CLI Reference

Run dinobase --help for a summary, or dinobase <command> --help for any command.

`dinobase init`

Create the config directory and database.

dinobase init [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--storage`	Cloud storage URL (e.g., `s3://bucket/dinobase/`, `gs://bucket/dinobase/`, `az://container/dinobase/`)

Creates ~/.dinobase/ with config.yaml and dinobase.duckdb. Safe to run multiple times.

With --storage, data is stored in cloud storage instead of locally. See the Cloud Storage Backend guide.

dinobase init                                    # local (default)
dinobase init --storage s3://bucket/dinobase/    # S3
dinobase init --storage gs://bucket/dinobase/    # GCS
dinobase init --storage az://container/dinobase/ # Azure

`dinobase setup`

Launch a local browser GUI for adding connectors (SaaS APIs, databases, files, MCP servers, and custom REST). See the Setup GUI guide for details.

dinobase setup [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--port`	Bind a specific port (default: random)
`--no-browser`	Print the URL but don’t open a browser

Binds to 127.0.0.1 only, opens a browser tab, and blocks until you press Ctrl+C or click Quit setup in the GUI.

`dinobase add <type>`

Add a connector.

dinobase add <connector_type> [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--name`	Custom name for the connector (defaults to type)
`--path`	Path to files (parquet/csv connectors only)
`--sync-interval`	Sync interval (e.g., `30m`, `1h`, `6h`)
`--freshness`	Freshness threshold (e.g., `1h`, `30m`). Defaults: 1h for SaaS, 6h for databases

Connector-specific flags (e.g., --api-key, --connection-string) are passed through.

dinobase add stripe --api-key sk_live_...
dinobase add stripe --api-key sk_live_... --freshness 30m
dinobase add parquet --path ./data/ --name analytics
dinobase add postgres --connection-string postgresql://... --name prod --sync-interval 30m

`dinobase connectors`

List configured connectors, or all available connector types. The deprecated alias dinobase sources still works and prints a deprecation notice.

dinobase connectors [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--available`	Show all available connector types (not just configured)
`--pretty`	Human-readable output

By default shows only your configured connectors. Use --available to see all 100+ supported connector types grouped by category.

`dinobase sync [connector]`

Sync data from configured connectors.

dinobase sync [CONNECTOR_NAME] [OPTIONS]

Option	Default	Description
`--schedule`	off	Run as daemon
`--interval`	`1h`	Default interval for `--schedule`
`--max-workers`	`10`	Max concurrent syncs

dinobase sync                              # all connectors, once
dinobase sync stripe                       # one connector
dinobase sync --schedule --interval 30m    # daemon mode

`dinobase refresh [connector]`

Re-sync connectors to get fresh data.

dinobase refresh [CONNECTOR_NAME] [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--stale`	Refresh only connectors that exceed their freshness threshold
`--pretty`	Human-readable output

dinobase refresh                 # refresh all connectors
dinobase refresh stripe          # refresh one connector
dinobase refresh --stale         # refresh only stale connectors
dinobase refresh --stale --pretty

Without arguments, refreshes all non-file connectors. Use --stale to only refresh connectors past their freshness threshold.

`dinobase status`

Show status of all connectors.

dinobase status [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--pretty`	Human-readable output

`dinobase query "<sql>"`

Execute a SQL query (DuckDB dialect).

dinobase query "<sql>" [OPTIONS]

Option	Default	Description
`--pretty`	off	Table output
`--max-rows`	`200`	Max rows returned

dinobase query "SELECT * FROM stripe.customers LIMIT 5" --pretty
dinobase query "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM hubspot.contacts"

`dinobase describe <table>`

Describe a table’s columns, types, annotations, and sample data.

dinobase describe <table> [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--pretty`	Human-readable output

table can be schema.table or just table (searches all schemas).

`dinobase info`

Show database overview for agents. Outputs the same text used as MCP server instructions.

dinobase info

No options. Always plain text.

