splitwise-cli

A terminal-first CLI for Splitwise with readable tables, structured JSON/YAML output, and built-in skill files for coding assistants.

Links

• npm package: splitwise-cli on npm
• Code repository: michaelschnyder/splitwise-cli
• Splitwise library: keriwarr/splitwise
• Splitwise API docs: dev.splitwise.com

Installation

npm install -g splitwise-cli
# or
npx splitwise-cli --help

Quick Start

# save login credentials
splitwise-cli login token YOUR_TOKEN
# splitwise-cli login oauth YOUR_KEY YOUR_SECRET

# verify current login
splitwise-cli login whoami

# common commands
splitwise-cli friends list
splitwise-cli groups list
splitwise-cli expenses list --from -30d --all
splitwise-cli cache add all
splitwise-cli cache status

Configuration is stored under ~/.splitwise-cli/.

Supported Areas

Area	Summary	Commands	Jump
Login	Manage multiple login credentials and inspect current user	token, oauth, list, status, select, default, remove, validate, whoami	Login
Friends	List friends and balances	list	Friends
Groups	List groups and fetch group details	list, get	Groups
Expenses	Query, create, delete, and import expenses	list, get, add, delete, import	Expenses
Profiles	Manage profile restrictions, active profile, and lock state	list, show, create, edit, select, remove, validate, lock	Profiles
Cache	Export immutable snapshots and inspect offline cache state	add, list, refresh, status, delete	Cache & Offline
Skills	List/install/create assistant skill files	list, path, install, create	Skills

For global log flags, output streams, and debug behavior, see Console Logging.

Global profile selection:

• -p, --profile <name> selects a profile for the current command.
• If the active profile is locked, switching profiles is blocked until the profile file is edited manually.

Global credential selection:

• -c, --credential <name> selects a credential for the current command.
• Resolution order: explicit --credential -> profile credential -> active login credential -> default login credential.

Global offline selection:

• --offline forces cache-only reads and prevents network access.
• Resolution order: explicit --offline -> profile offlineEnabled -> online by default.

Output Formats

Use -o / --output when available.

Format	Use case
table	default terminal view
json	scripts, pipes, automation
yaml	readable structured output

When --output is omitted, commands run in TUI mode by default (readable table layout with an intro line, title-cased headers, and a single summary footer line with items/time/source).

splitwise-cli friends list -o yaml
splitwise-cli expenses list --from -7d -o json

Login

Create login credentials at splitwise.com/apps/register.

Commands

splitwise-cli login token YOUR_TOKEN
splitwise-cli login oauth YOUR_KEY YOUR_SECRET
splitwise-cli login list
splitwise-cli login status
splitwise-cli login select work
splitwise-cli login default personal
splitwise-cli login validate work
splitwise-cli login whoami
splitwise-cli login whoami -o json

Example Response (login whoami -o json)

{
  "id": 12345678,
  "name": "Alex Example",
  "email": "alex@example.com"
}

Friends

Commands

splitwise-cli friends list
splitwise-cli friends list -o json

Example Response (friends list)

Showing friends and balances

Id         Name            Balance
────────   ─────────────   ─────────────
11111111   Alice Example   -12.40 USD
22222222   Bob Example     settled up

• 2 item(s) | 43 ms | source: Splitwise API

Example Response (friends list -o json)

[
  {
    "id": 11111111,
    "name": "Alice Example",
    "balance": "-12.40 USD"
  },
  {
    "id": 22222222,
    "name": "Bob Example",
    "balance": "settled up"
  }
]

Groups

Commands

splitwise-cli groups list
splitwise-cli groups get <groupId>

Happy Path

splitwise-cli groups list
splitwise-cli groups get <groupId>

Expenses

Commands

splitwise-cli expenses list [options]
splitwise-cli expenses get <expenseId>
splitwise-cli expenses add [options]
splitwise-cli expenses delete <expenseId>
splitwise-cli expenses import <file> [options]

Happy Path

splitwise-cli expenses list --from -30d --all
splitwise-cli expenses get <expenseId>
splitwise-cli expenses add -d "Groceries" -a 48.90 -C USD -g Flatmates
splitwise-cli expenses delete <expenseId>
splitwise-cli expenses import monthly.yaml

Core Options (expenses list)

Flag	Short	Description
`--group <id	name>`	-g
`--friend <id	name>`	-u
--from <date>	-f	include expenses on or after date
--to <date>		include expenses on or before date
--max <n>	-m	max rows unless --all is used
--all		walk all API pages
--mine		shorthand for --payer @me
`--involved <@me	id	name>`
`--payer <@me	id	name>`
--query <string>		shorthand key:value query
--output <format>	-o	table, json, or yaml

Date values support ISO (2026-01-01) and relative values (-10d, -2w, -1month, -1y).

