Quickstart

Get started with Shelve in minutes.

Create an account

Sign up for a Shelve account on Shelve. Or if you prefer to self-host, follow the instructions in the Self-hosting guide. Once you have an account, complete the onboarding process to create your first team (workspace).

Install the Shelve CLI package

pnpm add -D @shelve/cli

yarn add -D @shelve/cli

npm install -D @shelve/cli

bun add -D @shelve/cli

You can also install the CLI globally using the -g / --global flag of your package manager.

Connect the CLI to your account

You will need a token to authenticate the CLI with your account. You can generate a token in your account settings on the Shelve App. Once you have your token, run the following command in your terminal:

shelve login

This will prompt you to enter your token. Once you have entered your token, you will be logged in and ready to use the CLI.

Can I use the CLI with my self-hosted instance?

Before running the shelve login command, you can set the URL of your self-hosted instance in a manually created shelve.json file in the root of your project. The file should look like this:

{
  "url": "https://your-instance-url.com"
}

Can I use the CLI with multiple accounts?

No, the CLI only supports one account at a time. If you need to switch accounts, you will need to log out and log back in with the new account.

Can I use the CLI in a CI/CD pipeline, for example GitHub Actions?

Yes. Create a scoped, expiring API token and expose it as SHELVE_TOKEN in your CI secrets. The CLI reads it directly — no shelve login needed. Pair it with shelve run -- <your command> to inject variables without writing a .env file on the runner.

What if I forget my token?

If you forget your token, you can always generate a new one in your account settings on the Shelve App.

You can now start using the CLI to manage your secrets. Check out the CLI documentation for more information.