# Zai CLI

Z.AI CLI providing: - Vision: image/video analysis, OCR, UI-to-code, error diagnosis...

- Repository: https://github.com/numman-ali/n-skills (1052 stars)
- Category: Design
- License: Apache-2.0
- Last updated: 2026-09-12
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add numman-ali/n-skills --skill zai-cli -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add numman-ali/n-skills --skill zai-cli -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add numman-ali/n-skills --skill zai-cli -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add numman-ali/n-skills --skill zai-cli -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add numman-ali/n-skills`

## 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.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# 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
npx zai-cli read https://docs.example.com/api --with-images-summary --no-gfm

# Explore a GitHub repo
npx zai-cli repo search facebook/react "server components"
npx zai-cli repo search openai/codex "config" --language en
npx zai-cli repo tree openai/codex --path codex-rs --depth 2

# Check setup
npx zai-cli doctor
```

## Output

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

## Advanced

For raw MCP tool calls (`tools`, `tool`, `call`), Code Mode, and performance tuning (cache/retries),
see `references/advanced.md`.