Bento
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Bento CLI

Manage your Bento email marketing directly from the terminal.

The Bento CLI gives you 50+ commands for managing your entire Bento account. Search subscribers, import from CSV, manage tags and fields, track events and purchases, create broadcasts and sequences, send transactional emails, manage templates, and more.

Perfect for automation scripts, CI/CD pipelines, multi-account management, or anyone who prefers working in the terminal.

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • A Bento account with API access
  • Your Bento API credentials (Publishable Key, Secret Key, Site UUID)
  • Node.js 18 or later installed on your machine
Learning Computer Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comInstallation

Install the Bento CLI globally using npm or Bun:

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Verify the installation:

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Learning Computer Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comAuthentication

Before using the CLI, you need to authenticate with your Bento account.

1
Get Your API Credentials

Log into your Bento account and go to Team Settings to find your API keys.

You'll need:

  • Publishable Key: pk_live_abc123...
  • Secret Key: sk_live_xyz789...
  • Site UUID: Your unique site identifier
2
Run the Login Command
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You'll be prompted to enter your credentials. They'll be stored securely for future use.

For scripting or CI/CD, you can pass credentials directly:

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3
Verify Connection

Test your authentication by listing your tags:

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You should see a list of your tags. That confirms the CLI is authenticated.

Keep your Secret Key private! Never commit it to version control or share it publicly.

Other Auth Commands

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Learning Computer Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comCommand Reference

Profile Management

Manage multiple Bento accounts with named profiles.

Add a Profile

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List Profiles

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Switch Profile

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Remove a Profile

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Dashboard

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Subscribers

Manage your subscriber list from the command line.

Search Subscribers

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Import from CSV

Import subscribers in bulk from a CSV file:

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CSV Format:

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Import or Update Subscribers

Use CSV import for audience syncs. The CLI has no single-subscriber upsert command.

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For one subscriber with tags or fields, use tag/subscribe/field commands after import, or call the HTTP API:

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POST /fetch/subscribers creates one subscriber and can trigger automations. POST /batch/subscribers imports up to 1000 records without triggering automations.

Manage Tags on Subscribers

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Manage Fields on Subscribers

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field set does not trigger automations. Use field update when you need automation triggers to fire.

Subscribe / Unsubscribe

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Change Email Address

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Tags

View, create, and delete tags for organizing your subscribers.

List Tags

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Create a Tag

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Delete a Tag

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Custom Fields

Manage custom fields for storing additional subscriber data.

List Custom Fields

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Create a Custom Field

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Events

Track custom events to trigger automations and record subscriber activity.

Track an Event

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Track a Purchase

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Amount is in cents (e.g., 4999 = $49.99). The --key must be unique per purchase to prevent double-counting.

Import Events from JSON

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JSON Format:

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Broadcasts

Create and manage email broadcasts.

List Broadcasts

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Create a Broadcast Draft

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Broadcasts are always created as drafts. Review and send them from the Bento dashboard.

Sequences

Manage email sequences and create sequence emails.

List Sequences

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Create a Sequence Email

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Update a Sequence Email

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Transactional Emails

Send individual or batch transactional emails.

Send a Single Email

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Batch Send from JSON

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JSON Format:

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Templates

View and update email templates.

Get a Template

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Update a Template

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Workflows

View automation workflows.

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Forms

Retrieve form submission responses.

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Statistics

Get an overview of your Bento account.

Site Statistics

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Segment Statistics

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Report Statistics

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Skills

Install Bento's official AI agent skill package into tools like Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and OpenCode.

Install Bento Skills

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Install For Specific Agents

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Bento Skills is separate from the CLI binary. Use Skills to guide an AI agent through implementation decisions, and use the CLI for CSV imports, profiles, JSON output, and terminal automation.

Experimental

Experimental commands may change or be removed in future versions.

Validate Email

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Guess Gender

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Geolocate IP

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Check Blacklist

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Content Moderation

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Learning Computer Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comOutput Formats

The CLI supports multiple output formats for integration with other tools.

Default (Human-Readable)

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Outputs a formatted table with colors.

JSON Output

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Perfect for piping to jq or processing in scripts:

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Quiet Mode

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Only outputs errors. Useful for scripts and cron jobs.

