> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.dittowords.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Installation

> Installation and authentication of the Ditto CLI

## Overview

<Warning>
  The following documentation relates to `v4.x` of the Ditto CLI. To use legacy features with `v5.x`, add the `--legacy`
  flag to your commands.
</Warning>

The Ditto CLI allows developers to access the [Ditto API](/api-reference) directly from the command line. The Ditto CLI updates text directly in local development. Teams can also build workflows with the CLI, including utilizing it in CI/CD.

## Installation

To install the CLI as a development dependency:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash npm theme={null}
  npm i --save-dev @dittowords/cli
  ```

  ```bash yarn theme={null}
  yarn add --dev @dittowords/cli
  ```
</CodeGroup>

After installation, you can get a list of the available commands by running the help command:

```bash theme={null}
npx @dittowords/cli --help
```

<Info>
  **Note:** [npx](https://medium.com/@maybekatz/introducing-npx-an-npm-package-runner-55f7d4bd282b) comes with `npm` 5.2
  or higher
</Info>

## Authentication

The first time you run the CLI, you'll be asked to provide an API key. You can generate an API key in your [developer integrations settings](https://app.dittowords.com/developers/api-keys).

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Using an env variable for your API key">
    By default, your API key is saved to `$HOME/.config/ditto`; the default path can be overwritten by specifying a custom one via the environment variable `DITTO_CONFIG_FILE`.

    The Ditto API key is read from the file at the path stored at `DITTO_CONFIG_FILE` unless it's explicitly provided by the env var `DITTO_API_KEY`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Updating your API key">
    We don't recommend editing the authentication file by hand; if you need to remove a saved API key or swap one key with another, it's better to fully delete the file and then re-run the CLI.

    To change your API key, delete the `$HOME/.config/ditto` file and you'll be prompted for a new key the next time that the CLI executes.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Fetching text

Once you've installed, authenticated, and [configured](/cli-reference/configuration) the CLI, you'll be able to pull down up-to-date text by running the CLI:

```
npx @dittowords/cli pull
```

This will update the string files you have locally in the `/ditto` directory from where you're running the CLI. (For more information on the structure of files pulled by Ditto, see [files](/cli-reference/files))

Because the Ditto CLI updates your string files locally, you can continue to manage it as you would with any other product update (push it to staging, commit changes to a branch, etc.).