CLI reference

llp is the command-line interface for the LlamaParse API. Every REST resource is a command group, every operation is a subcommand, and the flags mirror the request fields, so anything you can do with the SDKs you can do from a shell, a script or a coding agent. The CLI is generated from the same API definition as the SDKs and is open source at run-llama/llama-parse-cli.

Install

go install 'github.com/run-llama/llama-parse-cli/cmd/llp@latest'

The binary lands in $HOME/go/bin (or $GOPATH/bin); make sure that directory is on your PATH. Go 1.22 or newer is required.

Authenticate

Set your API key in the environment, or pass it per call with --api-key:

export LLAMA_CLOUD_API_KEY=llx-...

Keys come from the API key page. For the EU region, point the CLI at the EU endpoint with --base-url https://api.cloud.eu.llamaindex.ai (see Regions).

First job

Upload a file, then run a Parse job on it. files create returns the file object; parsing create starts the job and returns it with its status:

llp files create --file report.pdf --purpose parse
llp parsing create --file-id FILE_ID --tier agentic --version latest
llp parsing get --job-id JOB_ID --expand markdown

Use --help on any command group or subcommand for its full flag list:

llp parsing create --help

Command groups

Group	Subcommands	What it covers
files	create, retrieve, list, delete, content, query	Upload files for a purpose (parse, extract, classify, split, sheet, user_data, agent_app), list and fetch them
parsing	create, get, list, cancel, delete, list-versions	Parse jobs, results, and the versions each tier accepts
extract	create, get, list, cancel, delete, generate-schema, validate-schema	Extract jobs and schema helpers
classify	create, get, list, cancel	Classify jobs
split	create, get, list, cancel, delete	Split jobs
batches	create, get, list, cancel	Batch jobs over many files
configurations	create, retrieve, update, list, delete	Saved configurations reused across jobs
webhook-configs	create, retrieve, update, list, delete	Saved webhook endpoints for job notifications
projects	list, get	Projects in your organization
beta:indexes	create, get, list, delete, sync	Index: managed ingestion over your files
beta:retrieval	retrieve, find, grep, read	Retrieval and file search over an Index
beta:chat	create, retrieve, list, delete, get-summary, stream	Chat over an Index

Run llp --help for the complete list; the groups above are the ones most jobs use.

Passing structured options

Nested request fields take a JSON or YAML value. Supply it inline, from a file with the @ prefix, or one field at a time with a dotted flag:

llp parsing create --file-id FILE_ID --tier agentic --version latest \
  --output-options '{"markdown": {"tables": {"output_tables_as_markdown": true}}}'

llp parsing create --file-id FILE_ID --tier agentic_plus --version latest \
  --output-options.images-to-save '[screenshot]'

llp extract create --file-input FILE_ID \
  --configuration @extract-config.json

@file reads the file’s contents, sniffing whether to send them as text or base64; @file://path forces text and @data://path forces base64. To pass a literal value that starts with @, escape it as \@. Flags that upload a file, such as files create --file, take a plain path with no prefix.

Output formats

The default output is indented JSON, coloured when stdout is a terminal. --format switches it:

Value	Output
json	Indented JSON, coloured on a terminal; plain when piped into jq or another program
jsonl	One JSON object per line, for list results
yaml	YAML
pretty	A readable, non-JSON rendering of the response
raw	The raw response body
explore	An interactive viewer for large responses; falls back to json when not on a terminal
auto	The default: json

--transform applies a GJSON path to the response before printing, and --raw-output prints a string result without JSON quotes, which is the combination to use when feeding one command’s output into another:

FILE_ID=$(llp files create --file report.pdf --purpose parse \
  --transform 'id' --raw-output)
llp parsing create --file-id "$FILE_ID" --tier cost_effective --version latest

--format-error and --transform-error do the same for error responses.

Global flags

Flag	Purpose
--api-key	API key, instead of LLAMA_CLOUD_API_KEY
--base-url	API endpoint, for the EU region or a self-hosted deployment
--format, --format-error	Output format for responses and errors
--transform, --transform-error	GJSON transform for responses and errors
--raw-output	Print string results without quotes
--debug	Log requests and responses
--version	Print the CLI version

Using the CLI from an agent

The CLI is a good fit for coding agents: the help text documents every flag, --format json gives machine-readable output, and @file arguments keep large configurations out of the command line. If you would rather give an agent a tool interface than a shell, see LlamaParse MCP.

See also

• Quickstart for the same first job in Python, TypeScript, Go and Java
• API reference for every field each command accepts