ClickUp CLI (clickup)
Use the clickup CLI instead of raw ClickUp API calls. It handles authentication, git integration, fuzzy status matching, and custom fields automatically.
When to Use
- •User asks to create, edit, view, or search ClickUp tasks
- •User wants to check sprint status or recent tasks
- •User needs to add comments, link PRs/branches, or manage task statuses
- •User mentions ClickUp task IDs (e.g.,
CU-abc123,86abc123) - •User asks about their ClickUp inbox or mentions
Authentication
clickup auth login # Authenticate with API token clickup auth status # Check auth status
Configuration is stored in ~/.config/clickup/config.yml. Supports per-directory defaults for space, team, and folder.
Task Management
View & Search
# View a task (auto-detects from git branch if no ID given) clickup task view clickup task view CU-abc123 # Search tasks by name (supports fuzzy matching) clickup task search "login bug" clickup task search "login bug" --exact # Exact matches only # Recent tasks (excludes archived folders) clickup task recent clickup task recent --sprint # Only current sprint tasks # List tasks in a specific list clickup task list --list-id 12345 # Task activity/comment history clickup task activity CU-abc123
Create & Edit
IMPORTANT: When creating a task, fill in ALL applicable fields. Do not create bare tasks with just a name. Ask the user for any information you don't already have. A well-created task should include as many of these as possible:
- •
--name— task name (required) - •
--descriptionor--markdown-description— clear description of the work - •
--status— initial status (e.g., "open", "in progress") - •
--priority— 1=Urgent, 2=High, 3=Normal, 4=Low - •
--assignee— user ID(s) for who should work on it - •
--tags— relevant tags (repeatable) - •
--due-date— deadline (YYYY-MM-DD) - •
--start-date— when work should begin (YYYY-MM-DD) - •
--time-estimate— estimated effort (e.g., "2h", "4h", "1d") - •
--points— sprint/story points - •
--parent— parent task ID if this is a subtask - •
--links-to— related task ID - •
--type— 0=task, 1=milestone - •
--field "Name=value"— custom fields (repeatable)
After creating a task, consider adding checklists for acceptance criteria or subtasks:
clickup task checklist add <task-id> "Acceptance Criteria" clickup task checklist item add <checklist-id> "Unit tests pass" clickup task checklist item add <checklist-id> "Code reviewed"
Example of a well-populated task creation:
clickup task create --list-id 12345 \ --name "Fix login timeout on slow connections" \ --markdown-description "Users on slow 3G connections get a timeout error..." \ --status "open" \ --priority 2 \ --assignee 12345678 \ --tags "bug" --tags "auth" \ --due-date 2025-03-01 \ --start-date 2025-02-20 \ --time-estimate 4h \ --points 3
# Edit a task (auto-detects from git branch) clickup task edit --status "in progress" --priority 2 clickup task edit CU-abc123 --field "Environment=production" clickup task edit --due-date 2025-03-01 --time-estimate 4h # Custom fields clickup task edit CU-abc123 --field "Environment=production" clickup task edit CU-abc123 --clear-field "Environment" clickup field list --list-id 12345 # Discover available fields
Status Management
# Set status (supports fuzzy matching: "review" matches "code review") clickup status set "in progress" clickup status set "in progress" CU-abc123 # List available statuses clickup status list clickup status list --space 12345
Status values are fuzzy-matched: exact match > contains match > fuzzy match. If ambiguous, the CLI picks the most specific match and prints a warning.
Sprints
# Show current sprint tasks clickup sprint current # List all sprints in a folder clickup sprint list
Comments
# Add a comment (supports @mentions — resolves usernames to ClickUp user tags) clickup comment add CU-abc123 "Looks good, @alice please review" # List comments (newest first — .[0] is most recent, .[-1] is oldest) clickup comment list CU-abc123 # Edit/delete comments (you can only edit comments you authored) clickup comment edit <comment-id> "Updated text" clickup comment delete <comment-id>
Git & GitHub Integration
The CLI auto-detects task IDs from git branch names. Branch naming convention: feature/CU-abc123-description or CU-abc123/description.
# Link a GitHub PR to a ClickUp task clickup link pr clickup link pr --task CU-abc123 # Link a specific PR number to a task (useful after merging) clickup link pr 42 --task CU-abc123 # Link current branch clickup link branch # Link a commit clickup link commit # Sync ClickUp task info to GitHub PR description clickup link sync clickup link sync --task CU-abc123 clickup link sync 42 --repo owner/repo --task CU-abc123
Links are stored in the task's markdown description as rich-text with clickable URLs.
Note: When --task is specified but no PR number, the CLI first tries the current branch's PR, then searches for PRs matching the task ID in their branch name. This works even after merging when the feature branch is deleted.
Time Tracking
# Log time to a task (auto-detects from git branch) clickup task time log --duration 2h clickup task time log 86abc123 --duration 1h30m --description "Implemented auth flow" # Log time for a specific date clickup task time log --duration 45m --date 2025-01-15 # Log billable time clickup task time log --duration 3h --billable # List time entries for a task clickup task time list clickup task time list 86abc123 clickup task time list 86abc123 --json
Inbox
# Show @mentions from the last 7 days (scans comments and task descriptions) clickup inbox clickup inbox --days 30 clickup inbox --limit 500 # Scan more tasks in busy workspaces
Workspace
# List workspace members clickup member list # List/select spaces clickup space list clickup space select # Set default space
Common Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
--json | Output as JSON |
--jq <expr> | Filter JSON with jq expression |
--template <tmpl> | Format with Go template |
Key Behaviors
- •Auto-detection: Most commands auto-detect task ID from the current git branch
- •Fuzzy status matching: Status values are fuzzy-matched against available statuses
- •Status validation:
task createandtask editvalidate statuses against the space's configured statuses - •Archive filtering:
task recentautomatically excludes tasks from archived folders - •Custom IDs: Supports both native IDs and custom IDs (e.g.,
CU-abc123) - •@mentions: Comment add resolves
@usernameto real ClickUp user tags