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Getting Started

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There are better tutorials for Japanese speakers.

What is cli-kintone?​

cli-kintone is the CLI tool for importing and exporting Kintone records. It is suitable for batch record operations.

  • Backup/restore Kintone records
  • Data synchronization between Kintone and other BI platforms
  • Data migration from other systems
Pronunciation

cli-kintone is pronounced "Koo-Ree Kint-Own," and "Kint" rhymes with "hint." It is named after the Japanese sweet 栗きんとん.

Why cli-kintone?​

cli-kintone enhance non-engineers work performance.

Here is a comparison of Web GUI, CLI, and API:

  • Web GUI
    • Low learning cost
    • Easy to operate
    • Difficult to automate
    • Mainly for end users
  • CLI
    • Moderate learning cost
    • Modestly easy to operate
    • Easy to automate with shell scripts
    • Mainly used by IT personnel
  • API
    • High learning cost
    • Application development required to operate
    • High level automation can be built
    • Mainly used by plugin developers

With cli-kintone, non-engineers can automate their routine and regular tasks with a little shell scripting skill.

Try cli-kintone​

This part will walk you through the process of installing cli-kintone and exporting records from the application.

Requirements​

To run cli-kintone, a Kintone subscription with API access is required.

Installing​

  1. Jump to the Releases page.
  2. Download latest cli-kintone ZIP file and extract it.

For more details, see Installation page.

Operation check​

Run cli-kintone with --version option.

./cli-kintone --version

# A version should be printed
# 1.10.0

If you see the version you downloaded, you are ready to go!

Configuring​

To access Kintone from cli-kintone, you need to set authentication information. We recommend setting environment variables to reduce repetition.

Here are the environment variables to set.

KeyDescription
KINTONE_BASE_URLBase URL of Kintone you want to access.
e.g. https://example.cybozu.com
KINTONE_API_TOKENAPI token of the app you want to access
tip

Alternatively, you can set KINTONE_USERNAME and KINTONE_PASSWORD to use password authentication.

export KINTONE_BASE_URL='https://example.cybozu.com'
export KINTONE_API_TOKEN='YourAPIToken'

Exporting record​

Now, it's time. Use the record export command to retrive records from Kintone app.

./cli-kintone --app 123

# Exported records will be printed in CSV format

Next steps​

See Commands section to check all features.