SIGNAL-CLI(1)

NAME
signal-cli - A commandline interface for the Signal messenger

SYNOPSIS

signal-cli [--data-dir DATA_DIR] [-h | -v | -a ACCOUNT | --dbus | --dbus-system] command [command-options]

DESCRIPTION

signal-cli is a commandline interface for libsignal-service-java. It supports registering, verifying, sending and receiving messages. For registering you need a phone number where you can receive SMS or incoming calls. signal-cli was primarily developed to be used on servers to notify admins of important events. For this use-case, it has a dbus and a JSON-RPC interface, that can be used to send messages from other programs.

Originally the Signal protocol only allowed sending messages to other phone numbers. Now with the introduction of phone number privacy, the phone number of a recipient is not always known. Only the recipient’s ServiceId, ACI/PNI (a special UUID) is known.

In all places where a RECIPIENT argument is expected in signal-cli’s interface, one of the following can be used:

    • The phone number

    • The ACI, just a UUID

    • The PNI, just a UUID, with "PNI:" prefix

    • The username, with "u:" prefix, e.g. "u:test.000"

For some functionality the Signal protocol requires that all messages have been received from the server. The receive command should be regularly executed. In daemon mode messages are by default continuously received.

OPTIONS

-h, --help
    Show help message and quit.

--version
    Print the version and quit.

-v, --verbose
    Raise log level and include lib signal logs.

--log-file LOG_FILE
    Write log output to the given file. If --verbose is also given, the detailed logs will only be written to the log file.

--scrub-log
    Scrub possibly sensitive information from the log, like phone numbers and UUIDs. Doesn’t work reliably on dbus logs with very verbose logging (-vvv)

-d DATA_DIR, --data-dir DATA_DIR, -c CONFIG, --config CONFIG
    Set the path where to store account data and local configuration. Make sure you have full read/write access to the given directory. (Default: $XDG_DATA_HOME/signal-cli ($HOME/.local/share/signal-cli))

-a ACCOUNT, --account ACCOUNT
    Specify your phone number, that will be your identifier. The phone number must include the country calling code, i.e. the number must start with a "+" sign.

This flag must not be given for the link command. It is optional for the daemon command. For all other commands it is only optional if there is exactly one local user in the config directory.

--service-environment ENVIRONMENT
    Choose the server environment to use:

        • live (default)

        • staging

--dbus
    Make request via user dbus.

--dbus-system
    Make request via system dbus.

--bus-name
    Connect to another D-Bus bus name than the default.

-o OUTPUT-MODE, --output OUTPUT-MODE
    Specify if you want commands to output in either "plain-text" mode or in "json". Defaults to "plain-text"

--trust-new-identities TRUST-MODE
    Choose when to trust new identities:

        • on-first-use (default): Trust the first seen identity key from new users, changed keys must be verified manually

        • always: Trust any new identity key without verification

        • never: Don’t trust any unknown identity key, every key must be verified manually

--disable-send-log
    Disable message send log (for resending messages that recipient couldn’t decrypt).

COMMANDS

  register

Register a phone number with SMS or voice verification. Use the verify command to complete the verification.

If the account is just deactivated, the register command will just reactivate account, without requiring an SMS verification. By default the unregister command just deactivates the account, in which case it can be reactivated without sms verification if the local data is still available. If the account was deleted (with --delete-account) it cannot be reactivated.

-v, --voice
    The verification should be done over voice, not SMS. Voice verification only works if an SMS verification has been attempted before.

--captcha CAPTCHA
    The captcha token, required if registration failed with a captcha required error. To get the token, go to https://signalcaptchas.org/registration/generate.html For the staging environment, use: https://signalcaptchas.org/staging/registration/generate.html After solving the captcha, right-click on the "Open Signal" link and copy the link.

--reregister
    Register even if account is already registered.

  verify

Verify the number using the code received via SMS or voice.

VERIFICATIONCODE
    The verification code.

-p PIN, --pin PIN
    The registration lock PIN, that was set by the user. Only required if a PIN was set.

  unregister

Disable push support for this device, i.e. this device won’t receive any more messages. If this is the primary device, other users can’t send messages to this number anymore. Use "updateAccount" to undo this. To remove a linked device, use "removeDevice" from the primary device.

--delete-account
    Delete account completely from server. Cannot be undone without loss. You will have to be readded to each group.

