Imported from XeroAPI/xero-command-line (SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add XeroAPI/xero-command-line. Copyright stays with the author.

xero CLI

You have access to the xero CLI — a command-line tool for the Xero accounting API using PKCE OAuth. Use it to read and write accounting data in the user's Xero organisation.

Authentication & Setup

Note for Agent: If the user is not logged in, you must instruct them to run xero login in their terminal manually, as it requires a browser-based OAuth flow that you cannot complete. If login fails with unauthorized_client or scope-related errors — common for new Xero apps after the March 2026 scope migration, or when the app only grants read scopes — instruct them to re-login with --scope listing only the scopes enabled on their app (see OAuth scopes below).

# Check if logged in / check organization details
xero org details

Token storage (Linux / WSL / SSH)

Tokens are encrypted in ~/.config/xero-command-line/tokens.json. By default the encryption key lives only in the OS keychain (on Linux: GNOME Keyring / Secret Service over D-Bus). A file copy is not written unless the user opts in.

If the user is on WSL, SSH, or a headless VM and sees an encryption-key error after a successful xero login:

1. Prefer fixing the keychain: sudo apt install gnome-keyring libsecret-tools dbus-x11, start gnome-keyring-daemon, then xero login again.
2. Flaky keychain (login OK, next command fails): export XERO_KEYRING_FILE_BACKUP=1 before xero login — mirrors the key to ~/.config/xero-command-line/.encryption-key (0600) for later reads. Opt-in; weaker than keychain-only.
3. No keychain: export XERO_KEY_STORAGE=file before xero login.
4. Stronger file-based option: export XERO_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE='…' (same value every session) — scrypt-derived key, not stored in plaintext.

Warn if XERO_PROFILE, XERO_CLIENT_ID, XERO_KEY_STORAGE, XERO_KEYRING_FILE_BACKUP, or XERO_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE are set — they change profile or how keys are stored. Check with echo $XERO_PROFILE $XERO_CLIENT_ID $XERO_KEY_STORAGE $XERO_KEYRING_FILE_BACKUP.

The CLI does not wipe tokens.json when decryption fails; instruct re-login only after the user confirms.

IMPORTANT: Profile and identity verification

Before executing any commands (including read-only operations), you must verify which Xero organisation is active:

1. Always run xero org details at the start of a session and display the organisation name to the user before executing any other commands. Do not proceed until the user confirms this is the correct org.
2. Use -p <profile> explicitly when the user has specified or confirmed which profile/org to use. Do not silently rely on the default profile or environment variables without confirmation.
3. Warn the user if XERO_PROFILE or XERO_CLIENT_ID environment variables are set, as these silently override the default profile and may connect to an unintended organisation. Check with echo $XERO_PROFILE $XERO_CLIENT_ID if in doubt.
4. Never switch profiles or call xero profile set-default without explicit user instruction. Changing the default profile affects all subsequent commands and other tools sharing the same config.

IMPORTANT: Safety rules for write operations

Any command that creates, updates, or deletes data (invoices, contacts, payments, bank transactions, manual journals, credit notes, quotes, items, tracking categories) is a write operation. Before executing a write operation you must follow these steps:

1. Confirm the active profile and organisation. Run xero org details and show the user which organisation will be affected. Never assume the correct org is active.
2. Use read-only commands first to verify IDs and details (e.g. list contacts, invoices, accounts) before referencing them in a write.
3. Show the user a summary of what will be written — include the resource type, key fields, and target organisation — then wait for explicit user approval before executing the write command.
4. Do not proceed with the write unless the user confirms. A simple "yes" or "go ahead" is sufficient, but silence or ambiguity is not approval.

These rules apply regardless of whether the write is performed via inline flags or --file. They exist to prevent accidental creation or modification of financial records in the wrong organisation.

Global flags

Every API command supports these flags:

Environment variables XERO_PROFILE, XERO_CLIENT_ID, XERO_KEY_STORAGE, XERO_KEYRING_FILE_BACKUP, and XERO_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE are also recognised. The xero login command additionally accepts XERO_SCOPES. See Token storage (Linux / WSL / SSH).

