SIGNAL-CLI(1)

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

SYNOPSIS

signal-cli [--config CONFIG] [-h | -v | -u USERNAME | --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 interface, that can be used to send messages from any programming language that has dbus bindings.

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 continuously received.

OPTIONS

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

-v, --version
    Print the version and quit.

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

--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))

-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
    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.

--dbus
    Make request via user dbus.

--dbus-system
    Make request via system dbus.

-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

COMMANDS

  register

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

-v, --voice
    The verification should be done over voice, not SMS.

--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 Check the developer tools for a redirect starting with signalcaptcha:// Everything after signalcaptcha:// is the captcha token.

  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 master 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 master 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!

  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 main or linked device

  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

Link to an existing device, instead of registering a new number. This shows a "tsdevice:/..." 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 master device.

--uri URI
    Specify the uri contained in the QR code shown by the new device. You will need the full uri enclosed in quotation marks, such as "tsdevice:/?uuid=....."

  listDevices

Show a list of linked devices.

  removeDevice

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

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

  send

Send a message to another user or group.

RECIPIENT
    Specify the recipients’ phone number.

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

-m MESSAGE, --message MESSAGE
    Specify the message, if missing, standard input is used.

-a [ATTACHMENT [ATTACHMENT ...]], --attachment [ATTACHMENT [ATTACHMENT ...]]
    Add one or more files as attachment.

--note-to-self
    Send the message to self without notification.

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

  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.

-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.

  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.

-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.

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

  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

--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.

  listContacts

Show a list of known contacts with names.

  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

  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.

-n, --name
    Specify the new name for this contact.

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

  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 master device.

  sendSyncRequest

Send a synchronization request message to the master device (for group, contacts, ...). The master 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.

  daemon

signal-cli can run in daemon mode and provides an experimental dbus interface. If no -u username is given, all local users will be exported as separate dbus objects under the same bus name.

--system
    Use DBus system bus instead of user bus.

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

EXAMPLES

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

Verify the number using the code received via SMS or voice
    signal-cli -u USERNAME verify CODE

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

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

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

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

Accept a group invitation
    signal-cli -u USERNAME updateGroup -g GROUP_ID

Leave a group
    signal-cli -u USERNAME quitGroup -g GROUP_ID

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

Trust new key, after having verified it
    signal-cli -u USERNAME trust -v SAFETY_NUMBER NUMBER

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

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.