    Caution

    Only delete your account if you won’t use this number again!

  deleteLocalAccountData

Delete all local data for this account. Data should only be deleted if the account is unregistered.

    Caution

    This cannot be undone.

--ignore-registered
    Delete the account data even though the account is still registered on the Signal servers.

  updateAccount

Update the account attributes on the signal server. Can fix problems with receiving messages.

-n NAME, --device-name NAME
    Set a new device name for the primary or linked device

-u NAME --username NAME
    Specify a username that can then be used to contact this account. This can either be just the nickname (e.g. test) or the complete username with discriminator (e.g. test.000). Returns the new username with discriminator and the username link.

--delete-username
    Delete the username associated with this account.

--unrestricted-unidentified-sender {true,false}
    Enable if anyone should be able to send you unidentified sender messages.

--discoverable-by-number {true,false}
    Enable/disable if the account should be discoverable by phone number

--number-sharing {true,false}
    Indicates if Signal should share its phone number when sending a message.

  startChangeNumber

Change an account to a new phone number with SMS or voice verification. Use the finishChangeNumber command to complete the verification.

RECIPIENT
    The new phone number.

-v, --voice
    The verification should be done over voice, not SMS. Voice verification only works if an SMS verification has been attempted before.

--captcha
    The captcha token, required if registration failed with a captcha required error. To get the token, go to https://signalcaptchas.org/registration/generate.html For the staging environment, use: https://signalcaptchas.org/staging/registration/generate.html After solving the captcha, right-click on the "Open Signal" link and copy the link.

  finishChangeNumber

Verify the number using the code received via SMS or voice.

RECIPIENT
    The new phone number.

-v, --verification-code
    The verification code.

-p PIN, --pin PIN
    The registration lock PIN, that was set by the user. Only required if a PIN was set.

  updateConfiguration

Update signal configs and sync them to linked devices. This command only works on the primary devices.

--read-receipts {true,false}
    Indicates if Signal should send read receipts.

--unidentified-delivery-indicators {true,false}
    Indicates if Signal should show unidentified delivery indicators.

--typing-indicators {true,false}
    Indicates if Signal should send/show typing indicators.

--link-previews {true,false}
    Indicates if Signal should generate link previews.

  setPin

Set a registration lock pin, to prevent others from registering your account’s phone number.

REGISTRATION_LOCK_PIN
    The registration lock PIN, that will be required for new registrations (resets after 7 days of inactivity)

  removePin

Remove the registration lock pin.

  link

Link to an existing device, instead of registering a new number. This shows a "sgnl://linkdevice?uuid=..." URI. If you want to connect to another signal-cli instance, you can just use this URI. If you want to link to an Android/iOS device, create a QR code with the URI (e.g. with qrencode) and scan that in the Signal app.

-n NAME, --name NAME
    Optionally specify a name to describe this new device. By default "cli" will be used.

  addDevice

Link another device to this device. Only works, if this is the primary device.

--uri URI
    Specify the uri contained in the QR code shown by the new device. You will need the full URI such as "sgnl://linkdevice?uuid=...&pub_key=..." (formerly "tsdevice:/?uuid=...") Make sure to enclose it in quotation marks for shells.

  listAccounts

Show a list of registered accounts.

  listDevices

Show a list of linked devices.

  removeDevice

Remove a linked device. Only works, if this is the primary device.

-d DEVICE_ID, --device-id DEVICE_ID
    Specify the device you want to remove. Use listDevices to see the deviceIds.

  getUserStatus

Uses a list of phone numbers or usernames to determine the statuses of those users. Shows if they are registered on the Signal Servers or not. In json mode this is outputted as a list of objects.

[RECIPIENT [RECIPIENT ...]]
    One or more numbers to check.

[--username [USERNAME ...]]
    One or more usernames or username links to check.

  sendAdminDelete

Send admin delete message for a previously received or sent message. Admin delete is used by group admins to remove messages from all group members. Only works with group recipients.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding (required).

--notify-self
    If self is part of recipients/groups send a normal message, not a sync message.

-a RECIPIENT, --target-author RECIPIENT
    Specify the number of the author of the message to admin delete.

-t TIMESTAMP, --target-timestamp TIMESTAMP
    Specify the timestamp of the message to admin delete.

--story
    Admin delete a story instead of a normal message.

  send

Send a message to another user or group.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

--note-to-self
    Send the message to self.