Output format for agents

When you run read/list commands and need to parse the results yourself, prefer --toon over the default table, --json, or --csv. TOON (Token Oriented Object Notation) is a compact, LLM-friendly encoding — typically far fewer tokens than JSON — so it uses the context window and processing budget more efficiently.

Use --json only when the user explicitly needs JSON (e.g. piping to jq) or a tool requires it. Use the default table when presenting human-readable output to the user in chat.

xero contacts list --search "Acme" --toon
xero invoices list --toon
xero accounts list --toon

OAuth scopes

By default, xero login requests broad read/write scopes. Override with --scope (space-separated API scopes) or XERO_SCOPES when the user's Xero wants to grant a narrower set — e.g. read-only dashboards.

API credentials created before Xero's March 2026 scope changes where deprecated broader scopes like accounting.transactions and accounting.reports are available until September 2027 may request those scopes via the --scope override as well. xero login will request the granular scopes that replaced these deprecated broader scopes by default.

Required scopes (openid, profile, email, offline_access) are prepended automatically. Users only pass Xero API scopes. Re-login is required after changing scopes.

# Read-only example (adjust to match scopes enabled on the user's app)
xero login --scope "accounting.contacts.read accounting.settings.read accounting.invoices.read accounting.payments.read accounting.banktransactions.read accounting.manualjournals.read accounting.reports.balancesheet.read accounting.reports.profitandloss.read accounting.reports.trialbalance.read accounting.reports.aged.read accounting.budgets.read accounting.attachments.read"

# Or via environment variable
XERO_SCOPES="accounting.invoices.read accounting.contacts.read" xero login

Auth & profiles

# Log in (opens browser for OAuth consent)
xero login
xero login -p my-profile
xero login --scope "accounting.contacts.read accounting.invoices.read"

# Log out
xero logout

# Manage profiles (each profile maps to a Xero OAuth app / organisation)
xero profile add <name>                    # prompts for Client ID
xero profile add <name> --client-id <id>   # inline
xero profile list
xero profile set-default <name>
xero profile remove <name>

Key workflow: find IDs first

Most create/update commands need Xero GUIDs. Always list first to find IDs:

xero contacts list --search "Acme"    # find a contact ID
xero accounts list                    # find account codes
xero invoices list                    # find invoice IDs
xero items list                       # find item codes

JSON file input

Any create or update command accepts --file <path.json> instead of inline flags. Use this for multi-line-item resources. All inputs are validated before being sent to the API.

xero invoices create --file invoice.json
xero contacts update --file contact-update.json

Commands

Contacts

xero contacts list
xero contacts list --search "Acme" --page 2
xero contacts create --name "Acme Corp" --email acme@example.com --phone "+1234567890"
xero contacts create --file contact.json
xero contacts update --contact-id <ID> --name "Acme Corporation" --email new@acme.com
xero contacts update --file contact-update.json

Contact Groups

xero contact-groups list
xero contact-groups list --group-id <ID>

Accounts

xero accounts list
xero accounts list --json

Invoices

xero invoices list
xero invoices list --contact-id <ID>
xero invoices list --invoice-number INV-0001
xero invoices list --page 2

# Single line item inline
xero invoices create --contact-id <ID> --type ACCREC \
  --description "Consulting" --quantity 10 --unit-amount 150 \
  --account-code 200 --tax-type OUTPUT2

# Multiple line items via JSON file
xero invoices create --file invoice.json

# Update a draft invoice
xero invoices update --invoice-id <ID> --reference "Updated ref"
xero invoices update --file invoice-update.json

Invoice types: ACCREC (sales/receivable), ACCPAY (purchase/payable).

