Auth

Cue CLI stores two types of credentials to connect you to AI services.

Credential Types

Accounts

Your Cue backend login. Cue supports multiple accounts — useful for separating work and personal use. Used for:

WebSocket connection to Cue servers
Syncing with your phone
Remote agent control
Activity feed, posts, and notifications

AI Keys

Direct API credentials for AI providers:

Anthropic — Claude models
OpenAI — GPT models
Gemini — Google AI models

Each account selects which AI key to use via the provider field.

Storage

Credentials are stored in ~/.cue/auth-profiles.json:

{
  "version": 1,
  "accounts": {
    "cue:work": {
      "email": "me@company.com",
      "endpoint": "https://api.cueos.ai",
      "token": "eyJhbGci...",
      "provider": "anthropic:api"
    },
    "cue:personal": {
      "email": "me@gmail.com",
      "endpoint": "https://api.cueos.ai",
      "token": "eyJhbGci..."
    }
  },
  "ai_keys": {
    "anthropic:api": {
      "type": "api_key",
      "api_key": "sk-ant-..."
    }
  },
  "defaults": {
    "account": "cue:work"
  }
}

Account names follow the pattern cue:<email_prefix> (e.g., cue:john for john@example.com).

Commands

Check Status

cue auth

Shows your current account, selected AI key, and available keys.

List All

cue auth list

Shows all accounts and AI keys with details.

Switch Account

# Switch to a different account
cue auth use cue:personal

# Switch account for specific environment
cue auth use cue:work --env production

Switch AI Key

# Persist to config
cue auth use anthropic:api

# Session only (not saved)
cue auth use anthropic:api --session

# Set for specific environment
cue auth use openai:api --env production

Add Account

cue
/login
# Follow prompts — new account will be added without removing existing ones

Remove Account

cue auth remove cue:old-account

Add New Key

cue auth new
# Interactive setup for Anthropic, OpenAI, or Gemini

Reset All

cue auth reset
# Clears all accounts and API keys

Environment Variables

Environment variables take priority over stored credentials:

# Cue backend
export CUE_ACCESS_TOKEN=eyJhbGci...

# Direct providers
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
export GEMINI_API_KEY=...

Providers

Use --provider to choose how requests are routed:

Provider	Flag	Description
`cue`	`--provider cue`	Through Cue backend (default)
`anthropic`	`--provider anthropic`	Direct to Anthropic
`openai`	`--provider openai`	Direct to OpenAI
`gemini`	`--provider gemini`	Direct to Gemini

# Use Anthropic directly with your local API key
cue --provider anthropic -p "hello"

# Use Cue backend (uses your account's selected key or backend's key)
cue --provider cue -p "hello"

Resolution Order

For Accounts

Environment variable CUE_ACCESS_TOKEN
Environment default (envDefaults[env].account)
Global default (defaults.account)

For AI Keys

Environment variables (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, etc.)
Account's selected provider (account.provider)
First matching key in ai_keys

One-Command Usage

Use --profile to select an account or AI key for a single command without changing your default:

With Accounts

# Post activity as work account
cue --profile cue:work activity "Checked deploy logs"

# Check personal feed
cue --profile cue:personal feed

# Send notification via work account
cue --profile cue:work notify "Build Done" "Completed successfully"

With AI Keys

cue --profile anthropic:api -p "hello"
cue --profile openai:api -p "hello"

This is useful for scripting and automation where you want to use a specific account without affecting interactive sessions.

Auth

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