--notify-self
    If self is part of recipients/groups send a normal message, not a sync message.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    Specify the recipient username or username link.

-m MESSAGE, --message MESSAGE
    Specify the message.

--message-from-stdin
    Read the message from standard input.

-a [ATTACHMENT [ATTACHMENT ...]], --attachment [ATTACHMENT [ATTACHMENT ...]]
    Add one or more files as attachment. Can be either a file path or a data URI. Data URI encoded attachments must follow the RFC 2397. Additionally a file name can be added: e.g.: data:<MIME-TYPE>;filename=<FILENAME>;base64,<BASE64 ENCODED DATA>

--view-once
    Send the message as a view once message. A conformant client will only allow the receiver to view the message once. View Once is only supported for messages that include an image attachment.

--sticker STICKER
    Send a sticker of a locally known sticker pack (syntax: stickerPackId:stickerId). Shouldn’t be used together with -m as the official clients don’t support this. e.g.: --sticker 00abac3bc18d7f599bff2325dc306d43:2

--mention
    Mention another group member (syntax: start:length:recipientNumber) In the apps the mention replaces part of the message text, which is specified by the start and length values. The units of start and length should be UTF-16 code units, NOT Unicode code points. For more information, see https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli/wiki/FAQ#string-indexing-units e.g.: -m "Hi X!" --mention "3:1:+123456789"

--text-style
    Style parts of the message text (syntax: start:length:STYLE). Like --mention, the units are UTF-16 code units. Where STYLE is one of: BOLD, ITALIC, SPOILER, STRIKETHROUGH, MONOSPACE

e.g.: -m "Something BIG!" --text-style "10:3:BOLD" or for a mixed text style -m "Something BIG!" --text-style "0:9:ITALIC" "10:3:BOLD"

--quote-timestamp
    Specify the timestamp of a previous message with the recipient or group to add a quote to the new message.

--quote-author
    Specify the author of the original message.

--quote-message
    Specify the message of the original message.

--quote-mention
    Specify the mentions of the original message (same format as --mention).

--quote-text-style
    Style parts of the original message text (same format as --text-style).

--quote-attachment
    Specify the attachments of the original message (syntax: contentType[:filename[:previewFile]]), e.g. audio/aac or image/png:test.png:/tmp/preview.jpg.

--preview-url
    Specify the url for the link preview. The same url must also appear in the message body, otherwise the preview won’t be displayed by the apps.

--preview-title
    Specify the title for the link preview (mandatory).

--preview-description
    Specify the description for the link preview (optional).

--preview-image
    Specify the image file for the link preview (optional).

--story-timestamp
    Specify the timestamp of a story to reply to.

--story-author
    Specify the author of the story.

-e, --end-session
    Clear session state and send end session message.

--edit-timestamp
    Specify the timestamp of a previous message with the recipient or group to send an edited message.

--no-urgent
    Send the message without the urgent flag, so no push notification is triggered for the recipient. The message will still be delivered in real-time if the recipient’s app is active.

  sendPollCreate

Send a poll create message to another user or group.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

--note-to-self
    Send the message to self.

--notify-self
    If self is part of recipients/groups send a normal message, not a sync message.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    Specify the recipient username or username link.

-q QUESTION, --question QUESTION
    Specify the poll question.

--no-multi
    Allow only one option to be selected by each recipient. By default, recipients can select multiple options.

-o OPTION [OPTION ...], --option OPTION [OPTION ...]*
    The options for the poll. Between 2 and 10 options must be specified. Each option must be between 1 and 100 characters.

  sendPollVote

Send a poll vote message to another user or group, to vote on a previously created vote.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

--note-to-self
    Send the message to self.

--notify-self
    If self is part of recipients/groups send a normal message, not a sync message.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    Specify the recipient username or username link.

--poll-author POLL_AUTHOR
    Specify the number or uuid of the author of the poll message.

--poll-timestamp POLL_TIMESTAMP
    Specify the timestamp of the original poll create message.

-o [OPTION [OPTION ...]], --option [OPTION [OPTION ...]]
    The option indexes of the poll to vote for. For none multi polls, only one option may be specified.

*--vote-count: VOTE_COUNT
    Specify the number of this vote (increase by one for every time you vote).

  sendPollTerminate

Send a poll terminate message to another user or group, to close on a previously created vote.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

--note-to-self
    Send the message to self.

