---
title: Inso CLI
description: This page is an introduction to Inso CLI, a command line tool for Insomnia.
url: "/inso-cli/"
canonical_url: "/inso-cli/"
content_type: landing_page
products:
- Insomnia
canonical: true


---






# Inso CLI


## What is Inso CLI?

Inso CLI is a command line tool that allows you to use Insomnia features in your terminal and CI/CD environments for automation.


## Install Inso CLI

#### macOS

1. Use the following command to install Inso CLI with [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/):
    ```bash
    brew install inso
    ```
2. Check that Inso CLI was properly installed:
    ```bash
    inso --version
    ```
You can also install it by downloading and extracting the [zip](https://updates.insomnia.rest/downloads/mac/latest?app=com.insomnia.inso&channel=stable) file for macOS.

#### Windows

1. Download the Windows [zip](https://updates.insomnia.rest/downloads/windows/latest?app=com.insomnia.inso&channel=stable) file.
2. Extract the executable file and run it.
3. Check that Inso CLI is installed properly:
    ```bash
    ./inso --version
    ```

#### Linux

1. Download the Linux [tar](https://updates.insomnia.rest/downloads/linux/latest?app=com.insomnia.inso&channel=stable) file.
2. Extract and run the file.
3. Check that Inso CLI was properly installed:
    ```bash
    ./inso --version
    ```

#### Docker

1. Pull the [Inso CLI Docker image](https://hub.docker.com/r/kong/inso/tags):
   ```sh
   docker pull kong/inso:latest
   ```
1. Mount your specs folder to the `/var/temp folder` in the container. For more details, see [Run Inso CLI on Docker](/how-to/run-inso-cli-on-docker/).




## How does Inso CLI work?

When you run a command, Inso CLI will look for Insomnia data in two places:
* In the .insomnia directory in the working directory. This directory is created automatically when [Git sync](/insomnia/storage/#git-sync) is set up.
* In the Insomnia app data directory if Insomnia is installed.

You can use the `--workingDir` or `--src` options to specify a different data source. For more information, see the [Inso CLI reference](/inso-cli/reference/).

You can also configure Inso CLI to integrate with external vaults. For more information, see [External vaults](/insomnia/external-vault/).           


## What can Inso CLI do?

### Commonly used Inso CLI commands

#### Run tests on a design document
```bash
inso run test "design document name" --env "environment name"
```



#### Run a request collection
```bash
inso run collection "collection name" --env "environment name"
```



#### Validate an API specification
```bash
inso lint spec "design document name"
```



#### Export an API specification to a file
```bash
inso export spec "design document name" --output output.yaml
```



#### Run a script defined in the [configuration file](/inso-cli/configuration/)
```bash
inso script script-name --env environment-id
```





## How-to Guides


* [Automate tests in Insomnia](/how-to/automate-tests/)