signal-cli

Signal CLI Plugin

Unofficial command-line interface for the Signal messenger. Send/receive encrypted messages, manage groups, list contacts, and more.

Prerequisites

Requires a phone number for registration. First-time setup:

# Register
signal-cli -a +15551234567 register

# Verify (code received via SMS)
signal-cli -a +15551234567 verify 123456

Commands

Version

• signal self version — Print signal-cli version

Messaging

• signal message send -a +ACCOUNT -m "message" RECIPIENT — Send an encrypted message
• signal message send -a +ACCOUNT --message-from-stdin RECIPIENT — Send message from stdin
• signal message send -a +ACCOUNT -m "hello" --note-to-self — Send message to self
• signal message receive -a +ACCOUNT — Receive pending messages (JSON)

Account

• signal account register -a +PHONE — Register a phone number
• signal account verify -a +PHONE CODE — Verify with code
• signal account status -a +ACCOUNT RECIPIENT — Check if user is registered
• signal account list — List all local accounts

Groups & Contacts

• signal groups list -a +ACCOUNT — List groups with members
• signal contacts list -a +ACCOUNT — List contacts

Full Access

• signal _ _ — Passthrough for any signal-cli command (daemon, updateProfile, block, etc.)

Usage Examples

• "Send a Signal message to +15559876543"
• "Check if a phone number is registered on Signal"
• "List all my Signal groups"
• "Receive pending Signal messages"
• "List my Signal contacts"

Installation

# Download latest release
VERSION=$(curl -Ls -o /dev/null -w %{url_effective} https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli/releases/latest | sed -e 's/^.*\\/v//')
curl -LO https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli/releases/download/v${VERSION}/signal-cli-${VERSION}.tar.gz

# Extract and install
sudo tar xf signal-cli-*.tar.gz -C /opt
sudo ln -sf /opt/signal-cli-*/bin/signal-cli /usr/local/bin/signal-cli

Or use the GraalVM native build (no JVM required):

curl -LO https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli/releases/download/v${VERSION}/signal-cli-${VERSION}-Linux-native.tar.gz

Key Features

• End-to-end encrypted messaging: Send/receive via Signal's protocol
• JSON output: All commands support --output json for agent consumption
• Group management: List groups, join, quit, update
• Contact management: List contacts with profiles
• Daemon mode: JSON-RPC interface over TCP, HTTP, or UNIX socket
• Attachment support: Send files as attachments
• Cross-platform: Linux, macOS, Windows (JVM or native binary)