Hive CLI

hive-cli — Hive From the Terminal

Run Hive from a shell: one-off queries, jq pipelines, cron briefings, and diagnostics.

The Hive CLI lives in the hive-intelligence npm package; the executable name is hive. Package and binary names differ on purpose — the npm package also ships the stdio MCP server and bundled skills installer. One install, multiple agent entrypoints.

Bootstrap

If the user doesn't have the CLI installed:

# One-time install + auth
npx -y -p hive-intelligence@latest hive init --browser

# Or, install globally for repeated use
npm install -g hive-intelligence
hive auth login

init --browser runs the browser sign-in flow described in hive-build-onboarding.

Common commands

hive doctor                              # connectivity + auth check
hive status                              # plan, recent usage, key info
hive tools list                          # full live tool catalog
hive tools search <keyword>              # filter the catalog
hive tools info <tool-name>              # input schema for one tool
hive market price --ids bitcoin --vs usd # price query (domain subcommand)
hive defi tvl --protocol aave            # DeFi TVL query
hive watch defi protocols --interval 60  # re-run a domain command on an interval
hive uninstall --all                     # remove from every client

Domain subcommands map directly to Hive's category namespace: market, defi, portfolio, security, exchange, dex, wallet, nft, network, and search. Run hive --help for the full list and hive <domain> --help for a domain's subcommands.

JSON output and jq

Tool output is the envelope { ok, data, meta }. JSON is emitted automatically when stdout is not a TTY (when piped) or with --json; an interactive terminal prints human-readable output. Filter it two ways:

# Built-in --jq runs against the data payload directly (envelope-aware)
hive market price --ids bitcoin --vs usd --jq '.bitcoin.usd'

# Or pipe the --json envelope to external jq and read under .data
hive defi protocols --json | jq '.data[0].name'

Daily briefing pattern

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

echo "=== Daily Crypto Briefing ==="
echo
echo "--- Watchlist ---"
hive market price --ids bitcoin,ethereum,solana --vs usd --json \
  | jq -r '.data | to_entries[] | "\(.key): $\(.value.usd)"'
echo
echo "--- Top Coins ---"
hive market top --vs usd --limit 5 --json | jq '.data'
echo
echo "--- DeFi TVL Leaders ---"
hive defi protocols --json | jq '.data[:5]'

Schedule with cron:

0 8 * * * /path/to/briefing.sh >> /var/log/crypto-briefing.log 2>&1

Authentication options

1. hive auth login — interactive browser sign-in. Stores the key in ~/.config/hive/credentials.json (override with HIVE_CONFIG_DIR). Recommended for personal machines.
2. HIVE_API_KEY=hive_live_… — env var. Recommended for CI, Docker, scripts. The CLI reads the env var per-command.
3. hive --api-key <key> ... — one-shot override. Useful for testing a different account without rotating the saved cred.

hive status confirms which path the CLI is using.

Output formats

• --json — force the JSON envelope (default when stdout is piped)
• --pretty — force human-readable output (default in an interactive terminal)
• --jq <expr> — filter the data payload with a jq expression
• --fields <list> — keep only the named fields
• --csv — CSV for array results
• -q, --quiet — suppress non-data output, useful in pipes

When to use the CLI vs the MCP

• CLI — terminal workflows, cron jobs, shell scripts, one-off exploration during a chat session.
• MCP — let Claude Code / Cursor / Claude Desktop call tools as part of its reasoning. The user doesn't see commands; the agent calls tools transparently.

If the user is in Claude Code and asks "what's BTC?", call the MCP tool. If they ask "give me a shell script that fetches BTC daily", write a hive market price … invocation in the script.

Runtime status handling

CLI and MCP responses should be interpreted with Hive's runtime states: ok, invalid_input, missing_key, plan_required, rate_limited, degraded, and failing. In scripts, retry rate_limited and degraded with backoff, but surface missing_key or plan_required to the operator.

Reference

• CLI command reference: https://www.hiveintelligence.xyz/cli
• CLI tutorial: https://www.hiveintelligence.xyz/tutorials/cli
• One-command install: https://www.hiveintelligence.xyz/install/claude-skill