| name | pp-etherpad | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| description | Printing Press CLI for Etherpad. Etherpad is a real-time collaborative editor scalable to thousands of simultaneous real time users. It provides full... | |||||||
| author | John McLear | |||||||
| license | Apache-2.0 | |||||||
| argument-hint | <command> [args] | install cli|mcp | |||||||
| allowed-tools | Read Bash | |||||||
| metadata |
|
This skill drives the etherpad-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:
- Install via the Printing Press installer:
npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install etherpad --cli-only
- Verify:
etherpad-pp-cli --version - Ensure
$GOPATH/bin(or$HOME/go/bin) is on$PATH.
If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.3 or newer):
go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/productivity/etherpad/cmd/etherpad-pp-cli@latestIf --version reports "command not found" after install, the install step did not put the binary on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.
anonymize-author — Manage anonymize author
etherpad-pp-cli anonymize-author— anonymizes an author across all their edits
append-chat-message — Manage append chat message
etherpad-pp-cli append-chat-message— appends a chat message
append-text — Manage append text
etherpad-pp-cli append-text— appends text to a pad
check-token — Manage check token
etherpad-pp-cli check-token— returns ok when the current API token is valid
compact-pad — Manage compact pad
etherpad-pp-cli compact-pad— compacts a pad's revision history, keeping recent revisions only
copy-pad — Manage copy pad
etherpad-pp-cli copy-pad— copies a pad with full history and chat
copy-pad-without-history — Manage copy pad without history
etherpad-pp-cli copy-pad-without-history— copies a pad without history or chat
create-author — Manage create author
etherpad-pp-cli create-author— creates a new author
create-author-if-not-exists-for — Manage create author if not exists for
etherpad-pp-cli create-author-if-not-exists-for— this functions helps you to map your application author ids to Etherpad author ids
create-diff-html — Manage create diff html
etherpad-pp-cli create-diff-html— returns an HTML diff between two revisions of a pad
create-group — Manage create group
etherpad-pp-cli create-group— creates a new group
create-group-if-not-exists-for — Manage create group if not exists for
etherpad-pp-cli create-group-if-not-exists-for— this functions helps you to map your application group ids to Etherpad group ids
create-group-pad — Manage create group pad
etherpad-pp-cli create-group-pad— creates a new pad in this group
create-pad — Manage create pad
etherpad-pp-cli create-pad— creates a new (non-group) pad. Note that if you need to create a group Pad, you should call createGroupPad
create-session — Manage create session
etherpad-pp-cli create-session— creates a new session. validUntil is an unix timestamp in seconds
delete-group — Manage delete group
etherpad-pp-cli delete-group— deletes a group
delete-pad — Manage delete pad
etherpad-pp-cli delete-pad— deletes a pad
delete-session — Manage delete session
etherpad-pp-cli delete-session— deletes a session
get-attribute-pool — Manage get attribute pool
etherpad-pp-cli get-attribute-pool— returns the attribute pool of a pad
get-author-name — Manage get author name
etherpad-pp-cli get-author-name— Returns the Author Name of the author
get-chat-head — Manage get chat head
etherpad-pp-cli get-chat-head— returns the chatHead (chat-message) of the pad
get-chat-history — Manage get chat history
etherpad-pp-cli get-chat-history— returns the chat history
get-html — Manage get html
etherpad-pp-cli get-html— returns the text of a pad formatted as HTML
get-last-edited — Manage get last edited
etherpad-pp-cli get-last-edited— returns the timestamp of the last revision of the pad
get-pad-id — Manage get pad id
etherpad-pp-cli get-pad-id— returns the read-write pad ID for a given read-only pad ID
get-public-status — Manage get public status
etherpad-pp-cli get-public-status— return true of false
get-read-only-id — Manage get read only id
etherpad-pp-cli get-read-only-id— returns the read only link of a pad
get-revision-changeset — Manage get revision changeset
etherpad-pp-cli get-revision-changeset— returns the changeset at a given revision of a pad
get-revisions-count — Manage get revisions count
etherpad-pp-cli get-revisions-count— returns the number of revisions of this pad
get-saved-revisions-count — Manage get saved revisions count
etherpad-pp-cli get-saved-revisions-count— returns the number of saved revisions of a pad
get-session-info — Manage get session info
etherpad-pp-cli get-session-info— returns information about a session
get-stats — Manage get stats
etherpad-pp-cli get-stats— returns server-wide statistics
get-text — Manage get text
etherpad-pp-cli get-text— returns the text of a pad
list-all-groups — Manage list all groups
etherpad-pp-cli list-all-groups— returns the IDs of all groups on this server
list-all-pads — Manage list all pads
etherpad-pp-cli list-all-pads— list all the pads
list-authors-of-pad — Manage list authors of pad
etherpad-pp-cli list-authors-of-pad— returns an array of authors who contributed to this pad
list-pads — Manage list pads
etherpad-pp-cli list-pads— returns all pads of this group
list-pads-of-author — Manage list pads of author