Learning Computer Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comSafety Features

The CLI includes built-in safety features for bulk operations:

Dry Run

Preview what will happen without making changes:

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Limit

Process only the first N items:

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Confirmation

Bulk operations require explicit confirmation:

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Sample Preview

Preview a subset of items before committing to a bulk operation:

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Learning Computer Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comScripting Examples

Import Subscribers from Multiple CSVs

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Daily Stats Report

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Tag New Signups

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CI/CD Integration

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Send Transactional Emails

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Build a Sequence from Template Files

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Multi-Account Profile Switching

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Track Purchase Events

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Learning Computer Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comEnvironment Variables

Instead of using bento auth login, you can set environment variables:

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Add these to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc for persistence, or use them in CI/CD pipelines.

Learning Computer Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comTroubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions or contact our support team

Command not found: bento

The CLI isn't in your PATH.

  • Try reinstalling: npm install -g @bentonow/bento-cli
  • Check your npm global bin path: npm bin -g
  • Ensure your PATH includes the npm global bin directory

Authentication failed

Your credentials are incorrect or expired.

  • Run bento auth login again
  • Verify your API keys in the Bento dashboard
  • Check environment variables if using them

CSV import failing

Check your CSV format:

  • Must have an email column
  • Use UTF-8 encoding
  • No BOM (byte order mark) at the start
  • Try --dry-run first to see parsing results

Debug Mode

For detailed output, use the verbose flag:

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This shows the full API request and response for debugging.

Learning Computer Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comQuick Reference

Auth & Profiles

CommandDescription
bento auth loginAuthenticate with Bento
bento auth statusCheck authentication status
bento auth logoutRemove stored credentials
bento profile add <name>Add a new profile
bento profile listList all profiles
bento profile use <name>Switch active profile
bento profile remove <name>Remove a profile
bento dashboardOpen Bento dashboard in browser

Subscribers

CommandDescription
bento subscribers search --email <email>Look up a subscriber
bento subscribers import <file>Import from CSV
bento subscribers import <file>Bulk import or update from CSV (upsert-style)
bento subscribers tag --email <email> --add <tags>Add/remove tags
bento subscribers field set --email <email> -k <key> -v <value>Set a field value
bento subscribers field update --email <email> --fields <json>Update fields (triggers automations)
bento subscribers field remove --email <email> -k <key>Remove a field
bento subscribers subscribe --email <email>Re-subscribe a subscriber
bento subscribers unsubscribe --email <email>Unsubscribe a subscriber
bento subscribers change-email --old <email> --new <email>Change subscriber email

Tags & Fields

CommandDescription
bento tags list [search]List tags (optional fuzzy filter)
bento tags create <name>Create a new tag
bento tags delete <name>Delete a tag
bento fields list [search]List custom fields (optional fuzzy filter)
bento fields create <key>Create a custom field

Events

CommandDescription
bento events track --email <email> --event <name>Track an event
bento events purchase --email <email> --amount <cents> --currency <code> --key <id>Track a purchase
bento events import <file>Bulk import events from JSON

Broadcasts & Sequences

CommandDescription
bento broadcasts listList broadcasts
bento broadcasts createCreate a broadcast draft
bento sequences listList email sequences
bento sequences create-email --sequence-id <id>Create email in a sequence
bento sequences update-email --template-id <id>Update a sequence email

Emails, Templates & Forms

CommandDescription
bento emails send --to <email> --from <email> --subject <text> --html-body <html>Send transactional email
bento emails send-batch --file <json>Batch send transactional emails
bento templates get <id>Get an email template
bento templates update <id>Update an email template
bento forms responses <form-id>Get form responses

Workflows, Stats & Dashboard

CommandDescription
bento workflows listList workflows
bento stats siteView site statistics
bento stats segment <segment-id>View segment statistics
bento stats report <report-id>View report statistics

Skills & Experimental

CommandDescription
bento skills listList available skills
bento skills install [skill-name]Install skills to AI agents
bento experimental validate-email <email>Validate an email address
bento experimental guess-gender <name>Guess gender from name
bento experimental geolocate <ip>Geolocate an IP address
bento experimental blacklist --domain <domain>Check blacklist status
bento experimental moderate <content>Content moderation

Global Flags

FlagDescription
--jsonOutput in JSON format
--quietSuppress non-error output
--verboseShow detailed debug info
--dry-runPreview without making changes
--confirmSkip confirmation prompts
--limit <n>Process only first N items
--sample <n>Show N sample items in preview
Learning Computer Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comGet Help