Core Options (expenses add)

Flag	Short	Description
--description <text>	-d	Expense description (required)
--cost <amount>	-a	Total cost (required)
--date <date>		Expense date (YYYY-MM-DD or relative)
--currency <code>	-C	Currency code
`--group <id	name>`	-g
`--friend <id	name>`	-u
--notes <text>		Additional notes
`--category <id	name>`
`--payer <@me	id	name>`
--split-equally		Split equally (default)
--user-share <id:paid:owed>		Custom share — repeat per participant

Core Options (expenses delete)

Flag	Description
--yes	Skip the confirmation prompt

Core Options (expenses import)

Flag	Description
--dry-run	Preview changes without writing
--matcher <type>	Duplicate detection: exact (default) or intelligent
--on-duplicate <action>	Action on match: skip (default) or update
--no-cache	Disable cache update after import

Import files are YAML or JSON lists. Two record shapes are supported:

Simplified — group/friend resolved by name:

- description: Dinner
  cost: "30.00"
  date: "2024-01-15"
  currency: USD
  group: Flatmates

Full — explicit per-user splits (requires userId):

- description: Dinner
  cost: "30.00"
  date: "2024-01-15"
  currency: USD
  splits:
    - userId: 123
      paidShare: "30"
      owedShare: "15"
    - userId: 456
      owedShare: "15"

Both shapes can be mixed in the same file. The intelligent matcher tolerates date differences of ±5 days, a single adjacent-key digit typo per date component or in the cost digits, with exact currency match required.

Example Commands

splitwise-cli expenses list --from -30d --all -o json
splitwise-cli expenses list --group Flatmates --mine --from -1month
splitwise-cli expenses list --involved Alice --from -14d
splitwise-cli expenses get 99999 -o yaml
splitwise-cli expenses add -d "Coffee" -a 4.50 --friend Alice
splitwise-cli expenses add -d "Rent" -a 1200 -g Flatmates --user-share 123:1200:600 --user-share 456:0:600
splitwise-cli expenses delete 99999 --yes
splitwise-cli expenses import monthly.yaml --dry-run
splitwise-cli expenses import monthly.yaml --matcher intelligent --on-duplicate update

Example Response (expenses list)

Showing expenses from 2026-06-01 to 2026-06-13

ID         Date         Group/Friend   Paid By       Description              Costs      Category   Share
────────   ──────────   ────────────   ───────────   ───────────────────────  ─────────  ────────   ───────────
99999      6/10/2026    Flatmates      Alex Example  Groceries                48.90 USD  Food       24.45 USD
99998      6/09/2026    Flatmates      Alex Example  Rent transfer -> Jo      650.00 USD Payment    325.00 USD

• 2 item(s) | 71 ms | source: Splitwise API

Example Response (expenses list -o json)

[
  {
    "id": 99999,
    "date": "2026-06-10T10:25:00Z",
    "description": "Groceries",
    "cost": "48.90",
    "currency": "USD",
    "category": "Food",
    "isPayment": false,
    "paidBy": "Alex Example",
    "group": "Flatmates",
    "splits": [
      { "userId": 12345678, "name": "Alex Example", "paid": "48.90", "owes": "24.45" },
      { "userId": 87654321, "name": "Jo Example", "paid": "0.00", "owes": "24.45" }
    ],
    "createdAt": "2026-06-10T10:25:10Z",
    "createdByName": "Alex Example",
    "updatedByName": "Alex Example",
    "deletedByName": ""
  }
]

Profiles

Profiles control what the CLI is allowed to do and can optionally bind a credential name.

Restriction semantics:

• limitExpensesToGroupIds / limitExpensesToFriendIds omitted or null: unrestricted
• []: nobody allowed
• [id1, id2, ...]: only listed ids are allowed

Lock behavior:

• profiles lock is one-way from the CLI (no unlock command)
• lock confirmation is interactive in default TUI mode
• in explicit output mode, pass --yes to confirm lock
• when locked, login updates and profile/credential switching are blocked

Commands

splitwise-cli profiles list
splitwise-cli profiles show <name>
splitwise-cli profiles create <name>
splitwise-cli profiles edit <name>
splitwise-cli profiles select <name>
splitwise-cli profiles validate [name]
splitwise-cli profiles lock [name]

Happy Path

splitwise-cli profiles list
splitwise-cli profiles show default
splitwise-cli profiles create work
splitwise-cli profiles select work

Example: Add Profile Limits

splitwise-cli profiles edit work --limit-expenses-to-groups Flatmates,12345 --limit-expenses-to-friends Alice,67890

Core Options (profiles create|edit)

Flag	Description
`--create-expenses <yes	no>`
`--update-expenses <yes	no>`
`--delete-expenses <yes	no>`
--limit-expenses-to-groups <items>	comma-separated ids/names, none for empty list, null for unrestricted
--limit-expenses-to-friends <items>	comma-separated ids/names, none for empty list, null for unrestricted
--clear-expense-group-limit	set expense group limit to unrestricted (null)
--clear-expense-friend-limit	set expense friend limit to unrestricted (null)
--profile-credential <name>	bind a profile to a credential
--clear-profile-credential	remove profile credential binding
`--offline-enabled <yes	no>`
--preferred-cache-target <target>	preferred cache target: local, user, global
--clear-preferred-cache-target	clear profile cache target preference
--api-endpoint <url>	override the Splitwise API base URL
--clear-api-endpoint	clear the API endpoint override

Lock Recovery

When a profile is locked and an operation is blocked, the CLI prints the exact profile file path. To recover, edit that file and set "locked": false, or remove the file manually.

