

When to use Python instead

For complex joins across 3+ sources, conditional logic, pagination over large datasets, or when you need SDK features like F filters or FieldResolver, write a Python script using the Affinity SDK. The SDK skill has patterns for this.

Selectors: Use Names, Not Just IDs

Most commands accept names, emails, or domains directly — no need to look up IDs first:

# These all work — no ID lookup needed:
xaffinity --readonly person get email:[e-mail] --json
xaffinity --readonly company get domain:acme.com --json
xaffinity --readonly list export "My Pipeline" --max-results 20 --json

# IDs also work:
xaffinity --readonly person get 12345 --json

Common Commands

# Search entities (always limit results)
xaffinity --readonly person ls --query "John Smith" --max-results 10 --json
xaffinity --readonly company ls --query "Acme" --max-results 10 --json

# Get single entity by identifier
xaffinity --readonly person get email:[e-mail] --json
xaffinity --readonly company get domain:acme.com --json

# List entries from a named list
xaffinity --readonly list export "Pipeline" --max-results 20 --json

JSON output key is data.rows (not data.listEntries or data.entries). Each row contains listEntryId, entityType, entityId, entityName, plus field values keyed by field name.

# List all available lists
xaffinity --readonly list ls --json

# Export to CSV
xaffinity --readonly person ls --all --csv --csv-bom > contacts.csv
xaffinity --readonly list export "Pipeline" --all --csv --csv-bom > output.csv

List Entry Fields

Read or update field values on a list entry:

# Read specific fields (returns resolved person/company objects, matching list export format)
xaffinity --readonly list entry field "Pipeline" 12345 --get Owner --get Status --json

# Set a field value (requires write permission)
xaffinity list entry field "Pipeline" 12345 --set Status "Active"

# --get and --set are mutually exclusive

--get returns resolved objects for person/company reference fields (with firstName, lastName, primaryEmailAddress) and full dropdown option data (with text, color).

Interactions

Interactions require --type and exactly one entity ID (--person-id, --company-id, or --opportunity-id).

Valid types: email, meeting, call, chat, chat-message, all

Date range: Defaults to all time if not specified. Use --days or --after/--before to limit.

# Recent interactions (recommended: use --days and --max-results)
xaffinity --readonly interaction ls --type all --company-id 123 \
  --days 90 --max-results 50 --json

# Specific date range (max 1 year per API call; auto-chunked for larger ranges)
xaffinity --readonly interaction ls --type email --person-id 456 \
  --after 2025-01-01 --before 2025-12-31 --max-results 100 --json

# --days and --after are mutually exclusive
# Dates without timezone suffix are interpreted as local time; use Z for UTC:
#   --after 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

WARNING: Without --days or --after, the CLI fetches ALL interactions since 2010. Multi-year ranges are auto-chunked into 365-day API calls. --days 3650 = ~10 API calls per type. Always use --days or --max-results to bound the query.

Creating Interactions

Interactions require both internal AND external person IDs:

• Internal: A workspace user (team member). Find yours with xaffinity whoami.
• External: A contact (non-team-member person in your CRM).

# Create a meeting — use --include-me to auto-add your person ID
xaffinity interaction create --type meeting \
  --person-id EXTERNAL_CONTACT_ID --include-me \
  --content "Discussed partnership" --date 2025-06-15T14:00:00Z --json

# Without --include-me, specify all person IDs explicitly
xaffinity interaction create --type email \
  --person-id YOUR_PERSON_ID --person-id CONTACT_ID \
  --content "Follow-up email" --date 2025-06-15T14:00:00Z --json

Common error: Forgetting to include an internal person ID causes a validation error. Use --include-me to avoid this.

Expand/Include (N+1 Warning)

--expand on list export triggers one additional API call per record. Use --max-results to control cost.

# Safe: 20 records = ~21 API calls
xaffinity --readonly list export "Pipeline" --expand persons --max-results 20 --json

# Multiple expands compound the cost:
xaffinity --readonly list export "Pipeline" --expand persons --expand companies \
  --max-results 20 --json

# DANGEROUS: --expand with --all on a large list
# 500 entries = 501+ API calls, ~10 minutes
# xaffinity list export "Pipeline" --expand persons --all  # DON'T do this blindly

Practical limits: <=100 records is safe. 200 records ~5 min. 400+ records may hit timeouts.

Query Command (Advanced)

For complex data retrieval beyond simple ls / list export, use xaffinity query:

• Aggregation & groupBy (count, sum, avg by field)
• Cross-entity filtering (find persons based on their companies)
• Nested boolean logic (AND/OR/NOT)
• Dry-run mode to preview API cost

Need	Use
Simple search by name/email	person ls --query or person get email:...
Export list entries	list export "ListName"
Server-side filtered list	list export --saved-view "ViewName"
Aggregate/group data	query
Filter by related entities	query
Preview API cost first	query --dry-run

Always --dry-run first for queries with include/expand/quantifiers.

