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Expensify CLI

expensify-pp-cli

Install

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install expensify

Installs the CLI binary and the agent skill for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Copilot, and more. Add --cli-only or --skill-only for one half. Requires Node.

Documentation

File expenses and submit reports to Expensify in one line. Every command an agent should need, with a local cache so searches stay offline.

expensify-pp-cli turns the Expensify web app into a terminal. Log in once, and every filing/reviewing/submitting task that used to require clicking through forms becomes a single command. A local SQLite store gives you offline search, rollups, dupe detection, and missing-receipt alerts that no other Expensify tool has.

Learn more at Expensify.

Created by @mvanhorn (Matt Van Horn).

Authentication

Two ways to authenticate: (1) expensify auth login opens a browser, you log in, the CLI captures your session token — works immediately for all filing/submitting commands; (2) expensify auth set-keys stores your Integration Server partner credentials (get them at https://www.expensify.com/tools/integrations/) — required only for export/admin commands. Most users only need option 1.

Quick Start

# Check auth + connectivity before anything else
expensify-pp-cli doctor

# Capture your Expensify session straight from Chrome — no token paste
expensify-pp-cli auth login --from-chrome

# Pull workspaces, expenses, and reports into the local cache
expensify-pp-cli sync

# File your first expense in one line
expensify-pp-cli expense quick "Dinner at Maya $42.50"

# See the month's total expensed/pending/approved at a glance
expensify-pp-cli damage

Unique Features

These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API.

Filing at thought speed

  • expense quick — File an expense with one line: amount, merchant, and category parsed from a short prompt — no forms, no web UI.

    When a user tells an agent 'I just expensed dinner at Maya for $42.50,' the agent should file it in one call — not walk through six fields.

    expensify-pp-cli expense quick "Dinner at Maya $42.50" --agent

  • report draft — Create a report and auto-attach every un-reported expense from a date range in a single command.

    End-of-month submission turns from 45 clicks into one command.

    expensify-pp-cli report draft --since 2026-04-01 --title "April expenses" --policy YOUR_POLICY_ID

  • expense from-line — Paste a raw bank or card CSV row and the CLI extracts date/merchant/amount/currency and files the expense.

    Reconciling AmEx? Paste a row, file an expense. No copy-paste-copy-paste.

    expensify-pp-cli expense from-line "2026-04-18 DOORDASH*JOES $14.25" --category Meals

Local state that compounds

  • damage — Single-glance summary: total expensed, pending, approved, paid for the current month (or a custom range).

    Agents asked 'how much did I expense this month' get one answer in one call.

    expensify-pp-cli damage --month current --json

  • expense search — FTS5 search over all your expenses by merchant, comment, category, or tag. Regex-friendly.

    Agents asked 'did I expense that Starbucks last month' get an answer in one local query.

    expensify-pp-cli expense search "coffee" --since 2026-01-01 --json

  • expense missing-receipts — Lists expenses without attached receipts so you can catch them before submitting a report.

    Submit-report-and-get-bounced feels bad; surface missing receipts upfront.

    expensify-pp-cli expense missing-receipts --json

  • expense rollup — Pivot-table expenses by category, tag, or merchant for any time range.

    Build your own spending dashboard without burning API budget.

    expensify-pp-cli expense rollup --month 2026-04 --by category

  • expense dupes — Finds expenses that look like duplicates by (merchant, amount, date±window).

    Accidental double-file is a top AP pain point; surface it before submission.

    expensify-pp-cli expense dupes --window 3d --json

Agent-native plumbing

  • expense bulk — File a whole list of expenses in a single Expense_Create request.

    Reach for this when filing many expenses at once instead of looping create — it is one atomic request.

    expensify-pp-cli expense bulk --input rows.jsonl --dry-run

  • report submit — Submit a report and optionally poll until it leaves SUBMITTED.

    Use --wait when a downstream step depends on the report actually being approved/rejected, not just submitted.

    expensify-pp-cli report submit --report-id 1587860702457827 --wait --timeout 1h

Recipes

File a quick expense

expensify-pp-cli expense quick "Lunch at Joe's $18.50"

One line, one call, one expense. Category auto-suggested from your history.

Draft this month's report

expensify-pp-cli report draft --since 2026-04-01 --until 2026-04-30 --title "April" --policy 1234567

Creates a report and attaches every un-reported April expense in a single command.

Submit for approval and wait

expensify-pp-cli report submit --report-id 1587860702457827 --wait --timeout 1h

Blocks until approval arrives — drop this in CI after a closing script.

Find expenses with no receipt

expensify-pp-cli expense missing-receipts --json

Catches receipt gaps before they bounce your report.

