By name: outline-cli description: "Search and manage Outline wiki documents and collections via the ol CLI"
Outline CLI (ol)
Use this skill when the user wants to interact with their Outline wiki/knowledge base.
Quick Reference
ol search "query"- Search documentsol doc list- List documentsol doc get <id>- Read a documentol doc open <id>- Open document in browserol doc create --title "Title" --collection <id>- Create documentol col list- List collectionsol account- List stored accounts;ol account use <id|name>sets the default
Output Formats
All list commands support:
--json- JSON output (essential fields)--ndjson- Newline-delimited JSON (streaming)--full- Include all fields in JSON
Global Options
--user <id|name>- Act as a specific stored account, matched by Outline user ID or display name. Eachol auth loginstores an account (accounts can live on different Outline instances), and--userselects which one a command runs as; the token, base URL, and OAuth client ID all resolve from that account. Must be placed before the command, e.g.ol --user scott@example.com doc list. Omitted, commands use the default account. Overridden byOUTLINE_API_TOKENwhen set.
Document References
Documents can be referenced by:
- URL ID (the slug suffix after the last hyphen)
- Full Outline URL (auto-extracted)
- Document ID
Commands
Search
ol search "query"
ol search "query" --limit 10
ol search "query" --collection <id>
ol search "query" --status published
ol search "query" --json
Documents
ol doc list --collection <id> --limit 25
ol doc list --sort title --direction ASC
ol doc get <id> # Rendered markdown
ol doc get <id> --raw # Raw markdown
ol doc get <id> --json
ol doc open <id> # Open in browser
ol doc create --title "Title" --collection <id> --text "# Content"
ol doc create --title "Title" --parent <ref> --text "# Content" # Nest under parent (collection inferred)
ol doc create --title "Title" --collection <id> --file ./doc.md
ol doc update <id> --title "New Title"
ol doc update <id> --file ./updated.md
ol doc move <id> --collection <target-id> # Move to collection root
ol doc move <id> --parent <ref> # Nest under parent (collection inferred)
ol doc archive <id>
ol doc unarchive <id>
ol doc delete <id> --confirm
Collections
ol col list
ol col get <id>
ol col create --name "Name" --description "Desc" --color "#hex"
ol col create --name "Private" --private
ol col update <id> --name "New Name"
ol col delete <id> --confirm
Authentication
ol auth login # OAuth login (opens browser); prompts for base URL + client ID if needed
ol auth login --base-url <url> # Specify Outline base URL for this login (saved for future use)
ol auth login --client-id <id> # Specify OAuth client ID for this login (saved for future use)
ol auth login --callback-port <port> # Override local OAuth callback port
ol auth login --read-only # Request read-only scopes (where supported by the Outline instance)
ol auth login --json | --ndjson # Machine-readable success envelope
ol auth status # Show current auth state
ol auth status --json | --ndjson # Machine-readable status envelope ({id, team, baseUrl, source})
ol auth logout # Clear saved credentials
ol auth logout --json | --ndjson # Machine-readable logout envelope ({ok: true}; --ndjson is silent)
ol auth token <token> # Save a personal API token (validates via auth.info, resolves identity)
ol auth token <token> --base-url <url> # Save a token for a specific Outline instance
ol auth token # Prompt for the token (hidden input; errors in non-interactive shells)
ol auth token view # Print the bare stored token to stdout for scripts (no newline when piped; refuses when OUTLINE_API_TOKEN is set)
ol --user <id|name> auth token view # Print a specific stored account's token (--user is a root flag, before the command)
Accounts
ol account # List stored accounts (default subcommand)
ol account list # List stored accounts, default marked
ol account list --json | --ndjson # Machine-readable list ({accounts, default}; --ndjson streams one per line)
ol account current # Show the active account (honours --user and OUTLINE_API_TOKEN)
ol account current --json | --ndjson # Discriminated by source: {source:"stored", account:{id, label, teamName, baseUrl, isDefault}} | {source:"env"} | {source:"legacy"}
ol account use <id|name> # Set the default account used when --user is omitted
ol account use <id|name> --json # Machine-readable envelope ({ok: true, default: <id>}; --ndjson is silent)
ol account remove <id|name> # Remove a stored account (clears keyring + config entry)
ol account remove <id|name> --json # Machine-readable envelope ({ok: true, removed: <id>}; --ndjson is silent)
Update & Changelog
ol update # Update CLI to latest version
ol update --check # Check for updates without installing, show channel
ol update --check --json # Check for updates as a JSON envelope
ol update --check --ndjson # Check for updates as NDJSON output
ol update --channel # Show current update channel
ol update switch --stable # Switch to stable release channel
ol update switch --pre-release # Switch to pre-release (next) channel
ol changelog # Show recent changelog entries
ol changelog -n 3 # Show last 3 versions
Examples
Find and read a document
ol search "onboarding" --json | jq '.[0].document.urlId'
ol doc get <urlId>
Create a document from a file
ol doc create --title "Meeting Notes" --collection <id> --file ./notes.md --publish
List all collections and their documents
ol col list --json
ol doc list --collection <id> --sort title --direction ASC
Bulk export with ndjson
ol doc list --ndjson --full | jq -r '.title'