--notify-self
    If self is part of recipients/groups send a normal message, not a sync message.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    Specify the recipient username or username link.

--poll-timestamp POLL_TIMESTAMP
    Specify the timestamp of the original poll create message.

  sendMessageRequestResponse

Send response to a message request to linked devices.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    Specify the recipient username or username link.

--type TYPE
    Type of message request response (accept, delete)

  sendPaymentNotification

Send a payment notification.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipient.

--receipt RECEIPT
    The base64 encoded receipt blob.

--note NOTE
    Specify a note for the payment notification.

  sendPinMessage

Send pin message for a previously received or sent message.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    Specify the recipient username or username link.

--note-to-self
    Send the pin message to self.

--notify-self
    If self is part of recipients/groups send a normal message, not a sync message.

-d DURATION, --pin-duration DURATION
    Specify the pin duration in seconds. Use -1 for forever (default: -1).

-a RECIPIENT, --target-author RECIPIENT
    Specify the number of the author of the message to pin.

-t TIMESTAMP, --target-timestamp TIMESTAMP
    Specify the timestamp of the message to pin.

  sendUnpinMessage

Send unpin message for a previously received or sent message.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    Specify the recipient username or username link.

--note-to-self
    Send the unpin message to self.

--notify-self
    If self is part of recipients/groups send a normal message, not a sync message.

-a RECIPIENT, --target-author RECIPIENT
    Specify the number of the author of the message to unpin.

-t TIMESTAMP, --target-timestamp TIMESTAMP
    Specify the timestamp of the message to unpin.

  sendReaction

Send reaction to a previously received or sent message.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    Specify the recipient username or username link.

--note-to-self
    Send the reaction to self.

--notify-self
    If self is part of recipients/groups send a normal message, not a sync message.

-e EMOJI, --emoji EMOJI
    Specify the emoji, should be a single unicode grapheme cluster.

-a RECIPIENT, --target-author RECIPIENT
    Specify the author of the message to which to react.

-t TIMESTAMP, --target-timestamp TIMESTAMP
    Specify the timestamp of the message to which to react.

-r, --remove
    Remove a reaction.

--story
    React to a story instead of a normal message

  sendReceipt

Send a read or viewed receipt to a previously received message.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the sender.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    Specify the recipient username or username link.

-t TIMESTAMP, --target-timestamp TIMESTAMP
    Specify the timestamp of the message to which to react.

--type TYPE
    Specify the receipt type, either read (the default) or viewed.

  sendTyping

Send typing message to trigger a typing indicator for the recipient. Indicator will be shown for 15seconds unless a typing STOP message is sent first.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-s, --stop
    Send a typing STOP message.

  remoteDelete

Remotely delete a previously sent message.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    Specify the recipient username or username link.

-t TIMESTAMP, --target-timestamp TIMESTAMP
    Specify the timestamp of the message to delete.

  receive

Query the server for new messages. New messages are printed on standard output and attachments are downloaded to the config directory. In json mode this is outputted as one json object per line.

-t TIMEOUT, --timeout TIMEOUT
    Number of seconds to wait for new messages (negative values disable timeout). Default is 5 seconds.

--max-messages MAX_MESSAGES
    Maximum number of messages to receive, before returning.

--ignore-attachments
    Don’t download attachments of received messages.

--ignore-stories
    Don’t receive story messages from the server.

--ignore-avatars
    Don’t download avatars of received messages.

--ignore-stickers
    Don’t download sticker packs of received messages.

--send-read-receipts
    Send read receipts for all incoming data messages (in addition to the default delivery receipts)

  joinGroup

Join a group via an invitation link.

--uri
    The invitation link URI (starts with https://signal.group/#)

  updateGroup

Create or update a group. If the user is a pending member, this command will accept the group invitation.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding. If not specified, a new group with a new random ID is generated.

-n NAME, --name NAME
    Specify the new group name.

-d DESCRIPTION, --description DESCRIPTION
    Specify the new group description.

-a AVATAR, --avatar AVATAR
    Specify a new group avatar image file.

-m [MEMBER [MEMBER ...]], --member [MEMBER [MEMBER ...]]
    Specify one or more members to add to the group.