Search your offline expense cache

expensify-pp-cli expense search "coffee" --json

FTS5 search over every synced expense — merchant, comment, category, tag — with no network call.

Usage

Run expensify-pp-cli --help for the full command reference and flag list.

Paths & environment variables

This CLI separates local files into four path kinds:

KindContents
configUser-editable settings such as config.toml and saved profiles
dataDurable local data: credentials.toml, data.db, cookies, browser-session proof files, and other auth sidecars
stateRuntime state such as persisted queries, jobs, and teach.log
cacheRegenerable HTTP/cache files

Each kind resolves independently. The ladder is:

  1. Per-kind env var: EXPENSIFY_CONFIG_DIR, EXPENSIFY_DATA_DIR, EXPENSIFY_STATE_DIR, or EXPENSIFY_CACHE_DIR
  2. --home <dir> for this invocation
  3. EXPENSIFY_HOME for a flat relocated root
  4. XDG env vars: XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_STATE_HOME, XDG_CACHE_HOME
  5. Platform defaults matching existing installs

For containers and agent sandboxes, prefer a single relocated root:

export EXPENSIFY_HOME=/srv/expensify
expensify-pp-cli doctor

Under EXPENSIFY_HOME=/srv/expensify, the four dirs resolve to /srv/expensify/config, /srv/expensify/data, /srv/expensify/state, and /srv/expensify/cache.

MCP servers do not receive CLI flags from the host. Put relocation in the host env block:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "expensify": {
      "command": "expensify-pp-mcp",
      "env": {
        "EXPENSIFY_HOME": "/srv/expensify"
      }
    }
  }
}

Precedence matters in fleets: an ambient per-kind variable such as EXPENSIFY_DATA_DIR overrides an explicit --home for that kind. Use EXPENSIFY_HOME or the per-kind variables for durable fleet relocation; treat --home as the weaker per-invocation lever.

Relocation is one-way. Unsetting EXPENSIFY_HOME does not move files back to platform defaults, and doctor cannot find credentials left under a former root. Move the files manually before unsetting relocation variables.

Existing installs keep working because the platform-default rung matches the legacy layout. On the first auth write, stored secrets leave config.toml and are consolidated into credentials.toml under the data directory. Run expensify-pp-cli doctor --fail-on warn to check path and credential-location warnings in automation.

Commands

admin

Integration Server: policy, employee, and rules admin

  • expensify-pp-cli admin cards-list - List domain cards (Domain Cards Getter)
  • expensify-pp-cli admin cards-owners - List card owners (Card Owner Data)
  • expensify-pp-cli admin employee-add - Add an employee to a policy (Advanced Employee Updater)
  • expensify-pp-cli admin employee-remove - Remove an employee from a policy
  • expensify-pp-cli admin employee-update - Update an employee (Advanced Employee Updater)
  • expensify-pp-cli admin policy-get - Get a policy's full config (Policy Getter)
  • expensify-pp-cli admin policy-list - List all policies you admin (Policy List Getter)
  • expensify-pp-cli admin policy-new - Create a new policy (Policy Creator)
  • expensify-pp-cli admin policy-set-categories - Update categories for a policy from YAML
  • expensify-pp-cli admin policy-set-fields - Update report fields for a policy
  • expensify-pp-cli admin policy-set-tags - Update tags for a policy from YAML
  • expensify-pp-cli admin report-set-status - Force a report status transition (Report Status Updater)
  • expensify-pp-cli admin rules-new - Create an expense rule (Expense Rules Creator)
  • expensify-pp-cli admin rules-update - Update an expense rule
  • expensify-pp-cli admin tag-approvers-set - Set tag approvers (Tag Approvers Updater)

category

Workspace categories (for expense classification)

  • expensify-pp-cli category - List categories for a workspace

expense

Create, list, and manage personal expenses

  • expensify-pp-cli expense attach - Attach or replace a receipt on an expense
  • expensify-pp-cli expense create - Create a new expense
  • expensify-pp-cli expense delete - Delete an expense
  • expensify-pp-cli expense edit - Edit an existing expense
  • expensify-pp-cli expense get - Get expense detail by transaction ID
  • expensify-pp-cli expense list - List your expenses with filters

export_resource

Integration Server: export reports to accounting systems (admin)

  • expensify-pp-cli export-resource download - Download a previously generated export file
  • expensify-pp-cli export-resource run - Export reports via Report Exporter (Integration Server)

me

Current user profile

  • expensify-pp-cli me - Get current user profile

recon

Integration Server: corporate card reconciliation (admin)

