Skip to main content
Use this path if you want Shoal in the terminal or as local skill guidance in Claude Code.

​
Install the CLI

curl -fsSL https://api.shoal.xyz/install | bash
Or: 
npm install -g shoal-cli

​
Authenticate

shoal auth YOUR_API_KEY
This stores the API key locally for CLI use.

​
Install the Shoal Skill

From the CLI: 
shoal skill install
Or directly: 
npx shoal-skill@latest
The Shoal skill installs local guidance for /shoal. It does not replace the hosted MCP server.

​
When To Use This Path

  • You want terminal-first access to Shoal
  • You want local skill guidance in Claude Code
  • You are intentionally using a local API-key-based flow

​
When Not To Use It

If your client supports the hosted Shoal MCP server, prefer: 
https://api.shoal.xyz/mcp
That path uses app-based OAuth and does not require pasting a raw API key into the MCP auth flow.

​
Full Command Reference

For the complete CLI command list, see CLI Tool.