cli4

Cloudflare API v4 command-line client

TLDR

List all zones (domains) in your Cloudflare account

$ cli4 /zones

Get details for a specific zone by ID

$ cli4 /zones/[zone_id]

Purge entire cache for a zone

$ cli4 --delete /zones/[zone_id]/purge_cache purge_everything:=true

List DNS records for a zone

$ cli4 /zones/[zone_id]/dns_records

Create a DNS record

$ cli4 --post /zones/[zone_id]/dns_records type:='"A"' name:='"www"' content:='"192.0.2.1"'

Delete a DNS record

$ cli4 --delete /zones/[zone_id]/dns_records/[record_id]

Update a page rule

$ cli4 --put /zones/[zone_id]/pagerules/[rule_id] status:='"active"'

SYNOPSIS

cli4 [options] /endpoint [data...]

cli4 is a command-line tool for interacting with the Cloudflare API v4. It provides direct access to all Cloudflare API endpoints, allowing management of zones, DNS records, firewall rules, page rules, and other Cloudflare features from the terminal.
The tool uses a simple syntax where API endpoints are specified as paths and data is passed as key-value pairs. JSON values use the := operator for proper typing, while string assignment uses =. Authentication is handled via environment variables or a configuration file.
cli4 is particularly useful for automation and scripting Cloudflare operations. It can be integrated into CI/CD pipelines for cache purging, DNS updates, or firewall rule management.

PARAMETERS

--get

HTTP GET request (default).

--post

HTTP POST request.

--put

HTTP PUT request.

--patch

HTTP PATCH request.

--delete

HTTP DELETE request.

-q, --quiet

Suppress output.

-v, --verbose

Verbose output including HTTP headers.

-r, --raw

Output raw JSON without formatting.

-d, --dump

Dump the request instead of executing it.

CONFIGURATION

~/.cloudflare/cloudflare.cfg

Stores API credentials (email, key, or token) as an alternative to environment variables.

CAVEATS

Requires authentication via CF_API_EMAIL and CF_API_KEY environment variables, or CF_API_TOKEN for API tokens. Zone IDs must be retrieved separately; they are not the domain name. Rate limiting applies per Cloudflare API documentation.

HISTORY

cli4 was created as an unofficial Python-based CLI for Cloudflare's API v4, which was released in 2014. It provides a lightweight alternative to Cloudflare's official tools, focusing on direct API access rather than high-level abstractions.