Setup

Prerequisites

Before running any zilliz-cli command, verify the following in order:

1. CLI installed and up to date? Run curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zilliztech/zilliz-cli/master/install.sh | bash to ensure the latest version is installed.
2. Logged in? Run zilliz auth status. If not logged in, guide through login (see below).
3. Context set? (Only for data-plane operations) Run zilliz context current. If no context, guide through context setup.

Commands Reference

Install / Upgrade CLI

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zilliztech/zilliz-cli/master/install.sh | bash

Verify installation:

zilliz --version

Authentication

IMPORTANT: Login commands (zilliz login, zilliz configure) require an interactive terminal and CANNOT run inside Claude Code. Always instruct the user to run these in their own terminal.

Check if already logged in:

zilliz auth status

If not logged in, tell the user to open their own terminal and run one of the following:

Option 1: Browser-based login (OAuth) — full feature access

zilliz login

• Opens a browser for authentication
• Retrieves user info, organization data, and API keys
• Use --no-browser in headless environments (displays a URL to visit manually)

Option 2a: API Key via login command

zilliz login --api-key

Option 2b: API Key via configure (legacy)

zilliz configure

• Prompts for an API key (found in Zilliz Cloud console under API Keys)
• Limitations compared to OAuth login:
  • Organization switching not available
  • On Serverless clusters: database management, user/role management may be restricted
  • Some control-plane operations may require OAuth login

Option 3: Environment variable

User can add to their shell profile (.zshrc / .bashrc):

export ZILLIZ_API_KEY=<your-api-key>

After the user completes authentication, verify by running:

zilliz auth status

Configure Subcommands

zilliz configure              # Interactive API key setup
zilliz configure list          # Show all config values
zilliz configure set <key> <value>  # Set a config value
zilliz configure get <key>     # Get a config value
zilliz configure clear         # Clear all credentials

Switch Organization

These commands require an interactive terminal. Instruct the user to run in their own terminal:

# Interactive selection
zilliz auth switch

# Direct switch by org ID
zilliz auth switch <org-id>

Logout

zilliz logout

Set Cluster Context

Data-plane commands (collection, vector, index, etc.) require an active cluster context.

# Set by cluster ID (endpoint auto-resolved)
zilliz context set --cluster-id <cluster-id>

# Set with explicit endpoint
zilliz context set --cluster-id <cluster-id> --endpoint <url>

# Change database (default: "default")
zilliz context set --database <db-name>

View Current Context

zilliz context current

Output Format

All zilliz-cli commands support --output json for structured, machine-readable output. Use this when you need to parse results programmatically:

zilliz cluster list --output json
zilliz collection describe --name <name> --output json

Available formats: json, table, text. Default is text.

Cluster Type Differences

Different cluster types have different feature support:

When a command fails with a permissions error, check the cluster type first — the feature may not be available on that cluster type.

Troubleshooting

• "command not found" after install: Check that the install directory (e.g., ~/.local/bin) is in your PATH. Try re-running the install script: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zilliztech/zilliz-cli/master/install.sh | bash.
• "not authenticated" errors: Run zilliz auth status to check login state. Tokens may have expired — re-run login in your own terminal.
• Context errors (no cluster set): Run zilliz context current to verify. If the cluster was deleted or suspended, set a new context with zilliz context set --cluster-id <id>.
• Permission or "not supported" errors: Check the cluster type — some operations are only available on Dedicated clusters (see Cluster Type Differences table above).
• Network or timeout errors: Verify the cluster is RUNNING with zilliz cluster describe --cluster-id <id>. Suspended clusters reject data-plane requests.

Guidance

• Always check prerequisites before executing any command.
• If a prerequisite fails, fix it before proceeding — do not skip ahead.
• NEVER run zilliz login, zilliz configure, or zilliz auth switch (without arguments) inside Claude Code — they require interactive input. Always instruct the user to run these in their own terminal.
• NEVER ask the user to paste API keys into the chat — this is a security risk. Guide them to configure credentials in their own terminal instead.
• After the user reports login is complete, verify with zilliz auth status.
• After setting context, verify with zilliz context current.
• For data-plane commands in other skills, always verify context is set first.
• When a command fails unexpectedly, consider whether the cluster type or auth mode may be the cause.