CLI

Send your first email straight from the terminal: install the bird CLI, log in once, and send. No code, no API key to copy around.

1. Install

Ejemplo de código

curl -fsSL https://cli.platform.bird.com/install.sh | sh

On Windows, use the PowerShell installer at https://cli.platform.bird.com/install.ps1 instead.

2. Log in

Ejemplo de código

bird auth login

This opens a browser consent page where you pick a workspace and the permissions to grant. The CLI stores a workspace-bound OAuth token in ~/.config/bird/credentials.json and refreshes it automatically on use — the API region comes from the workspace, so there's no host or key to configure. On a headless machine or over SSH, use bird auth login --device to get a code you approve on another device.

3. Send an email

Send from Bird's shared onboarding domain to the delivered@messagebird.dev sandbox address — no domain verification, no real mailbox needed:

Ejemplo de código

bird email send \
  --from onboarding@messagebird.dev \
  --to delivered@messagebird.dev \
  --subject "Hello from Bird" \
  --html "<p>My first Bird email.</p>"

The CLI prints the accepted message as JSON:

Ejemplo de código

{
  "id": "em_019c1930687b7bfa8a1b2c3d4e5f6789",
  "status": "accepted",
  "category": "transactional",
  "to": [{ "email": "delivered@messagebird.dev" }],
  "created_at": "2026-06-10T14:30:00Z"
}

--to is repeatable for multiple recipients, --text sends a plain-text body, and --dry-run prints the resolved request without sending it.

4. Check the result

accepted means Bird took the message — read it back by its em_ ID and watch the status reach delivered:

Ejemplo de código

bird email get em_019c1930687b7bfa8a1b2c3d4e5f6789

Add --format text for a human-readable card instead of JSON.

Everything you just did is script- and agent-friendly by design: every command emits JSON to stdout by default, errors are a JSON envelope on stderr, and exit codes are semantic — so a script (or an AI agent) branches on structure, never on prose. See the CLI for agents for the full contract.

Next steps

CLI reference — every command, flag, and output shape.
The CLI for agents — JSON output, exit codes, --dry-run, and idempotent retries.
Send your first email — the same flow over raw HTTP and the SDKs.
Sending domains — verify your own domain for production sending.