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signal-cli (1) Manual Page

Name

signal-cli - A commandline interface for the Signal messenger

Synopsis

signal-cli [--config CONFIG] [-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. This special identifier can be used instead of the phone number in signal-cli’s interface.

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)

--config CONFIG

Set the path, where to store the config. 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.

NUMBER

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.

NUMBER

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 this 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 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.

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 to check.

send

Send a message to another user or group.

RECIPIENT

Specify the recipients’ phone number.

--note-to-self

Send the message to self without notification.

-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>

--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 number of 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 number of 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.

sendMessageRequestResponse

Send response to a message request to linked devices.

RECIPIENT

Specify the recipients’ phone number.

-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’s phone number.

--receipt RECEIPT

The base64 encoded receipt blob.

--note NOTE

Specify a note for the payment notification.

sendReaction

Send reaction to a previously received or sent message.

RECIPIENT

Specify the recipients’ phone number.

-g GROUP, --group-id GROUP

Specify the recipient group ID in base64 encoding.

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME

Specify the recipient username or username link.

-e EMOJI, --emoji EMOJI

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

-a NUMBER, --target-author NUMBER

Specify the number of 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’s phone number.

-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’ phone number.

-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’ phone number.

-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

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.

--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.

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’ phone number.

-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 NUMBER, --number NUMBER

Only show identity keys for the given phone number.

trust

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

number

Specify the phone number, 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

New MobileCoin address (Base64 encoded public address)

updateContact

Update the info associated to a number 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.

NUMBER

Specify the contact phone number.

--given-name NAME, --name NAME

New (given) name.

--family-name FAMILY_NAME

New family name.

-e, --expiration EXPIRATION_SECONDS

Set expiration time of messages (seconds). To disable expiration set expiration time to 0.

removeContact

Remove the info of a given contact

NUMBER

Specify the contact phone number.

--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).

[CONTACT [CONTACT …​]]

Specify the phone numbers of 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).

[CONTACT [CONTACT …​]]

Specify the phone numbers of 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 number 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 number of a recipient.

--profile [RECIPIENT]

Specify the number of a 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.

--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.

--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://

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 …​]]]

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 NUMBER

Trust new key, without having verified it. Only use this if you don’t care about security

signal-cli -a ACCOUNT trust -a NUMBER

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

Files

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

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

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.