Installing the CLI

Curio supports automation through a separately downloaded command line tool named curio. The CLI can inspect and modify Curio projects from Terminal, scripts, and AI agents.

Availability and Updates

1️⃣ The Curio CLI is an extra perk for Curio Professional sustainers with either an active Mac App Store subscription or a traditional Curio license within its current update window. If your subscription or update window has lapsed, renew from the appropriate online store.

2️⃣ You are also expected to keep current with Curio CLI and app releases so we can ship timely security and data-integrity fixes, protocol updates, bug fixes, and new features. This is enforced: see Updating the CLI below.

Downloading and Installing

The Curio CLI is a separate download from the main Curio application. Installing the Curio app does not automatically install the curio command line tool.

The Curio CLI installer is code-signed with our Apple Developer ID certificate and notarized by Apple, which means macOS has verified that it comes from Zengobi and is free of known malicious content.

You can install or update the CLI from within Curio using the Curio > Install Curio CLI or Curio > Update Curio CLI menu item.

  • In the website edition, Curio downloads the signed installer, verifies it, reveals it in Finder, and opens it.
  • In the Mac App Store edition, Curio opens the CLI web page so you can download and install it yourself.

Alternatively, download the latest CLI release directly from zengobi.com/curio/cli/download.

Verifying the Install

After installing it, open Terminal and run:

curio --version

The signed installer places the release payload like this:

/
|-- Library/
|   `-- Application Support/
|       `-- CurioCLI/
|           |-- bin/
|           |   |-- curio
|           |   `-- Frameworks/
|           |-- skills/
|           |   |-- curio/
|           |   |-- curio-query/
|           |   `-- curio-mcp/
|           `-- resources/
|               `-- MCPB/
`-- usr/
    `-- local/
        `-- bin/
            `-- curio -> /Library/Application Support/CurioCLI/bin/curio

The CLI stores its update cache in ~/Library/Application Support/CurioCLI/config.json. User-facing CLI preferences live separately in ~/.curio/settings.json; see Settings.

If Terminal still reports that curio cannot be found, make sure the installer completed successfully and verify that /usr/local/bin/curio exists.

Updating the CLI

Important

To ensure robust handling of your project data, you are expected to keep up with both Curio CLI releases and Curio app releases.

To review what changed in recent CLI releases, see the Curio CLI release notes.

The CLI checks for updates automatically once per day before handling normal commands such as query and get. The first such command of the day fetches the latest CLI release metadata and caches it locally; later commands that same day reuse that cached result.

If a newer CLI release is available, the CLI prints an update notice to standard error before handling the request and tells you how many days remain before the update becomes mandatory. For the first 30 days after a newer CLI release is published, the command still runs. After that 30-day grace period, the CLI stops the request and returns an error until you upgrade.

Use this command at any time to refresh the update state immediately:

curio update

If an update is available and the CLI was installed with the signed installer, curio update asks whether to download and launch the installer. Press y or Return to download the installer to your Downloads folder, reveal it in Finder, and open it. Press any other key to leave the installer untouched.

Before opening a downloaded installer, the CLI verifies the package against the SHA-256 checksum in the update metadata, checks its installer signature with macOS pkgutil, requires the Zengobi Developer ID Installer identity, and runs a Gatekeeper installer assessment with spctl. If any verification step fails, the CLI removes the downloaded package and does not open it.

When curio update is run from a script, through redirected input/output, or through an MCP host, it does not prompt; it only reports the update details and download URL.

Some commands remain available even when an update is required: curio help, curio --help, curio --version, curio fields, curio skills, curio settings, curio claude, and curio update.

Each CLI release also declares the minimum Curio app version it requires. If your installed Curio app is too old, the CLI will refuse the request and tell you which Curio version is required.

Next Steps

  • Read Using the CLI for querying projects, reading and updating content, importing and exporting, navigation, settings, command output, and troubleshooting.
  • Read AI Agents to install Curio skills or connect ChatGPT, Codex, Claude, Antigravity, and other MCP hosts.