Example invoice.json:

{
  "contactId": "<CONTACT_ID>",
  "type": "ACCREC",
  "date": "2025-06-15",
  "reference": "REF-001",
  "lineItems": [
    {
      "description": "Consulting",
      "quantity": 10,
      "unitAmount": 150,
      "accountCode": "200",
      "taxType": "OUTPUT2"
    }
  ]
}

Quotes

xero quotes list
xero quotes list --contact-id <ID>
xero quotes list --quote-number QU-0001

xero quotes create --contact-id <ID> --title "Project Quote" \
  --date 2025-12-30 --description "Web design" --quantity 1 --unit-amount 5000 \
  --account-code 200 --tax-type OUTPUT2
xero quotes create --file quote.json

xero quotes update --file quote-update.json

Note: Xero's API requires contact and date on quote updates even though the CLI allows them to be omitted. If you get a validation error, ensure your update payload includes both fields.

Credit Notes

xero credit-notes list
xero credit-notes list --contact-id <ID> --page 2

xero credit-notes create --contact-id <ID> \
  --description "Refund" --quantity 1 --unit-amount 100 \
  --account-code 200 --tax-type OUTPUT2
xero credit-notes create --file credit-note.json

xero credit-notes update --file credit-note-update.json

Manual Journals

Manual journals require at least two journal lines (debit + credit). Always use --file.

xero manual-journals list
xero manual-journals list --manual-journal-id <ID>
xero manual-journals list --modified-after 2025-01-01

xero manual-journals create --file journal.json
xero manual-journals update --file journal-update.json

Example journal.json:

{
  "narration": "Reclassify office supplies",
  "manualJournalLines": [
    { "accountCode": "200", "lineAmount": 100, "description": "Debit" },
    { "accountCode": "400", "lineAmount": -100, "description": "Credit" }
  ]
}

Bank Transactions

xero bank-transactions list
xero bank-transactions list --bank-account-id <ID>

xero bank-transactions create --type SPEND --bank-account-id <BANK_ID> \
  --contact-id <CONTACT_ID> --description "Office supplies" \
  --quantity 1 --unit-amount 50 --account-code 429 --tax-type INPUT2
xero bank-transactions create --file bank-transaction.json

xero bank-transactions update --file bank-transaction-update.json

Transaction types: RECEIVE (money in), SPEND (money out).

Payments

xero payments list
xero payments list --invoice-id <ID>
xero payments list --invoice-number INV-0001
xero payments list --reference "Payment ref"

xero payments create --invoice-id <ID> --account-id <ACCOUNT_ID> --amount 500
xero payments create --file payment.json

Items

xero items list
xero items list --page 2

xero items create --code WIDGET --name "Widget" --sale-price 29.99
xero items create --file item.json

xero items update --item-id <ID> --code WIDGET --name "Updated Widget"
xero items update --file item-update.json

Currencies

xero currencies list
xero currencies list --json

Tax Rates

xero tax-rates list
xero tax-rates list --json

Tracking Categories & Options

xero tracking categories list
xero tracking categories list --include-archived

xero tracking categories create --name "Department"
xero tracking categories update --category-id <ID> --name "Region"
xero tracking categories update --category-id <ID> --status ARCHIVED

xero tracking options create --category-id <ID> --names "Sales,Marketing,Engineering"
xero tracking options update --category-id <ID> --file tracking-options.json

Organisation

xero org details
xero org details --json

Reports

# Trial balance
xero reports trial-balance
xero reports trial-balance --date 2025-12-31

# Profit and loss
xero reports profit-and-loss
xero reports profit-and-loss --from 2025-01-01 --to 2025-12-31
xero reports profit-and-loss --timeframe QUARTER --periods 4

# Balance sheet
xero reports balance-sheet
xero reports balance-sheet --date 2025-12-31
xero reports balance-sheet --timeframe MONTH --periods 12

# Aged receivables (requires contact ID)
xero reports aged-receivables --contact-id <ID>
xero reports aged-receivables --contact-id <ID> --report-date 2025-12-31

# Aged payables (requires contact ID)
xero reports aged-payables --contact-id <ID>
xero reports aged-payables --contact-id <ID> --from-date 2025-01-01 --to-date 2025-12-31

Tips

• Use --json and pipe to jq when you need to extract specific fields programmatically.
• Only draft invoices, quotes, and credit notes can be updated.
• For multi-line-item creates, always use --file with a JSON payload.
• Tax types vary by region. Run xero tax-rates list to see what's available.
• Account codes are needed for line items. Run xero accounts list to find them.