etherpad-pp-cli list-pads-of-author— returns an array of all pads this author contributed to
list-saved-revisions — Manage list saved revisions
etherpad-pp-cli list-saved-revisions— returns the list of saved revisions of a pad
list-sessions-of-author — Manage list sessions of author
etherpad-pp-cli list-sessions-of-author— returns all sessions of an author
list-sessions-of-group — Manage list sessions of group
etherpad-pp-cli list-sessions-of-group— returns all sessions of a group
move-pad — Manage move pad
etherpad-pp-cli move-pad— moves a pad — copy then delete the original
pad-users — Manage pad users
etherpad-pp-cli pad-users— returns the list of users that are currently editing this pad
pad-users-count — Manage pad users count
etherpad-pp-cli pad-users-count— returns the number of user that are currently editing this pad
restore-revision — Manage restore revision
etherpad-pp-cli restore-revision— restores a pad to a specific revision
save-revision — Manage save revision
etherpad-pp-cli save-revision— saves a revision of a pad
send-clients-message — Manage send clients message
etherpad-pp-cli send-clients-message— sends a custom message of type msg to the pad
set-html — Manage set html
etherpad-pp-cli set-html— sets the text of a pad with HTML
set-public-status — Manage set public status
etherpad-pp-cli set-public-status— sets a boolean for the public status of a pad
set-text — Manage set text
etherpad-pp-cli set-text— sets the text of a pad
When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:
etherpad-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"which resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code 0 means at least one match; exit code 2 means no confident match — fall back to --help or use a narrower query.
Store your access token:
etherpad-pp-cli auth set-token YOUR_TOKEN_HEREOr set ETHERPAD_OPENID as an environment variable.
Run etherpad-pp-cli doctor to verify setup.
Add --agent to any command. Expands to: --json --compact --no-input --no-color --yes.
-
Pipeable — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr
-
Filterable —
--selectkeeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:etherpad-pp-cli anonymize-author --agent --select id,name,status
-
Previewable —
--dry-runshows the request without sending -
Offline-friendly — sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
-
Non-interactive — never prompts, every input is a flag
-
Explicit retries — use
--idempotentonly when an already-existing create should count as success
Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:
{
"meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
"results": <data>
}Parse .results for data and .meta.source to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable N results (live) summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal — piped/agent consumers get pure JSON on stdout.
When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:
etherpad-pp-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
etherpad-pp-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
etherpad-pp-cli feedback list --json --limit 10
Entries are stored locally at ~/.etherpad-pp-cli/feedback.jsonl. They are never POSTed unless ETHERPAD_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT is set AND either --send is passed or ETHERPAD_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true. Default behavior is local-only.
Write what surprised you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.
Every command accepts --deliver <sink>. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:
| Sink | Effect |
|---|---|
stdout |
Default; write to stdout only |
file:<path> |
Atomically write output to <path> (tmp + rename) |
webhook:<url> |
POST the output body to the URL (application/json or application/x-ndjson when --compact) |
Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.
A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled agent calls the same command every run with the same configuration - HeyGen's "Beacon" pattern.
etherpad-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
etherpad-pp-cli --profile briefing anonymize-author
etherpad-pp-cli profile list --json
etherpad-pp-cli profile show briefing
etherpad-pp-cli profile delete briefing --yes
Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults. agent-context lists all available profiles under available_profiles so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Success |
| 2 | Usage error (wrong arguments) |
| 3 | Resource not found |
| 4 | Authentication required |
| 5 | API error (upstream issue) |
| 7 | Rate limited (wait and retry) |
| 10 | Config error |
Parse $ARGUMENTS:
- Empty,
help, or--help→ showetherpad-pp-cli --helpoutput - Starts with
install→ ends withmcp→ MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above - Anything else → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with
--agent)
Install the MCP binary from this CLI's published public-library entry or pre-built release, then register it:
claude mcp add etherpad-pp-mcp -- etherpad-pp-mcpVerify: claude mcp list
- Check if installed:
which etherpad-pp-cliIf not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill). - Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.
- Execute with the
--agentflag:etherpad-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent
- If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help:
etherpad-pp-cli <command> --help.