CLI & MCP Server

The Tightknit CLI is currently in alpha. Commands and options may change between releases. Install with the @alpha tag: npm i -g @tightknitai/tightknit@alpha

The Tightknit CLI gives you command-line access to the Tightknit Admin API. It also includes a built-in MCP server so AI agents like Claude can manage your community programmatically.

Installation

npm (global)
npx (no install)

npm install -g @tightknitai/tightknit@alpha

npx @tightknitai/tightknit@alpha --help

Verify the installation:

tightknit --version

Authentication

The CLI resolves your API key in the following order:

Priority	Source	Best for
1 (highest)	`--api-key <key>` flag	One-off commands, scripting
2	`TIGHTKNIT_API_KEY` environment variable	CI/CD pipelines, MCP server
3 (lowest)	Stored config (`tightknit config set api-key`)	Interactive CLI usage

Create an API key

Go to Settings > Integrations > API Keys in the Studio. Click Create API key, give it a descriptive name, and select the permissions your commands need.Copy the key (starts with sk_) — it is only shown once.

Configure the CLI

tightknit config set api-key sk_your_key_here

The key is stored at ~/.config/tightknit/config.json.Alternatively, set the environment variable:

export TIGHTKNIT_API_KEY=sk_your_key_here

Verify

tightknit feeds list

If your key is valid, you will see a list of your community’s feeds.

Commands

Every command supports --json for machine-readable output and --help for usage details.

Events

Command	Description
`tightknit events list`	List calendar events
`tightknit events get <id>`	Get a calendar event by ID
`tightknit events create`	Create a new calendar event
`tightknit events delete <id>`	Delete a calendar event
`tightknit events update-attendee <id>`	Update an event attendee

Example: list upcoming events as JSON

tightknit events list --time-filter upcoming --status published --json

Example: create an event

tightknit events create \
  --title "Community Meetup" \
  --description "Join us for our monthly meetup" \
  --start-date "2025-06-01T18:00:00Z" \
  --end-date "2025-06-01T20:00:00Z" \
  --location "Zoom"

Feeds & Posts

Command	Description
`tightknit feeds list`	List feeds
`tightknit feeds get <id>`	Get a feed by ID
`tightknit feeds posts <id>`	List posts in a feed
`tightknit posts get <id>`	Get a post by ID

Example: list newest posts in a feed

tightknit feeds posts fd_abc123 --sort newest --per-page 10

Members

Command	Description
`tightknit members add`	Add a member (Enterprise)
`tightknit members check <email>`	Check if an email is a member

Example: add a member

tightknit members add --email [email protected] --full-name "Jane Doe"

Messages

Command	Description
`tightknit messages send`	Send a Slack message

Example: send a message

tightknit messages send --channel C0123456 --text "Hello from the CLI!"

Groups

Command	Description
`tightknit groups add-member <id>`	Add a user to a group

Awards

Command	Description
`tightknit awards assign <id>`	Assign an award to a member

Example: assign an award

tightknit awards assign awd_abc123 --recipient-email [email protected]

Search

Command	Description
`tightknit search query <query>`	Search posts, events, and content

Example: search for posts

tightknit search query "onboarding" --type post --per-page 5 --json

Search is currently in Beta.

Config

Command	Description
`tightknit config set <key> <value>`	Set a configuration value
`tightknit config get <key>`	Get a configuration value

Valid config keys: api-key, default-output (json or table), environment (production or staging).

Global Options

Flag	Description
`--api-key <key>`	API key for this invocation (not persisted)
`--json`	Output as JSON (available on all commands)
`--no-color`	Disable colored output
`--verbose`	Enable verbose output
`-v, --version`	Print the CLI version
`-h, --help`	Show help for a command

Output Behavior

By default, the CLI formats output as a human-readable table. Use --json on any command for structured JSON, which is useful for scripting and piping:

Piping JSON output

tightknit events list --json | jq '.[] | .title'

You can change the default output format globally:

tightknit config set default-output json

Exit Codes

The CLI uses differentiated exit codes for scripting and CI/CD integration:

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success
`1`	General or unknown error
`2`	Input validation error (invalid arguments, bad email format)
`3`	Authentication or authorization error (invalid or missing API key)
`4`	Resource not found

Example: check exit code in a script

tightknit members check [email protected] --json
if [ $? -eq 3 ]; then
  echo "API key is invalid or missing"
fi

CI/CD

Set the TIGHTKNIT_API_KEY environment variable in your pipeline. The CLI skips interactive features (like update notifications) when the CI environment variable is set.

