1password CLI

1Password CLI (op)

The 1Password CLI brings password management to your terminal. Authenticate with biometrics via the desktop app, or with a service account / Connect server for automation — then read secrets, inject them into files and processes, and manage items, vaults, and users.

Overview

• op command structure — noun-verb: op <command> <subcommand> [flags] (e.g. op item get, op vault list).
• Secret references — op://vault/item/[section/]field URIs let you keep plaintext secrets out of code; resolve them with op read, op run, or op inject.
• Three auth modes — desktop app integration (biometric, interactive), service accounts (OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN, for CI/headless), and Connect server (OP_CONNECT_HOST/OP_CONNECT_TOKEN, self-hosted).
• Manage items & vaults — full CRUD with op item and op vault, JSON templates for sensitive values, share links, and granular permissions.
• Shell plugins — op plugin injects credentials into 80+ third-party CLIs (aws, gh, stripe…) behind biometric unlock.
• SSH & git — read SSH keys in OpenSSH format, and pair with the 1Password SSH agent for SSH auth and git commit signing.

Quick Start

# Install (macOS), then enable desktop-app integration in Settings > Developer
brew install 1password-cli && op --version

# Sign in (picks an account from the app)
op signin

# Read a single secret
op read "op://Private/GitHub/token"

# Get a field from an item
op item get "GitHub" --fields label=username,label=password

# Inject secrets into a process via env vars
export DB_PASSWORD="op://prod/db/password"
op run -- ./start-server.sh

Core Concepts

• Secret references — op://<vault>/<item>/[<section>/]<field>; case-insensitive, quote anything with spaces. Supports ?attribute=otp and ?ssh-format=openssh. See secret-reference-syntax.
• op run vs op inject — op run -- <cmd> resolves references in env vars and runs a command (secrets masked by default); op inject -i tpl -o out substitutes references inside a file. See secret-references.
• Interactive vs automated — app integration is for humans (biometric); service accounts and Connect are for scripts/CI and follow least-privilege via vault scoping. See service-accounts.
• IDs over names — pass 26-char IDs in scripts: more stable and fewer API requests (matters for service-account rate limits).

Documentation

Getting started & auth

• Get Started / Install — install on macOS/Windows/Linux, enable app integration, first sign-in
• Desktop App Integration — biometric unlock, OP_BIOMETRIC_UNLOCK_ENABLED, troubleshooting
• Sign In Manually — op account add, eval "$(op signin)", sessions
• Use Multiple Accounts — --account flag, OP_ACCOUNT, op account list

Secrets

• Secret References — op read / op run / op inject
• Secret Reference Syntax — the op:// URI, attributes, files, OTP, SSH
• Load Secrets into the Environment — op run, .env files, Environments
• Load Secrets into Config Files — op inject templates
• op run reference — flags, precedence, examples

Items & vaults

• Create Items · Edit Items · Item Fields
• Vault Permissions — op vault CRUD, grant/revoke, permission deps
• op item reference — full CRUD + share/move/template

Automation & integrations

• Service Accounts — OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN, rate limits
• Connect Server — OP_CONNECT_HOST/OP_CONNECT_TOKEN, CI
• Install on a Server — Linux/Docker for headless
• Shell Plugins — op plugin for third-party CLIs
• SSH Keys & Agent — generate/read keys, SSH agent, git signing

Reference

• Command Reference — command list, global flags, env vars, completion, caching
• Best Practices — least privilege, JSON templates, updates

Common Workflows

• Inject secrets into a local app: put KEY=op://vault/item/field lines in a .env, then op run --env-file=./.env -- npm start.
• CI without plaintext: create a service account scoped to one vault, set OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN, and use op run/op inject (pass vault/item IDs to stay under rate limits).
• Biometric auth for any CLI: op plugin init aws, source ~/.config/op/plugins.sh, then run aws … — credentials are unlocked with your fingerprint.

Upstream Sources

• Documentation: https://www.1password.dev/cli/ (formerly https://developer.1password.com/docs/cli/)
• Release history / changelog: https://app-updates.agilebits.com/product_history/CLI2
• Docker image: 1password/op:2

Sync & Update

Docs under docs/ mirror the upstream 1password.dev/cli/ URL structure. Run discover-pages.sh to detect new upstream CLI pages from the site's llms.txt/sitemap.xml; run the sync script (or sync) to refresh cached docs. On diff, compare current docs/ vs upstream.