-r [MEMBER [MEMBER ...]], --remove-member [MEMBER [MEMBER ...]]
    Specify one or more members to remove from the group

--admin [MEMBER [MEMBER ...]]
    Specify one or more members to make a group admin

--remove-admin [MEMBER [MEMBER ...]]
    Specify one or more members to remove group admin privileges

--ban [MEMBER [MEMBER ...]]
    Specify one or more members to ban from joining the group. Banned members cannot join or request to join via a group link.

--unban [MEMBER [MEMBER ...]]
    Specify one or more members to remove from the ban list

--reset-link
    Reset group link and create new link password

--link LINK_STATE
    Set group link state: enabled, enabled-with-approval, disabled

--set-permission-add-member PERMISSION
    Set permission to add new group members: every-member, only-admins

--set-permission-edit-details PERMISSION
    Set permission to edit group details: every-member, only-admins

--set-permission-send-messages PERMISSION
    Set permission to send messages in group: every-member, only-admins Groups where only admins can send messages are also called announcement groups

-e EXPIRATION_SECONDS, --expiration EXPIRATION_SECONDS
    Set expiration time of messages (seconds). To disable expiration set expiration time to 0.

--member-label-emoji EMOJI
    Specify the emoji for the member label.

--member-label STRING
    Specify the string for the member label.

  quitGroup

Send a quit group message to all group members and remove self from member list. If the user is a pending member, this command will decline the group invitation.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP
    Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

--delete
    Delete local group data completely after quitting group.

  listGroups

Show a list of known groups and related information. In json mode this is outputted as an list of objects and is always in detailed mode.

-d, --detailed
    Include the list of members of each group and the group invite link.

-g, --group-id
    Filter the group list by one or more group IDs.

  listContacts

Show a list of known contacts with names and profiles. When a specific recipient is given, its profile will be refreshed.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients.

-a, --all-recipients
    Include all known recipients, not only contacts.

--blocked
    Specify if only blocked or unblocked contacts should be shown (default: all contacts)

--name
    Find contacts with the given contact or profile name.

--detailed
    List the contacts with more details. If output=json, then this is always set.

--internal
    Include internal information that’s normally not user visible.

  listIdentities

List all known identity keys and their trust status, fingerprint and safety number.

-n RECIPIENT, --number RECIPIENT
    Only show identity keys for the given recipient.

  trust

Set the trust level of a given recipient. The first time a key for a recipient is seen, it is trusted by default (TOFU). If the key changes, the new key must be trusted manually.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipient, for which to set the trust.

-a, --trust-all-known-keys
    Trust all known keys of this user, only use this for testing.

-v VERIFIED_SAFETY_NUMBER, --verified-safety-number VERIFIED_SAFETY_NUMBER
    Specify the safety number of the key, only use this option if you have verified the safety number. Can be either the plain text numbers shown in the app or the bytes from the QR-code, encoded as base64.

  updateProfile

Update the profile information shown to message recipients. The profile is stored encrypted on the Signal servers. The decryption key is sent with every outgoing messages to contacts and included in every group.

--given-name NAME, --name NAME
    New (given) name.

--family-name FAMILY_NAME
    New family name.

--about ABOUT_TEXT
    New profile status text.

--about-emoji EMOJI
    New profile status emoji.

--avatar AVATAR_FILE
    Path to the new avatar image file.

--remove-avatar
    Remove the avatar

--mobile-coin-address, --mobilecoin-address
    New MobileCoin address (Base64 encoded public address)

  updateContact

Update the info associated to a recipient on our contact list. This change is only local but can be synchronized to other devices by using sendContacts (see below). If the contact doesn’t exist yet, it will be added.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipient. Use "u:" prefix to specify a username or username link.

--given-name GIVEN_NAME, --name NAME
    New system given name.

--family-name FAMILY_NAME
    New system family name.

--nick-given-name NICK_GIVEN_NAME
    New nick given name.

--nick-family-name NICK_FAMILY_NAME
    New nick family name.

--note NOTE
    New note.

-e, --expiration EXPIRATION_SECONDS
    Set expiration time of messages (seconds). To disable expiration set expiration time to 0.

  updateDevice

Update a linked device. Only works, if this is the primary device.

-d DEVICE_ID, --device-id DEVICE_ID
    Specify the device you want to update. Use listDevices to see the deviceIds.

-n NAME, --device-name NAME
    Specify a name to describe the given device.

  removeContact

Remove the info of a given contact

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipient.