`dinobase serve`

Start the MCP server (stdio transport).

dinobase serve [OPTIONS]

Option	Default	Description
`--sync`	off	Enable background sync
`--sync-interval`	`1h`	Sync interval

dinobase serve                              # MCP server only
dinobase serve --sync --sync-interval 30m   # with background sync

`dinobase confirm <mutation_id>`

Confirm and execute a pending mutation.

dinobase confirm <mutation_id>

Mutations submitted via dinobase query "UPDATE ..." return a preview with a mutation_id. Use this command to execute it.

dinobase query "UPDATE stripe.customers SET name = 'Acme' WHERE id = 'cus_123'"
# Returns preview with mutation_id
dinobase confirm mut_abc123def456

`dinobase cancel <mutation_id>`

Cancel a pending mutation without executing it.

dinobase cancel <mutation_id>

`dinobase auth <type>`

Connect a connector via OAuth (browser-based authorization).

dinobase auth <connector_type> [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--name`	Custom name for the connector (defaults to type)
`--proxy-url`	OAuth proxy URL (or set `DINOBASE_OAUTH_PROXY_URL`)

Opens your browser to authorize Dinobase to access the upstream service. Tokens are stored locally and refreshed automatically on sync.

dinobase auth hubspot
dinobase auth salesforce --name my_salesforce

`dinobase mcp-config [client]`

Print MCP configuration for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or Cursor.

dinobase mcp-config [CLIENT]

Argument	Description
`claude-desktop`	Config for `~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
`claude-code`	Config for `.mcp.json` (project root)
`cursor`	Config for `.cursor/mcp.json` (project root)

Without arguments, prints configs for all three clients.

dinobase mcp-config                # show all configs
dinobase mcp-config claude-desktop # Claude Desktop only
dinobase mcp-config claude-code    # Claude Code only
dinobase mcp-config cursor         # Cursor only

`dinobase mcp`

Interact with connected MCP servers. MCP server data is automatically synced into DuckDB tables (schema: server name, table: tool name), so prefer dinobase query for reads. Use mcp call for tools that need arguments or for write operations.

`dinobase mcp servers`

List all connected MCP servers with their tool counts.

dinobase mcp servers [--pretty]

`dinobase mcp instructions <server>`

Show a server’s info and usage instructions.

dinobase mcp instructions <server> [--pretty]

dinobase mcp instructions posthog_mcp

`dinobase mcp info <server>[.tool]`

List all tools on a server, or show the full schema (parameters, types) for one tool.

dinobase mcp info <server>[.tool] [--pretty]

dinobase mcp info posthog_mcp           # list all tools
dinobase mcp info posthog_mcp.list_projects  # show one tool's schema

`dinobase mcp search "<pattern>"`

Regex search tool names and descriptions across all connected MCP servers.

dinobase mcp search "<pattern>" [--pretty]

dinobase mcp search "dashboard"
dinobase mcp search "list.*"

`dinobase mcp call <server.tool> [args_json]`

Call a tool on a connected MCP server with optional JSON arguments.

dinobase mcp call <server.tool> ['{"arg": "value"}'] [--pretty]

dinobase mcp call posthog_mcp.list_projects
dinobase mcp call posthog_mcp.dashboard-get '{"id": 1118504}'

`dinobase connector create <name>`

Scaffold a local custom connector YAML config.

dinobase connector create <name> [OPTIONS]

REST connector options:

Option	Description
`--url`	Base URL for the API
`--auth-type`	Authentication type: `bearer`, `http_basic`, `api_key_header` (default: `bearer`)
`--endpoint`	Endpoint path (e.g., `projects/123/feature_flags/`)
`--data-selector`	JSON path to data array (default: `$` for root)
`--mode`	Fetch mode: `live`, `sync`, `auto` (default: `auto`)

MCP connector options:

Option	Description
`--transport`	MCP transport type: `stdio`, `sse`, `streamable_http`
`--command`	Full command string for stdio transport (e.g., `npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /data`)
`--url`	Server URL for `sse` and `streamable_http` transports
`--mode`	Fetch mode: `live`, `sync` (default: `live`)

Creates ~/.dinobase/connectors/<name>.yaml. See Custom REST Connectors and MCP Server Connectors.

# REST connector
dinobase connector create posthog_flags \
  --url "https://app.posthog.com/api/" \
  --endpoint "projects/123/feature_flags/" \
  --data-selector results

# MCP connector (stdio)
dinobase connector create posthog_mcp \
  --transport stdio \
  --command "npx -y @posthog/mcp-server"

# MCP connector (SSE)
dinobase connector create my_server \
  --transport sse \
  --url "https://server/sse"

`dinobase connector list`

List all local custom connectors.

dinobase connector list [--pretty]

`dinobase connector validate <name>`

Validate a local connector YAML config for required fields and credential placeholders.

dinobase connector validate my_api

`dinobase connector edit <name>`

Open a local connector config in $EDITOR.

dinobase connector edit my_api

Output format

All data commands (status, query, describe) output JSON by default, optimized for agent consumption. Add --pretty for human-readable tables.