Cache & Offline

Use the cache command group to export immutable local snapshots and query data offline.

Cache Targets

• local: workspace-local cache under the current working directory
• user: cache under ~/.splitwise-cli/cache (default)
• global: appdata-based cache area

Commands

splitwise-cli cache add expenses --from -30d
splitwise-cli cache add lookup
splitwise-cli cache add lookup --target user
splitwise-cli cache refresh expenses
splitwise-cli cache delete 01hzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
splitwise-cli cache delete --all
splitwise-cli cache list
splitwise-cli cache status

cache add and cache refresh create immutable cache directories. Writes are staged into temporary cache folders and finalized by rename, so incomplete exports are not exposed as valid cache snapshots.

Offline Workflow

# add while online
splitwise-cli cache add all

# read from cache only
splitwise-cli --offline expenses list --from -30d --all
splitwise-cli --offline friends list
splitwise-cli --offline groups list

Offline behavior:

• no HTTP requests are made when --offline is effective
• partial expense coverage returns available rows plus warnings for uncovered date ranges
• missing expense cache produces an actionable error with an example cache add command

Coverage and Refresh

• cache list includes expense coverage windows and a derived coverage status
• cache refresh expenses reuses the latest compatible scope for the same account/profile
• refresh prefers both created_at and updated_at cursors when available and falls back to a bounded overlap window when they are not

Notes

• lookup is stored as separate categories and currencies entities
• expense exports also persist comments and a lightweight groups snapshot for offline name resolution

Skills

Built-in skills are copied into the package and can be installed for supported assistants.

Built-in Skill Names

• splitwise-cli
• splitwise-login
• splitwise-expenses
• splitwise-groups
• splitwise-friends
• splitwise-profiles
• splitwise-cache

Commands

splitwise-cli skills list
splitwise-cli skills path [platform]
splitwise-cli skills install [platform]
splitwise-cli skills create

Supported platform values: claude, cursor, codex, opencode, windsurf, gemini, pi, all.

Example Response (skills list -o yaml)

- name: splitwise-cli
  type: skill
  description: Top-level splitwise-cli command reference and workflow.
- name: splitwise-expenses
  type: skill
  description: Expense listing filters, date parsing, and output behavior.

Console Logging

Logging and progress output are powered by consola.

Global logging controls:

Flag	Description
--log <level>	explicit level: error, warn, info, debug, trace
-v	increase verbosity (-v, -vv, -vvv, -vvvv)

Environment override:

• SW_DEBUG=1|yes|true forces trace-level logging in all modes.

Stream contract:

• Structured payloads (-o json, -o yaml) are printed to stdout.
• Logs, warnings, errors, and progress/status text are printed to stderr.

HTTP client logging:

• Request/response lifecycle logs include method, URL, status code, duration, and attempt.
• Error logs include method, URL, duration, and error message.
• Headers and response/request content are intentionally not logged.

Cache/offline diagnostics:

• add and refresh operations emit cache diagnostics under the cache tag
• debug/trace logging includes refresh strategy and staged batch lifecycle details
• offline expense warnings are emitted to stderr so structured output remains machine-readable

Color behavior:

• Colored logs are shown only in table/TUI mode.
• JSON and YAML modes keep logs uncolored to stay script-friendly.

Icons and progress indicators:

• In TUI/table mode, status lines are icon-first (for example info/success) without the INFO text label.
• TUI progress uses an animated spinner on supported terminals.
• Progress completion uses a success icon when done and an error icon when failed.
• On minimal terminals, icon/spinner output falls back to ASCII-safe symbols.

Examples:

splitwise-cli friends list --log info
splitwise-cli expenses list -vv --from -30d
SW_DEBUG=true splitwise-cli groups get 12345 -o json

Development

npm install
npm run build
npm run dev -- expenses list --from -7d

Packaging workflow:

• npm run build compiles TypeScript only (fast local validation, no skill copy).
• npm run build:package compiles, copies skills to dist/skills, and syncs skill metadata version to package.json.
• npm pack and npm publish run prepack automatically, so published tarballs always contain versioned skills.
• npm run release is a convenience wrapper for npm publish.