--hide
    Hide the contact in the contact list, but keep the data.

--forget
    Delete all data associated with this contact, including identity keys and sessions.

  block

Block the given contacts or groups (no messages will be received). This change is only local but can be synchronized to other devices by using sendContacts (see below).

[RECIPIENT [RECIPIENT ...]]
    Specify the contacts that should be blocked.

-g [GROUP [GROUP ...]], --group-id [GROUP [GROUP ...]]
    Specify the group IDs that should be blocked in base64 encoding.

  unblock

Unblock the given contacts or groups (messages will be received again). This change is only local but can be synchronized to other devices by using sendContacts (see below).

[RECIPIENT [RECIPIENT ...]]
    Specify the contacts that should be unblocked.

-g [GROUP [GROUP ...]], --group-id [GROUP [GROUP ...]]
    Specify the group IDs that should be unblocked in base64 encoding.

  sendContacts

Send a synchronization message with the local contacts list to all linked devices. This command should only be used if this is the primary device.

  sendSyncRequest

Send a synchronization request message to the primary device (for group, contacts, ...). The primary device will respond with synchronization messages with full contact and group lists.

  uploadStickerPack

Upload a new sticker pack, consisting of a manifest file and the sticker images. Images must conform to the following specification: (see https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360031836512-Stickers#sticker_reqs )

    • Static stickers in PNG or WebP format

    • Animated stickers in APNG format,

    • Maximum file size for a sticker file is 300KiB

    • Image resolution of 512 x 512 px

The required manifest.json has the following format:

    {
      "title": "<STICKER_PACK_TITLE>",
      "author": "<STICKER_PACK_AUTHOR>",
      "cover": { // Optional cover, by default the first sticker is used as cover
        "file": "<name of image file, mandatory>",
        "contentType": "<optional>",
        "emoji": "<optional>"
      },
      "stickers": [
        {
          "file": "<name of image file, mandatory>",
          "contentType": "<optional>",
          "emoji": "<optional>"
        }
        ...
      ]
    }

PATH
    The path of the manifest.json or a zip file containing the sticker pack you wish to upload.

  listStickerPacks

Show a list of known sticker packs.

  addStickerPack

Install a sticker pack for this account.

--uri [URI]
    Specify the uri of the sticker pack. e.g. https://signal.art/addstickers/#pack_id=XXX&pack_key=XXX

  getAttachment

Gets the raw data for a specified attachment. This is done using the ID of the attachment the recipient or group ID. The attachment data is returned as a Base64 String.

--id [ID]
    The ID of the attachment as given in the attachment list of the message.

--recipient [RECIPIENT]
    Specify the recipient which sent the attachment. Referred to generally as recipient.

-g [GROUP], --group-id [GROUP]
    Alternatively, specify the group IDs for which to get the attachment.

  getAvatar

Gets the raw data for a specified contact, contact’s profile or group avatar. The attachment data is returned as a Base64 String.

--contact [RECIPIENT]
    Specify the recipient.

--profile [RECIPIENT]
    Specify the recipient.

-g [GROUP], --group-id [GROUP]
    Alternatively, specify the group ID for which to get the avatar.

  getSticker

Gets the raw data for a specified sticker. The attachment data is returned as a Base64 String.

--pack-id [PACK_ID]
    Specify the id of a sticker pack (hex encoded).

--sticker-id [STICKER_ID]
    Specify the index of a sticker in the sticker pack.

  daemon

signal-cli can run in daemon mode and provides JSON-RPC or an experimental dbus interface. If no -a account is given, all local accounts will be loaded. Multiple interfaces can be used at the same time, e.g. daemon --socket --dbus

--socket [SOCKET]
    Export a JSON-RPC interface on a UNIX socket (default $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/signal-cli/socket). See signal-cli-jsonrpc(5) for info on the JSON-RPC interface.

--tcp [HOST:PORT]
    Export a JSON-RPC interface on a TCP socket (default localhost:7583). See signal-cli-jsonrpc(5) for info on the JSON-RPC interface.

--http [HOST:PORT]
    Expose a JSON-RPC interface as http endpoint (default localhost:8080). The JSON-RPC endpoint is /api/v1/rpc. See signal-cli-jsonrpc(5) for info on the JSON-RPC interface.

