Install and authenticate

Authenticate the CLI so commands run under your org’s policy and audit trail.

Steps

Obtain credentials

Create or rotate an API key in Account Settings — Tokens and API keys. Store it in a secret manager or local env file that is not committed.

Install the CLI

Recommended — isolated install with automatic PATH setup:


pipx install exemplar-cli

Other options:


pip install exemplar-cli
# or
pip install --user exemplar-cli

Set the API key


export EXEMPLAR_API_KEY=eis_...

Optional:

Variable	Purpose
`EXEMPLAR_BASE_URL`	API host override
`EXEMPLAR_ORGANIZATION_ID`	Org override for JWT auth
`EXEMPLAR_SKILLS_TARGET`	Default skill install preset: `cursor`, `cursor-global`, `claude`, `claude-global`

Verify


exemplar doctor

If you see command not found: exemplar, the package is installed but its bin/ directory is not on your PATH. exemplar doctor prints the exact fix. Common cases:

Install method	Scripts directory
`pipx install`	`~/.local/bin` (pipx adds this automatically)
python.org macOS	`/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.x/bin`
`pip install --user`	`~/Library/Python/3.x/bin` (macOS) or `~/.local/bin` (Linux)

Open a new terminal after changing shell profile files.

Common commands
SDK install and authenticate