Script the CLI¶

Get JSON¶

At a terminal ycli prints tables; piped, it prints JSON. Force a format with the global --format / -o (auto, json, yaml, pretty), before or after the command:

ycli tracker issues get TRACKER-1 | jq .        # JSON, because the output is piped
ycli -o yaml wiki pages get onboarding
ycli wiki pages get onboarding -o json

The keys are the API's own field names (createdAt in Tracker, created_at in Wiki), so the filters in Yandex's documentation work as they are.

Filter without jq¶

--jq EXPR runs a jq program over the JSON and prints like jq -r: a string bare, anything else as one compact JSON value per line.

ycli --jq .summary tracker issues get TRACKER-1
ycli --jq '.[].key' tracker issues search 'Queue: TEST'

It cannot be combined with -o yaml or -o pretty.

--jq needs the jq extra: uv tool install 'yandex-cli[jq]', or 'yandex-cli[mcp,jq]' with the MCP server (the Docker image has it). Without the extra the flag exits with code 2 and says how to install it; a pipe to the jq program works either way.

Delete without a prompt¶

A command that destroys data asks for confirmation at a terminal. In a script there is no one to ask, so it fails with exit code 2 until you pass --yes / -y:

ycli tracker boards delete 7 --yes

Preview a write¶

--dry-run sends no write and prints the request instead (method, URL, body, never the token), through the same -o and --jq, and exits 0. Reads still run, so a command that reads and then writes shows only its first write.

ycli tracker boards delete 7 --dry-run

Branch on the exit code¶

Each kind of failure has its own exit code, listed in the configuration reference.

ycli tracker issues get TRACKER-1 > issue.json
case $? in
  0) echo found ;;
  3) echo "no such issue" ;;
  6) echo "try again later" ;;
esac

Complete commands with Tab¶

ycli has several hundred commands; let the shell complete them. Install ycli as a tool first (uv tool install yandex-cli), so the command stays on your PATH, then:

ycli --install-completion    # for the shell you are in: bash, zsh, fish or PowerShell

Restart the terminal. Completion is installed for the name you ran: run it again as yandex-cli --install-completion if you use the long name. ycli --show-completion prints the script instead of installing it.

To use ycli in a pipeline, see Use in CI.