Mesh CLI

Using the Mesh CLI

Add your key, send your first prompt, switch models, and let the CLI write and run code.
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Once the CLI is installed, you’re one API key away from your first response. Commands are identical on macOS and Windows — the only difference is how you paste (⌘+V on Mac, right-click in PowerShell).

1. Get your API key

This is a one-time step.

  1. Go to app.meshapi.ai and sign in (or create an account).
  2. In the left menu, click API Keys → Create key and name it anything.
  3. Click the copy icon. The key starts with rsk_. Keep it private — treat it like a password.

2. First launch

  1. In Terminal (Mac) or PowerShell (Windows), run:
$meshapi
  1. It asks for your key once. Paste it and press Enter.

Nothing appears on screen while you paste the key — that’s normal, it’s hidden for security.

  1. You land on the home screen, which shows your version, current folder (cwd), and the active model:
+ meshapi 0.5.2
cwd:    /private/tmp/mesh-demo
model:  openai/gpt-4o-mini
route:  off
type /help for commands, /exit to quit

3. Say hello

Type a message and press Enter:

hello

The answer streams in. The status line under every answer shows the model used, tokens in→out, cost, and time:

Hello! How can I assist you today?
gpt-4o-mini · 2024-07-18 · 1979→10 tok · 2.4s

4. Switch models

Over 1000 models are available.

  • Type /model and start typing a name — a suggestion menu pops up as you type (e.g. qw shows all Qwen models). Pick with the arrow keys + Enter.
  • Or type it in full:
/model openai/gpt-4o-mini
  • To browse the full catalog with prices, type /models (or filter, e.g. /models claude). Prices are shown per 1 million tokens.

Don’t want to pick manually? Turn on automatic routing with /route auto and Mesh chooses the best model for each prompt. See Auto Routing.

5. Let it write and run code

The CLI can create and run files for you. Try:

write a hello.py file that prints Hello Mesh, then run it

Before touching your computer, the CLI asks permission and shows exactly what it wants to do:

○ approve tool call?  write_file: hello.py (19 chars)
→ /private/tmp/mesh-demo/hello.py
print('Hello Mesh')
y (yes) / a (always for write_file this session) / n (no) ›

Your three choices:

  • y — yes, this once.
  • a — yes, and don’t ask again for this tool for the rest of the session.
  • n — no.

Press y to write the file, then y again when it asks to run it. The CLI runs the file and shows the output:

$ python3 hello.py
Hello Mesh
✓ exit 0

How much the CLI can do without asking depends on the current permission mode — see Commands & permission modes.

Next step

Learn the commands and permission modes you’ll use every day.