--- description: Set up the Cloudflare CLI for coding agents, and help agents find, inspect, and safely run the right commands. title: Use cf with coding agents image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/cf/agents/og.png?v=99988aee6616b803 --- [Skip to content](#main-content) > Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.cloudflare.com/cf/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Use cf with coding agents Last updated Sep 29, 2026|Copy as Markdown| [View as Markdown](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cf/agents/index.md)| [Agent setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/) Coding agents can use `cf` to work with your Cloudflare account. Commands return JSON and describe their own inputs, so an agent can find and run the right command without prior knowledge of `cf`. ## Set up `cf` for your agent 1. Install `cf` globally so every agent session can run it:npmyarnpnpmbun ``` npm install --global cf ``` ``` yarn global add cf ``` ``` pnpm add --global cf ``` ``` bun add --global cf ``` Inside a project that installs `cf` as a dependency, the global command runs the project's copy. 2. Sign in: ```sh cf auth login ``` Sign-in opens a browser page where you approve access, so complete this step yourself. For agents that run without a person present, refer to [Authenticate unattended agents](#authenticate-unattended-agents). 3. Tell your agent to prefer `cf`. Add this instruction to your user-level `AGENTS.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, or equivalent instructions file: *AGENTS.mdmd* ```md When interacting with Cloudflare, use the `cf` CLI unless the project has a Wrangler configuration file. ``` Projects that still use `wrangler.jsonc` or `wrangler.toml` keep working with Wrangler, while every other Cloudflare task goes through `cf`. You can also ask your agent to do this setup for you: ```txt Install the Cloudflare CLI with `npm install -g cf`. Then add this line to my user-level AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md file: "When interacting with Cloudflare, use the cf CLI unless the project has a Wrangler configuration file." ``` ## Help your agent find commands `cf` has more than 2,900 commands. Instead of reading help for every product, an agent can describe the task, inspect the best match, and then run it. 1. Search for a command by describing the task: ```sh cf cli search "create D1 database" ``` The search runs locally and needs no credentials. Put the task in quotes. `cf cli search` takes the whole task as one argument, and unquoted words after the first fail as unknown commands. It returns up to five matches as a JSON array, best match first. Each match has the command and a short summary. These are the first two matches for this search: ```json [ { "command": "cf d1 create", "summary": "Create D1 Database" }, { "command": "cf d1 update", "summary": "Update D1 Database" } ] ``` 2. Inspect the API request of the chosen command: ```sh cf schema d1 create ``` The JSON result describes the API request that the command sends: `operationId`, `httpMethod`, `path`, `pathParams`, `queryParams`, `hasRequestBody`, and `requestBodyFields`. Each parameter and body field lists its name, its type, and whether it is required. Body fields also include a description. `cf schema` covers generated API commands. For a command's arguments and options, or for a command such as `cf deploy`, run the command with `--help`. Path and query parameters use their API names, such as `account_id`. `requestBodyFields` lists the body fields that the command also accepts as options, under the option names. A field inside an object gets a combined name, such as `read-replication-mode` for `read_replication.mode`, and array fields show the type `string`. For some bodies, the list is incomplete or empty. For these commands, pass the complete body with `--body`, and check the API reference for its shape. 3. Preview the request with `--dry-run`, then run the command without it: ```sh cf d1 create --name my-database --dry-run ``` Root and group `--help` output starts with a reminder for agents to use `cf cli search` first. A command's own `--help` shows its usage as plain text. If an agent types a command that does not exist, `cf` lists the closest matches. ## Read command output Results go to standard output as JSON. Messages, such as the selected zone, and errors go to standard error. When standard output is not a terminal, it contains only the result, so an agent can parse it or filter it with `jq` without extra flags. - **Lists** print a JSON array and return one page. Paging options differ between commands, so check the command's `--help` output. - **Changes that return no data** print nothing to standard output. - **Raw content**, such as an R2 object or an image from a Workers AI model, goes to standard output unchanged. Redirect it to a file. - **JSON output** is indented, whether or not standard output is a terminal. Colors are added only in a terminal. A failed command exits with a non-zero status and prints the error to standard error. ## Run commands safely - **Preview changes.** Add `--dry-run` to print the request as JSON without sending it. Dry runs need no credentials. - **Check for aborted deletes.** In a non-interactive session, a destructive command without `--force` prints `Aborted.` to standard error and exits with status `0`. A successful exit does not mean the resource was deleted. - **Review `--force` before you allow it.** On some commands, `--force` is also an API parameter. For example, `cf workers delete --force` also deletes a Worker that other Workers still reference. - **Use local data where supported.** `--local` works only for a few resources that local development provides, mainly KV keys, D1 databases through `cf d1 raw`, `cf d1 migrations list`, and `cf d1 migrations apply`, and R2 objects. Commands without a local equivalent, including `cf d1 query`, return an error instead of calling the Cloudflare API. For local state, refer to [Local resource data](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cf/projects/#local-resource-data). ## Work in Wrangler projects Caution Do not let an agent run `cf dev`, `cf build`, or `cf deploy` in a project that has a Wrangler configuration file but no `cloudflare.config.ts`. These commands can generate a new configuration that ignores `wrangler.jsonc`, or fail. Migrate the project first. To migrate a project with an agent, ask it to: 1. Preview the migration without writing files: ```sh cf migrate --dry-run ``` 2. Run the migration: ```sh cf migrate ``` 3. Resolve the `TODO(@cloudflare)` comments in the generated `cloudflare.config.ts`, and ask you about any choice it cannot make on its own. The build fails until every required item is resolved. For the full process, refer to [Migrate a Wrangler project](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cf/wrangler/migrate/). ## Authenticate unattended agents Agents that run without a person present, such as in continuous integration (CI), cannot complete `cf auth login`. Set `CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN` instead. The token takes priority over any stored login. For the variables, token permissions, and non-interactive behavior, refer to [Use cf in CI](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cf/ci/). To give an agent separate credentials for one project on your own machine, bind a named profile to the project directory. Refer to [Use named profiles](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cf/get-started/#use-named-profiles). ## Inspect local resources When `cf dev` runs inside a supported coding agent, the development server also prints the URL and main routes of the [Local Explorer API](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/local-development/local-explorer/#use-with-ai-agents). The agent can use this API to read and change the data in your Worker's local bindings, and to query local traces and logs. ## Related resources - [Agent setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/) configures Cloudflare Skills and MCP servers for popular coding agents. - [Use cf in CI](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cf/ci/) covers API tokens and non-interactive behavior. Was this helpful? 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