Set up Link CLI

Set up and authenticate Link CLI for the user's intended use case. After setup, use the dedicated skill for payment or financial-insight work.

1. Determine the use case

Infer the use case only when the user's intent is explicit:

• Agent payments: buying, paying, checking out, or obtaining a payment credential.
• Financial insights: reading transactions, balances, connected accounts, or spending patterns.
• Both: enabling payments and financial insights.

If the intended use case is unclear, present Both first and explicitly recommend it as the default before installing, authenticating, or choosing permissions:

How do you plan on using Link?
1. (Recommended) Both: agent payments and financial insights
2. Agent payments only
3. Financial insights only

If the user asks for the default, accepts the recommendation, or has no preference, select Both. Otherwise, do not proceed until the user chooses or otherwise clarifies their intention.

2. Check authentication first

Once the use case is known, run auth status as the first Link CLI command. Always do this before auth login, auth upgrade, or any payment or financial-data command:

link-cli auth status --format json

If link-cli is unavailable, install it with npm install -g @stripe/link-cli, then run the status command. Alternatively, replace link-cli in every command with npx @stripe/link-cli@latest.

Common commands/options

• List all commands: link-cli --llms
• List all commands with parameters: link-cli --llms-full
• Get a command's exact schema with --schema. For example, link-cli auth login --schema
• Multi-step commands return a _next action. For example, authenticating returns a _next.command that must be run to complete the flow.
• By default all output is in toon format. Pass --format [json|md|yaml] to change output format.
• Some commands return a verification or approval URL. These must be presented to the user clearly for their action.
• --auth <path> flag to store auth credentials in a specific file instead of the default location. auth login writes to this file; all other commands read from it. Example: link-cli auth login --auth credentials.json --format json

Recommended: Run link-cli --llms to understand all the available commands. The --llms-full output is the canonical reference for parameter names, types, and valid values. Pass --schema before invoking a command to understand its parameters and constraints.

When present, inspect scope and authorization_details for the access required by the selected use case. Source actions appear in an authorization detail with type: "source". If the response contains an update field, run its update_command, then check status again.

• If there is no active session, use auth login.
• If the active session already has the required access, do not start another authorization flow.
• Do not log out merely to add access. Leave broader existing access intact unless the user explicitly asks to replace it with narrower access.

If the user is already authenticated but you need broader access (an additional scope, --source-actions, or --authorization-detail), use auth upgrade instead of auth login. It takes the same flags but, rather than stopping with an "already logged in" message, merges what you request with the current scope/authorization_details and starts a new approval for the superset — so existing access is never dropped. Check auth status first so you know what's already granted. The current session stays valid during the approval and is only replaced once the user approves the new one, so an abandoned upgrade leaves the existing session working.

The token endpoint may omit scope or authorization_details, and environment-provided access tokens may not expose grant metadata. Do not claim unreported permissions are present. If a stored session's grants cannot be verified, use auth upgrade with the required access. Do not replace an environment-provided session without asking the user.

3. Request access for the use case

Use this access mapping:

Map financial-insight needs to source actions:

Request only the actions needed for a specific stated task. If the user asks to set up financial insights generally, request all four. For both, combine the agent-payment scopes with the applicable source actions.

Use login or upgrade based on the status result, a clear client name for the agent or application, and the scopes from the mapping:

link-cli auth login \
  --client-name "<your-agent-name>" \
  --scope "<selected-scopes>" \
  --format json

Replace <your-agent-name> with the name of your agent or application (for example, "Personal Assistant", "Shopping Bot"). This name appears in the user's Link app when they approve the connection. Use a clear, unique, identifiable name.

Change login to upgrade when widening an active session. For financial insights, add one --source-actions <action> flag per required action. Do not pass placeholders literally.

4. Complete user approval

Authorization is a multi-step flow:

1. Present the returned verification_url and phrase clearly to the user.
2. Run the returned _next.command immediately to poll for approval; do not wait for another user reply before polling.
3. Continue only when the result reports successful authentication and the required grants.

The response includes a _next command — run it to poll until authenticated. If your environment cannot relay the verification code while a separate polling command blocks I/O, use inline polling instead by adding --interval 5 --timeout 300 to the initial auth login or auth upgrade command. This yields the code immediately then polls in the same command.

DO NOT PROCEED until the user is authenticated with Link.

If approval is denied, expires, or times out, report that outcome. Do not repeatedly create new authorization flows without the user's direction. Never expose access tokens, refresh tokens, or authentication-file contents.

5. Hand off to the use-case skill

Authentication alone does not authorize an individual purchase and does not answer a financial-data question.

• For purchases and payment credentials, use the create-payment-credential skill.
• For transactions, balances, sources, and summaries, use the financial-insights skill.
• For users who selected both, load the relevant downstream skill for each subsequent task.