- name: Check membership
  env:
    TIGHTKNIT_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.TIGHTKNIT_API_KEY }}
  run: |
    npx @tightknitai/tightknit@alpha members check [email protected] --json

Shell Completions

Generate tab-completion scripts for your shell:

# Add to ~/.bashrc
eval "$(tightknit completion bash)"

MCP Server

The CLI includes a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, allowing AI agents to manage your Tightknit community through natural language.

Setup with Claude

Add this to your Claude MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tightknit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@tightknitai/tightknit@alpha", "mcp"],
      "env": {
        "TIGHTKNIT_API_KEY": "sk_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

The MCP server exposes 15 tools with read/write annotations so agents can understand the impact of each action:

Tool	Description	Type
`list_events`	List calendar events	Read
`get_event`	Get a calendar event by ID	Read
`create_event`	Create a calendar event	Write
`delete_event`	Delete a calendar event	Destructive
`update_event_attendee`	Update an event attendee	Write
`assign_award`	Assign an award to a member	Write
`list_feeds`	List feeds	Read
`get_feed`	Get a feed by ID	Read
`list_feed_posts`	List posts in a feed	Read
`get_post`	Get a post by ID	Read
`add_member`	Add a community member	Write
`check_membership`	Check if an email is a member	Read
`send_message`	Send a Slack message	Write
`add_group_member`	Add a user to a group	Write
`search`	Search posts, events, and content	Read

Testing

You can test the MCP server using the MCP Inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node $(which tightknit) mcp

API Coverage

All endpoints from the Tightknit Admin API are supported:

Method	Endpoint	CLI Command
GET	`/admin/v0/calendar_events`	`events list`
POST	`/admin/v0/calendar_events`	`events create`
GET	`/admin/v0/calendar_events/:id`	`events get`
DELETE	`/admin/v0/calendar_events/:id`	`events delete`
PATCH	`/admin/v0/calendar_events/:id/attendees`	`events update-attendee`
POST	`/admin/v0/awards/:id/assign`	`awards assign`
GET	`/admin/v0/feeds`	`feeds list`
GET	`/admin/v0/feeds/:id`	`feeds get`
GET	`/admin/v0/feeds/:id/posts`	`feeds posts`
GET	`/admin/v0/posts/:id`	`posts get`
POST	`/admin/v0/members`	`members add`
POST	`/admin/v0/members/check`	`members check`
POST	`/admin/v0/messages`	`messages send`
POST	`/admin/v0/groups/:id/members`	`groups add-member`
GET	`/admin/v0/search`	`search query`

Getting Started

App Guides

Platform

Integrations

Support

Security

Installation

Authentication

Commands

Events

Feeds & Posts

Members

Messages

Groups

Awards

Search

Config

Global Options

Output Behavior

Exit Codes

CI/CD

Shell Completions

MCP Server

Setup with Claude

Available Tools

Testing

API Coverage

Getting Started

App Guides

Platform

Integrations

Support

Security

​Installation

​Authentication

​Commands

​Events

​Feeds & Posts

​Members

​Messages

​Groups

​Awards

​Search

​Config

​Global Options

​Output Behavior

​Exit Codes

​CI/CD

​Shell Completions

​MCP Server

​Setup with Claude

​Available Tools

​Testing

​API Coverage

Installation

Authentication

Commands

Events

Feeds & Posts

Members

Messages

Groups

Awards

Search

Config

Global Options

Output Behavior

Exit Codes

CI/CD

Shell Completions

MCP Server

Setup with Claude

Available Tools

Testing

API Coverage