# From file (recommended for complex queries)
xaffinity --readonly query --dry-run --file query.json --json

# Inline
xaffinity --readonly query --query '{"from": "persons", "where": {"path": "email", "op": "contains", "value": "@acme.com"}, "limit": 20}' --json

For full query reference (JSON structure, operators, aggregation, quantifiers, examples): see references/query-guide.md

Filtering

Entity commands (person ls, company ls): use --query, NOT --filter

# Global-entity search — use --query for fuzzy name/email/domain search
xaffinity --readonly person ls --query "@acme.com" --max-results 20 --json
xaffinity --readonly company ls --query "Acme" --max-results 20 --json

# Department-style filters are list-specific; run on the list that defines the field
xaffinity --readonly list export "All Contacts" --filter 'Department = "Sales"' --max-results 20 --json

--filter is NOT supported on company ls / person ls / query companies|persons|opportunities

Global-entity list endpoints don't support server-side filtering. These commands raise unsupported_filter (exit 2) if --filter is passed. Use:

• --query TERM for name/domain/email fuzzy search on global entities.
• list export <LIST> --filter ... for list-specific field filters.

company create / person create refuses duplicates by default

Since CLI 1.12.0, create refuses if an exact name/domain (companies) or email/full-name (persons) match exists:

• Exit code: 6
• Error type: duplicate_exists
• Payload: error.details.existing.companyId (or personId) — use this ID instead of creating a duplicate.
• For companies, error.details.existing.isGlobal == true indicates a global Affinity directory record — the hint points to list entry add --company-id <id> instead of creating a tenant-scoped copy.
• Pass --allow-duplicate to force-create when you genuinely want a distinct record with the same name.

List export: --filter is CLIENT-SIDE (fetches everything first)

# SLOW on large lists — downloads ALL entries, then filters locally:
xaffinity --readonly list export "Pipeline" --filter 'Status = "Active"' --all --json

# FAST — use saved views for server-side filtering:
xaffinity --readonly list export "Pipeline" --saved-view "Active Deals" --max-results 50 --json

For large lists (1000+ entries), prefer --saved-view over --filter.

Filter operators

=    exact match           'Status = "Active"'
!=   not equal             'Status != "Closed"'
=~   contains              'Email =~ "@acme"'
=^   starts with           'Name =^ "John"'
=$   ends with             'Domain =$ ".com"'
>    greater than           'Revenue > "1000000"'
<    less than
>=   greater or equal
<=   less or equal
&    AND                   'Status = "Active" & Region = "US"'
|    OR                    'Status = "New" | Status = "Pending"'

Smart Fields ("Last Meeting", "Next Meeting")

These are UI-only and not in the API. Use --with-interaction-dates on get commands (not ls):

xaffinity --readonly person get email:[e-mail] --with-interaction-dates --json
xaffinity --readonly company get domain:acme.com --with-interaction-dates --json

Gotchas & Workarounds

Internal meetings NOT in interactions

The interactions API only shows meetings with external contacts.

# Workaround - use notes:
xaffinity --readonly note ls --person-id 123 --max-results 20 --json
# Then filter for isMeeting: true in the output

Cannot associate interactions with companies/opportunities

The UI's "Also add to... search for an entity" feature has no API equivalent. The API only supports adding person IDs as participants — you cannot directly link an interaction to a company or opportunity.

--query and --filter are mutually exclusive

Use --query for fuzzy text search or --filter for structured filtering. Cannot combine both.

Opportunities are bound to one list

Cannot search opportunities globally. Access them via list export on their specific list.

"Current Organization" is read-only via API

This is a derived/system-managed field driven by enrichment data and email domain — it cannot be set or updated directly via the API. "Current Job Title" can be updated after person creation using field update. Neither field can be set during person create.

Enriched field writes

Most enriched fields ("Phone Number", "Source of Introduction", "Industry", "Location", "Description", etc.) are writable. person field --set / company field --set / field update accept the field name or its field ID.

On companies, some names are ambiguous because the same concept exists under multiple enrichment providers (e.g. "Industry" exists for both the built-in enricher and Dealroom). The CLI raises AmbiguousFieldError with a table of candidate field IDs — copy one into the command to disambiguate.

Derived-only enriched fields like "Current Organization" raise EnrichedFieldNotWritableError (exit code 2) with a clear message instead of silently no-op'ing.

Global organizations are read-only

Companies with global: true cannot be modified.

Progress output goes to stderr

When piping JSON output through another program, progress messages appear on stderr (not stdout). JSON on stdout is clean. If you need to suppress progress: use --quiet or -q.

File Commands

Files can be listed, downloaded, read, and uploaded for companies, persons, and opportunities. These are nested subcommands under <entity> files:

# List files attached to an entity
xaffinity --readonly company files ls "domain:acme.com" --max-results 20 --json
xaffinity --readonly person files ls "email:[e-mail]" --max-results 20 --json
xaffinity --readonly opportunity files ls 12345 --max-results 20 --json

# Download files
xaffinity --readonly company files download "domain:acme.com" --output-dir ./downloads

# Read file content (with chunking support for large files)
xaffinity --readonly company files read "domain:acme.com" --file-id 67890 --json

# Upload files (write operation — requires explicit user request)
xaffinity company files upload "domain:acme.com" ./document.pdf

Quick Reference

Task	Command
Find person by email	person get email:[e-mail] --json
Find company by domain	company get domain:acme.com --json
Search people	person ls --query "name" --max-results 10 --json
Recent interactions	interaction ls --type all --company-id ID --days 90 --max-results 50 --json
Export list (bounded)	list export "ListName" --max-results 100 --json
Export list (full CSV)	list export "ListName" --all --csv --csv-bom > out.csv
List with server filter	list export "ListName" --saved-view "ViewName" --max-results 50 --json
List entity files	company files ls "domain:acme.com" --max-results 20 --json
Download entity files	company files download "domain:acme.com" --output-dir ./downloads
Aggregate/group data	query --dry-run --file query.json --json (preview cost first)
Get command help	xaffinity <command> --help (USE THIS — don't guess flags)

Remember: Prefix all commands with xaffinity --readonly (and --dotenv if check-key says so).

Installation

pip install "affinity-sdk[cli]"

Documentation

• Full CLI reference: xaffinity --help
• SDK docs: https://yaniv-golan.github.io/affinity-sdk/latest/