| name | boltz-cli-setup |
| description | Boltz CLI setup and auth. Use when installing, updating, verifying, or authenticating `boltz-api`, or fixing missing CLI, PATH, sandbox, browser login, or auth errors. |
Boltz CLI Setup
Use this skill for boltz-api installation, version, PATH, and authentication issues. The workflow skills assume boltz-api is already installed.
Verify Installation
Check that the CLI is available:
boltz-api --version
If boltz-api is missing or too old, install or update it from the official CLI repo.
macOS and Linux:
curl -fsSL https://install.boltz.bio/boltz-api/install.sh | sh
Windows PowerShell:
irm https://install.boltz.bio/boltz-api/install.ps1 | iex
The installer updates an existing boltz-api on PATH. If no binary is found, it installs to a user-local bin directory. Add the installed binary to PATH if boltz-api --version is still not found after install.
Working around the sandbox is critical because the sandbox can block browser login, OAuth callbacks, temp files, credential storage, and user-wide install paths. If the user asks for a normal install, install or authenticate boltz-api in the user's real environment. In a filesystem sandbox, request the host sandbox bypass/escalation needed for the install or auth flow.
Read references/sandbox.md when an agent sandbox blocks the installer, browser auto-open, OAuth callback, credential storage, temp files, or global install path.
Authenticate
Check the current auth state with:
boltz-api auth status
If auth status reports unauthenticated, or any Boltz command fails because authentication is missing or expired, start device-code login on the user's behalf before retrying:
boltz-api auth login --device-code
Do not ask the user for permission before starting device-code login; relaying the login URL/code and waiting for the CLI to complete is part of auth recovery. When sharing the authentication login URL/code, tell the user to use exactly boltz-api auth login --device-code.
For auth recovery, assume the CLI can auto-open the browser and run the exact command above. In sandboxed environments, request the host sandbox bypass/escalation needed for browser auto-open, OAuth callbacks, credential storage, or temp files.
For automation where a key is already available, an API key is still supported:
export BOLTZ_API_KEY=<api-key>
Version Checks
Do not hard-code expected commands or minimum versions in this skill. Treat the CLI's own update check as the source of truth.
When boltz-api reports that an update is available or required, relay that message and the install command it provides. The CLI may get this from a Boltz-hosted version metadata endpoint such as /cli/version, returning latest version, minimum supported version, whether an update is required, and platform-appropriate install instructions.
If a user asks why the CLI thinks it is stale, explain the split:
- GitHub Releases define which CLI binaries are available to install.
- The Boltz version endpoint defines API compatibility, including the minimum supported CLI version.
Respect user or CI opt-outs such as BOLTZ_API_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1; do not force update checks when the environment disables them.