  • expensify-pp-cli recon - Export reconciliation data for a domain

report

Create, manage, and submit expense reports

  • expensify-pp-cli report add - Add expenses to a report
  • expensify-pp-cli report approve - Approve a report (manager action)
  • expensify-pp-cli report comment - Add a comment to a report thread
  • expensify-pp-cli report create - Create a new report
  • expensify-pp-cli report delete - Delete a draft report
  • expensify-pp-cli report get - Get report detail
  • expensify-pp-cli report list - List your reports
  • expensify-pp-cli report pay - Mark a report as reimbursed
  • expensify-pp-cli report reopen - Reopen a submitted report back to draft
  • expensify-pp-cli report submit - Submit a report for approval

tag

Workspace tags (multi-level, for expense classification)

  • expensify-pp-cli tag - List tags for a workspace

workspace

View workspaces (policies) you have access to

  • expensify-pp-cli workspace get - Get workspace detail
  • expensify-pp-cli workspace list - List workspaces accessible to your account

Output Formats

# Human-readable table (default in terminal, JSON when piped)
expensify-pp-cli category --policy-id 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

# JSON for scripting and agents
expensify-pp-cli category --policy-id 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000 --json

# Filter to specific fields
expensify-pp-cli category --policy-id 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000 --json --select id,name,status

# Dry run — show the request without sending
expensify-pp-cli category --policy-id 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000 --dry-run

# Agent mode — JSON + compact + no prompts in one flag
expensify-pp-cli category --policy-id 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000 --agent

Agent Usage

This CLI is designed for AI agent consumption:

  • Non-interactive - never prompts, every input is a flag
  • Pipeable - --json output to stdout, errors to stderr
  • Filterable - --select id,name returns only fields you need
  • Previewable - --dry-run shows the request without sending
  • Explicit retries - add --idempotent to create retries when a no-op success is acceptable
  • Confirmable - --yes for explicit confirmation of destructive actions
  • Piped input - write commands can accept structured input when their help lists --stdin
  • Agent-safe by default - no colors or formatting unless --human-friendly is set

Exit codes: 0 success, 2 usage error, 3 not found, 4 auth error, 5 API error, 7 rate limited, 10 config error.

Health Check

expensify-pp-cli doctor

Verifies configuration, credentials, and connectivity to the API.

Configuration

Run expensify-pp-cli doctor to see the resolved config, data, state, and cache directories. The platform-default config path is ~/.config/expensify-pp-cli/config.toml; --home, EXPENSIFY_HOME, and per-kind env vars can relocate it.

Static request headers can be configured under headers; per-command header overrides take precedence.

Environment variables:

NameKindRequiredDescription
EXPENSIFY_AUTH_TOKENper_callYesSet to your API credential.
EXPENSIFY_PARTNER_USER_IDper_callYesSet to your API credential.
EXPENSIFY_PARTNER_USER_SECRETper_callYesSet to your API credential.

agentcookie (optional)

If you use agentcookie to sync secrets across machines, this CLI auto-adopts agentcookie-managed credentials with no extra setup. When the daemon writes to this CLI's config, expensify-pp-cli doctor reports agentcookie: detected and auth-status labels the source as agentcookie. Skip this section if you don't use agentcookie - the CLI works the same as any other.

Troubleshooting

Authentication errors (exit code 4)

  • Run expensify-pp-cli doctor to check credentials
  • Verify the environment variable is set: echo $EXPENSIFY_AUTH_TOKEN Not found errors (exit code 3)
  • Check the resource ID is correct
  • Run the list command to see available items

API-specific

  • 403 Forbidden on every command — Your session expired. Run expensify-pp-cli auth login again.
  • 429 Too Many Requests — Integration Server enforces 5 req / 10s and 20 req / 60s. The CLI backs off automatically; if you see this, wait 60 seconds before retrying.
  • export run asks for partner credentials — Export commands use the Integration Server, not your session. Run expensify-pp-cli auth set-keys with credentials from https://www.expensify.com/tools/integrations/.
  • expense quick can't parse my input — Format: <description> <merchant> $<amount>. Example: "Dinner at Maya $42.50". Use --amount/--merchant/--category flags for explicit control.
  • Policy/category autocomplete is empty — Run expensify-pp-cli sync to refresh the local cache.

HTTP Transport

This CLI uses Chrome-compatible HTTP transport for browser-facing endpoints. It does not require a resident browser process for normal API calls.

Sources & Inspiration

This CLI was built by studying these projects and resources:

Generated by CLI Printing Press

For agents: pass /documentation/expensify/agents.md to install this CLI from a prompt.