--dbus
    Export DBus interface on user bus. See signal-cli-dbus(5) for info on the dbus interface.

--dbus-system
    Export DBus interface on system bus. See signal-cli-dbus(5) for info on the dbus interface.

--bus-name
    Claim another D-Bus bus name than the default.

--ignore-attachments
    Don’t download attachments of received messages.

--ignore-stories
    Don’t receive story messages from the server.

--ignore-avatars
    Don’t download avatars of received messages.

--ignore-stickers
    Don’t download sticker packs of received messages.

--send-read-receipts
    Send read receipts for all incoming data messages (in addition to the default delivery receipts)

--no-receive-stdout
    Don’t print received messages to stdout.

--receive-mode
    Specify when to start receiving messages (on-start, on-connection, manual)

  jsonRpc

Run in signal-cli in JSON-RPC mode. Reads JSON-RPC requests on stdin and responds on stdout. See signal-cli-jsonrpc(5) for info on the JSON-RPC interface.

--ignore-attachments
    Don’t download attachments of received messages.

--ignore-stories
    Don’t receive story messages from the server.

--ignore-avatars
    Don’t download avatars of received messages.

--ignore-stickers
    Don’t download sticker packs of received messages.

--send-read-receipts
    Send read receipts for all incoming data messages (in addition to the default delivery receipts)

--receive-mode
    Specify when to start receiving messages (on-start, manual)

  submitRateLimitChallenge

When running into rate limits, sometimes the limit can be lifted, by solving a CAPTCHA. To get the captcha token, go to https://signalcaptchas.org/challenge/generate.html For the staging environment, use: https://signalcaptchas.org/staging/registration/generate.html

--challenge CHALLENGE_TOKEN
    The challenge token from the failed send attempt.

--captcha CAPTCHA
    The captcha result, starting with signalcaptcha://

  version

Show version information.

EXAMPLES

Register a number (with SMS verification)
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT register

Verify the number using the code received via SMS or voice
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT verify CODE

Send a message to one or more recipients
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT send -m "This is a message" [RECIPIENT [RECIPIENT ...]] [-a [ATTACHMENT [ATTACHMENT ...]]]

Send a message to a username (or username link)
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT send u:someusername.000 -m "This is a message"

Pipe the message content from another process
    uname -a | signal-cli -a ACCOUNT send --message-from-stdin [RECIPIENT [RECIPIENT ...]]

Create a group
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT updateGroup -n "Group name" -m [MEMBER [MEMBER ...]]

Add member to a group
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT updateGroup -g GROUP_ID -m "NEW_MEMBER"

Accept a group invitation
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT updateGroup -g GROUP_ID

Leave a group
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT quitGroup -g GROUP_ID

Send a message to a group
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT send -m "This is a message" -g GROUP_ID

Trust new key, after having verified it
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT trust -v SAFETY_NUMBER RECIPIENT

Trust new key, without having verified it. Only use this if you don’t care about security
    signal-cli -a ACCOUNT trust -a RECIPIENT

EXIT CODES

    • 1: Error is probably caused and fixable by the user

    • 2: Some unexpected error

    • 3: Server or IO error

    • 4: Sending failed due to untrusted key

    • 5: Server rate limiting error

    • 6: CAPTCHA was rejected

FILES

The password and cryptographic keys are created when registering and stored in the current users home directory, the directory can be changed with --data-dir (legacy --config):

$XDG_DATA_HOME/signal-cli/ ($HOME/.local/share/signal-cli/)

  Configuration file

signal-cli supports a JSON-based global configuration file that provides defaults for CLI options. Keys use camelCase and generally match the long CLI parameter names (for example dataDir, verbose, logFile, serviceEnvironment, trustNewIdentities, output, disableSendLog, account).

Configuration files are read and merged in this order; later files override earlier ones:

    • /etc/signal-cli/config.json (system-wide defaults)

    • the path in the SIGNAL_CLI_CONFIG environment variable (if set)

    • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/signal-cli/config.json (per-user; defaults to $HOME/.config/signal-cli/config.json)

When multiple configuration files are present their settings are merged; values from later files override earlier values. Command-line options always take precedence over configuration file values. Overall precedence (highest → lowest): command-line options → per-user config → system config → built-in defaults.

AUTHORS

Maintained by AsamK <asamk@gmx.de>, who is assisted by other open source contributors. For more information about signal-cli development, see https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli.