CLI overview

The Zavu CLI drives everything the API does, plus the things only a terminal can: scaffolding a function, running a tool handler locally, and asking an agent what it would say before anyone hears it.

npx zavudev --help

No install needed — npx fetches it. If you use it daily:

npm i -g zavudev     # then just `zavu`

The package is zavudev (unscoped) and the binary is zavu. Both spellings appear below; npx zavudev <cmd> and zavu <cmd> are the same thing.

Authenticate

zavu login       # opens your browser, saves a fresh API key
zavu whoami      # which project and team you are pointed at
zavu logout

Credentials land in ~/.zavu/credentials.json.

Without a browser

For CI, a container, or a coding agent, set the key in the environment instead. No login, no writable home directory:

export ZAVUDEV_API_KEY=zv_live_…
zavu agents list

Variable	Effect
`ZAVUDEV_API_KEY`	Used instead of the saved credentials file
`ZAVUDEV_API_BASE_URL`	Points at a non-production deployment
`CI` / `ZAVU_NO_ANIMATE`	Disables terminal animation (also off automatically when output is piped)

The loop

Most of what you do is free and instant. Only the last step costs anything.

Command	Cost	What it tells you
`zavu fn invoke --tool`	free	A handler does what you think, without deploying
`zavu deploy`	free	Your declarations are live
`zavu agents list`	free	What actually landed
`zavu agents test`	free	What the agent would reply
`zavu calls create`	billed	Everything else

Reading the output

Warnings before the checkmark. zavu deploy prints its summary and any warnings above the success line, and exits non-zero when your declarations were not synced. Those warnings cover the cases where a green deploy did not do what it looks like. Errors name the field. A rejected body tells you which one:

✗ Invalid request body [invalid_request]
  steps.0.nextStepId: Expected string, received null

--json for scripting. Most list and read commands take it. Tables are for humans; --json is stable. Exit codes. 0 success, 1 failure, 2 a local invoke whose target was not found. Safe to use in CI.

Getting help

zavu --help
zavu agents --help
zavu agents create --help
zavu help agents create      # same thing, any depth

Command groups

Group	What it covers
`agents`	Create, test, connect, and inspect agents
`functions` (alias `fn`)	Scaffold, deploy, invoke, logs, secrets, rollback
`calls`	Voice calls and transcripts — see agents
`messages`	Send and inspect messages
`senders`	Sender profiles: numbers, WhatsApp, email
`contacts`, `broadcasts`, `templates`	Contacts, campaigns, WhatsApp templates
`phone-numbers`	Search, buy, assign
`email-domains`	Add and verify sending domains
`10dlc`, `addresses`, `documents`, `urls`	Compliance
`sub-accounts`, `invitations`	White-label projects and onboarding
`balance`, `introspect`, `exports`	Account and utilities

Every group answers --help with its own subcommands and flags. That is the authority — this site describes the same thing in prose.

Getting Started

Concepts

Guides

CLI overview

Authenticate

Without a browser

The loop

Reading the output

Getting help

Command groups

​Authenticate

​Without a browser

​The loop

​Reading the output

​Getting help

​Command groups

Authenticate

Without a browser

The loop

Reading the output

Getting help

Command groups