# belt
the cloud platform cli for ai agents. run hundreds of ai apps, manage knowledge, search and publish skills, connect to mcp servers — all from your terminal.
**~4mb binary. no runtime, no dependencies. installs in under a second.**
built with go. ships as a single static binary per platform — no node, no python, no containers.
## install
```bash
curl -fsSL https://cli.inference.sh -o /tmp/belt-install.sh && sh /tmp/belt-install.sh
```
package managers:
```bash
brew install inference-sh/tap/belt # macos / linux
npm install -g @inferencesh/belt # node.js (downloads native binary)
scoop bucket add belt https://github.com/belt-sh/scoop-belt && scoop install belt # windows
```
## quick start
```bash
belt login # authenticate
belt me # check who you are
belt balance # check credits
belt suggest "image generation" # find apps, skills, knowledge
belt app store --category video # browse by category
belt app get reve/create # see schema + pricing
belt app sample reve/create --save input.json # generate sample input
belt app run reve/create --input input.json # run it
```
## commands
### apps
run hundreds of ai apps — image generation, video, audio, llms, search, 3d, and more.
```bash
belt app store # browse the app store
belt app store --category image # filter by category
belt app store search "video" # search
belt app get <namespace/name> # app details + schema + pricing
belt app sample <namespace/name> # generate sample input
belt app run <namespace/name> --input input.json
belt app run <namespace/name> --input '{"prompt": "a cat in space"}'
belt app pricing <namespace/name> # see cost formula before running
belt task cost <task-id> # see actual cost after running
```
**local files work directly** — file fields (type: `file` in schema) accept local paths. the cli auto-uploads them:
```bash
belt app run bytedance/seedance-2-0 --input '{"image": "./photo.jpg", "prompt": "make it cinematic"}'
```
**multi-function apps:**
```bash
belt app get heygen/avatar-video # shows all functions
belt app run heygen/avatar-video -f list_resources --input '{}'
belt app sample heygen/avatar-video -f list_resources
```
### app development
```bash
belt app init my-app # scaffold new app
belt app test --input input.json # test locally
belt app deploy # deploy to inference.sh
belt app deploy --dry-run # validate without deploying
belt app list # list your deployed apps
belt app pull [id] # pull app source
```
### knowledge
save and recall knowledge — discoveries, insights, references, preferences.
```bash
belt knowledge list # list entries
belt knowledge list --type skill # filter by type
belt knowledge search "deployment" # semantic search
belt knowledge get namespace/name # get details
belt knowledge upload ./notes.md # upload from file
```
### skills
search, install, and publish skills from the registry.
```bash
belt skill store # browse store
belt skill store search "web" # search registry
belt skill use namespace/skill-name # use on-demand (nothing written to disk)
belt skill add namespace/skill-name # install persistently
belt skill list # list installed
belt skill upload ./my-skill # publish
```
### connectors (mcp)
connect to mcp servers and run tools.
```bash
belt mcp list # browse available connectors
belt mcp search "slack" # search
belt mcp connect slack # connect
belt mcp run slack send_message --input '{"channel": "#general", "text": "hello"}'
```
### secrets
```bash
belt secrets list # list secrets
belt secrets set MY_KEY sk-12345 # set a secret
belt secrets get MY_KEY # get a secret
belt secrets delete MY_KEY # delete
```
### machine-readable output
all list commands support `--json`:
```bash
belt app list --json
belt app store --json
belt task list --json
belt knowledge list --json
belt skill list --json
belt mcp list --json
belt secrets list --json
belt me --json
belt balance --json
```
### other
```bash
belt version # print version
belt update # update to latest
belt completion bash # shell completions
```
## agent integration
belt works with ai coding agents. install the [plugin](https://github.com/belt-sh/skills) for deep integration:
```bash
belt plugin init claude # claude code
belt plugin init codex # openai codex
belt plugin init cursor # cursor
belt plugin init gemini # gemini cli
belt plugin init pi # pi
belt plugin init opencode # opencode
belt plugin init windsurf # windsurf
```
this adds automatic skill/knowledge/app suggestions on every prompt, background knowledge capture, and slash commands (`/belt`, `/skill`, `/skillify`, `/knowledge`, `/apps`, `/suggest`, `/agentify`, `/appify`, `/flowify`).
### disable hooks for a project
add `.beltsh/config.json`:
```json
{"hooks_disabled": true}
```
or set `BELT_NO_HOOKS=1`.
granular: `suggest_disabled` (no prompt matching) · `knowledge_disabled` (no session extraction).
## environment variables
| variable | description |
|----------|-------------|
| `INFSH_API_KEY` | api key (overrides login config) |
| `BELT_NO_UPDATE_CHECK` | disable automatic update checks |
| `BELT_NO_HOOKS` | disable all plugin hooks |
## why belt
- **~4mb** single binary — no bundled runtime
- **hundreds of apps** — image gen, video, audio, llms, search, 3d in one cli
- **knowledge system** — persistent memory across sessions and agents
- **skill registry** — discover, install, and publish reusable agent skills
- **mcp connectors** — connect any mcp server through the platform
- **agent-native** — typed json output, non-interactive mode, plugin system
- **local file upload** — just use file paths in your input, cli handles the rest
## links
- [inference.sh](https://inference.sh) — platform
- [belt.sh](https://belt.sh) — landing page
- [docs](https://inference.sh/docs) — documentation
- [trust](https://inference.sh/trust) — security & data handling
- [belt-sh/skills](https://github.com/belt-sh/skills) — agent plugin
- [issues](https://github.com/belt-sh/cli/issues) — bug reports & feature requests
## license
mit