---
name: zai-cli
description: |
  Z.AI CLI providing:
  - Vision: image/video analysis, OCR, UI-to-code, error diagnosis (GLM-4.6V)
  - Search: real-time web search with domain/recency filtering
  - Reader: web page to markdown extraction
  - Repo: GitHub code search and reading via ZRead
  - Tools: MCP tool discovery and raw calls
  - Code: TypeScript tool chaining
  Use for visual content analysis, web search, page reading, or GitHub exploration. Requires Z_AI_API_KEY.
---

# ZAI CLI

Access Z.AI capabilities via `npx zai-cli`. The CLI is self-documenting - use `--help` at any level.

## Setup

```bash
export Z_AI_API_KEY="your-api-key"
```

Get a key at: https://z.ai/manage-apikey/apikey-list

## Commands

| Command | Purpose                             | Help                           |
| ------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| vision  | Analyze images, screenshots, videos | `--help` for 8 subcommands     |
| search  | Real-time web search                | `--help` for filtering options |
| read    | Fetch web pages as markdown         | `--help` for format options    |
| repo    | GitHub code search and reading      | `--help` for tree/search/read  |
| tools   | List available MCP tools            |                                |
| tool    | Show tool schema                    |                                |
| call    | Raw MCP tool invocation             |                                |
| code    | TypeScript tool chaining            |                                |
| doctor  | Check setup and connectivity        |                                |

## Quick Start

```bash
# Analyze an image
npx zai-cli vision analyze ./screenshot.png "What errors do you see?"

# Search the web
npx zai-cli search "React 19 new features" --count 5

# Read a web page
npx zai-cli read https://docs.example.com/api

# Explore a GitHub repo
npx zai-cli repo search facebook/react "server components"

# Check setup
npx zai-cli doctor
```

## Output

Default: **data-only** (raw output for token efficiency).
Use `--output-format json` for `{ success, data, timestamp }` wrapping.