Dial

@getdial/cli

The official command-line interface for Dial — a communication stack for AI agents. Provision phone numbers, send SMS, place AI voice calls, and react to inbound events, all from your terminal. The CLI wraps the Dial REST API so you never have to write HTTP code.

Installation

Install globally from npm:

npm install -g @getdial/cli

Or use the bootstrap script, which installs the CLI and walks you through sign-up:

curl -fsSL https://getdial.ai/install | bash

Requires Node.js 22.19+.

Quick start

dial auth login you@example.com               # email a 6-digit sign-up code
dial auth verify-otp --code 123456            # verify your email
dial auth register-number +14155550123        # text a code to your phone
dial auth verify-otp --number --code 654321   # verify your phone — creates the account
dial doctor                                   # check account state and what to do next

Creating an account needs a verified email and a verified phone number. Each step prints the command to run next, so you don't have to memorize the flow.

Signing in to an account you already have needs only the first two steps — you're never asked for a phone number again.

The number you register can receive SMS and becomes permanently linked to that account: a number can register only one Dial account. A Dial number can't be used.

Once the account exists, your API key is saved locally and the CLI uses it automatically. Your first number starts with a default inbound voice-agent prompt — change it with dial number set <number> --inbound-instruction "...".

# Send an SMS
dial message --to +14155550123 --body "Hello from Dial"

# Place an AI voice call
dial call --to +14155550123 --outbound-instruction "You are a helpful scheduling assistant."

# Wait for an inbound event (e.g. a verification code)
dial wait-for message.received --field to=+14155550123

Commands

Command	Description
dial doctor	Report account state and what to do next.
dial auth login <email>	Email a 6-digit sign-up code.
dial auth verify-otp --code <code>	Verify an email code, or with --number a texted one.
dial auth register-number <phone>	Text a code to the phone number that will own the account.
dial number list	List the phone numbers on your account.
dial number purchase	Purchase an additional phone number.
dial number set <number>	Update a number's inbound instruction.
dial message	Send an SMS.
dial message list	List recent messages.
dial message reply	Reply or react to a message.
dial call	Place an outbound AI voice call.
dial call list	List recent calls.
dial call get <id>	Fetch a single call — status, duration, transcript.
dial wait-for <event>	Block until a matching account event arrives.
dial listen install	Install the background event daemon.
dial listen status	Report the daemon's state and recent events.
dial listen uninstall	Stop and remove the daemon.
dial local-target add url <url>	Fan out events to a local HTTP endpoint.
dial local-target add cmd <path>	Run an executable once per event.
dial local-target list	List registered fan-out targets.
dial local-target remove <id>	Unregister a fan-out target.
dial mcp	Run a local stdio MCP server exposing every command as an agent tool.

Run dial --help for the full command tree, or dial <command> --help for a specific command's flags. Every command accepts --json for machine-readable output (except dial mcp, which speaks JSON-RPC on stdout).

Configuration

Variable	Description
DIAL_API_URL	Target a non-default Dial deployment.

Your API key is stored at ~/.local/share/dial/auth.json (honoring XDG_DATA_HOME).

Use from an AI agent

The CLI ships with a skill that teaches AI coding agents how to drive dial. Install it into your agent's config during onboarding:

dial auth verify-otp --code 123456 --agent claude-code

Supported agents: claude-code, cursor, codex, opencode, pi, openclaw, nanoclaw, hermes.

Local MCP server

dial mcp runs a local Model Context Protocol server over stdio, exposing every command as an agent tool. Point a local MCP client at dial mcp as the server command — it reuses the API key saved by dial auth verify-otp (no OAuth, no config). It's the local counterpart to the hosted Remote MCP server, with the same operational tools plus the local-only verbs (auth, listen, local-target).

# Claude Code, for example
claude mcp add dial -- dial mcp

See the Local MCP docs for client setup.

Documentation

Full documentation lives at docs.getdial.ai — including the CLI reference and the listen service guide.

License

MIT