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name: cli-automation description: "Operate CVAT through cvat-cli for profiles, auth, task/project automation, datasets, backups, frames, auto-annotation, and native functions." metadata: disco-role: operating disable-model-invocation: true license: MIT

CVAT CLI automation

Use this sub-skill when the user needs terminal automation with cvat-cli: profile/config setup, credential-safe command construction, task/project lifecycle commands, dataset import/export, backup/restore, frame downloads, local auto-annotation, native function commands, JSON list output, or shell scripting patterns.

Route first

• Use references/cli-reference.md for exact global flags, command grammar, argument order, deprecated aliases, and command-to-API ownership.
• Use references/workflows.md for copyable end-to-end shell flows and validation checkpoints.
• Use references/troubleshooting.md when a command fails, prompts unexpectedly, leaks auth risk into shell history, has profile/config permission errors, or receives server/API/function errors.
• Use scripts/cvat_cli_command_builder.py to generate quoted cvat-cli commands without executing them.

Safety defaults

• Prefer Personal Access Tokens through CVAT_ACCESS_TOKEN or saved profiles. Do not put token values or passwords into generated command lines, logs, notebooks, or shell history.
• Prefer --profile NAME for repeated automation. It is mutually exclusive with --server-host, --server-port, and --auth.
• If password auth is unavoidable, use --auth USER with PASS set out of band or let the CLI prompt; avoid --auth USER:PASS in scripts.
• Add --org SLUG when operating in an organization workspace; pass an empty slug only when the user explicitly wants the personal workspace.
• For destructive operations (task delete, project delete, function delete), list and confirm IDs first, and preserve backups when recovery matters.

Quick command grammar

cvat-cli <global-options> <resource> <action> <action-options>

Resources are task, project, profile, config, and function. Backward-compatible task aliases such as cvat-cli ls, dump, upload, export, and import exist but are deprecated; use cvat-cli task ... in new automation.

Minimal examples

# Save a server/token profile without exposing the token in the command line.
cvat-cli --server-host https://app.cvat.ai profile create --name prod --set-default

# List tasks as JSON for scripts.
cvat-cli --profile prod --org team-slug task ls --json > tasks.json

# Create a task from local files and print the new task ID.
cvat-cli --profile prod task create "demo" --labels labels.json local image1.jpg image2.jpg

# Export annotations, optionally including images.
cvat-cli --profile prod task export-dataset --format "COCO 1.0" --with-images no 42 annotations.zip

# Download selected frames.
cvat-cli --profile prod task frames --outdir frames --quality compressed 42 0 10 20

If the task is really about Python SDK scripts, dataset format semantics, auto-annotation function implementation, or server deployment, route to sibling sub-skills rather than expanding this CLI skill.