The `dg` CLI lets you transcribe files, stream live audio, synthesize speech, analyze text, and manage your Deepgram account from the terminal.

## Prerequisites

- Python 3.10 or later
- A Deepgram API key ([get one free](https://console.deepgram.com/signup))

## Quick Start

```shell
# Install
curl -fsSL https://deepgram.com/install.sh | sh

# Authenticate
dg login

# Transcribe an audio file
dg listen recording.wav

# Synthesize text-to-speech to a file
dg speak "Hello from Deepgram" -o hello.wav
```

## Core Workflows

### Transcribe audio

```shell
# Transcribe a local file
dg listen audio.mp3

# Transcribe from a URL
dg listen https://example.com/audio.mp3

# Stream from your microphone
dg listen --mic

# Pipe transcript to another tool
dg -o json listen audio.mp3 | jq '.full_result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript'
```

### Text-to-speech

```shell
# Generate speech and save to file
dg speak "Hello from Deepgram" -o hello.wav

# Pipe audio to your speaker
echo "Latest headlines" | dg speak | ffplay -nodisp -autoexit -
```

### Text intelligence

```shell
# Analyze a text file
dg read --file report.txt --topics --sentiment --summarize

# Summarize piped text
cat transcript.txt | dg read --summarize
```

### Account management

```shell
# List your projects
dg projects --list

# Create an API key
dg keys --create --comment "ci-runner"

# Check your usage
dg usage
```

Account commands are flag-based. Run `dg keys --help` or `dg projects --help` for the full set.

## Output Formats

The CLI defaults to human-readable output in the terminal. Use `-o` or `--output` to switch formats:

```shell
dg -o json listen audio.mp3   # Structured JSON
dg -o yaml listen audio.mp3   # YAML
dg -o table listen audio.mp3  # Formatted terminal table
dg -o csv listen audio.mp3    # CSV
```

`-o` belongs to `dg` itself, so it goes before the subcommand name. After the subcommand it fails to parse and exits `1`. On `dg speak` the collision is quieter: there, a bare `-o` is the output file path, not a format.

[Agent-friendly mode](#agent-friendly-mode) selects JSON on its own, without `-o`. A piped stdout alone does not trigger it.

For `dg -o json listen`, parse errors and progress output go to stderr, so redirecting stderr leaves stdout carrying the payload:

```shell
dg -o json listen audio.mp3 2>/dev/null > transcript.json
```

Some command-level errors still print to stdout — an authentication failure is the common one — so check the exit code rather than assuming stdout parses.

## Exit Codes

Most command and usage outcomes use these exit codes, so scripts and CI steps can branch on them:

| Code | Meaning                                                                        |
| ---- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `0`  | Success                                                                        |
| `1`  | Command, execution, or usage error, such as an unknown command or invalid flag |
| `2`  | Root-level user interrupt                                                      |

```shell
if dg -o json listen audio.mp3 > transcript.json; then
  echo "transcribed"
else
  echo "failed with code $?" >&2
fi
```

:::callout{intent="note"}
Exit codes are enforced as of CLI `0.3.0`. Earlier versions exited `0` regardless of outcome, so a pipeline that ignored the exit code may begin surfacing failures it previously swallowed. `dg listen --mic` and `dg mcp` currently handle Ctrl-C themselves and exit `0`; do not rely on an interrupt exit code for those commands.
:::

## Agent-Friendly Mode

The CLI auto-detects AI agent environments, including Claude Code, Aider, and OpenAI Codex, and adjusts its behavior:

- Disables interactive prompts
- Defaults to JSON output

To force the mode on:

```shell
CI=true dg listen audio.mp3
dg listen audio.mp3 --non-interactive
```

`--agent-friendly` does something different on a subcommand: it prints that command's parameter documentation as JSON and exits without running it.

```shell
dg listen --agent-friendly
```

## Other Commands

The CLI also includes commands for models, requests, profiles, updates, debugging, starter scaffolding, audio probing, and coding-assistant skills:

```shell
dg models --help
dg requests --help
dg profiles --help
dg update --help
dg debug --help
dg init --help
dg ffprobe --help
dg skills --help
```

## Next Steps

- [Install the CLI](/guides/self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-installation) — More installation methods including pip, pipx, and Homebrew
- [Authenticate](/guides/self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-authentication) — Learn about authentication options
- [Speech-to-Text](/guides/self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-speech-to-text) — Full transcription reference
- [Text-to-Speech](/guides/self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-text-to-speech) — Full TTS reference

## Related pages

- [CLI Installation](./self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-installation.md)
- [CLI Authentication](./self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-authentication.md)
- [Speech-to-Text Commands](./self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-speech-to-text.md)
- [Text-to-Speech Commands](./self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-text-to-speech.md)
- [Text Intelligence Commands](./self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-text-intelligence.md)
- [Account Management Commands](./self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-account-management.md)
- [MCP Server](./self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-mcp-server.md)
- [Shell Completion](./self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-shell-completion.md)
- [Plugin System](./self-hosted-deployments-developer-tools-cli-plugins.md)

# Agent Instructions

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