CLI Reference

pressa auth

Authenticate the CLI with your Pressa API key. The key is validated against the API and stored locally for future commands.

Usage

# Interactive mode - prompts for your key
$ pressa auth

# Pass key directly
$ pressa auth--key pressa_xxx

Options

What it does

1. Validates the key by calling GET /api/v1/usage
2. On success, stores the key in ~/.pressa/config.json
3. Prints your current plan and usage summary

Example output

$ pressa auth --key pressa_k_abc123
Authenticating...
Authenticated! API key stored in ~/.pressa/config.json
Plan: Free | Used: 12/50 compilations | Resets: May 1, 2026

pressa compile

Compile a LaTeX file to PDF. The file is sent to Pressa's API, compiled on the server, and the resulting PDF is downloaded to your machine.

Usage

$ pressa compile <file> [options]

Options

Assets (images & binary files)

The CLI automatically bundles any \includegraphics references it finds in your LaTeX source. Files are resolved from the input file's directory (LaTeX's default rule: extension may be omitted), base64-encoded, and sent alongside the source. Supported formats: PNG, JPG, JPEG, PDF, SVG.

Use --asset to include files that are not referenced by \includegraphics (e.g. an embedded PDF inserted via \includepdf) or to override the auto-detected path with an explicit mapping. Use --no-bundle to skip auto-detection (useful when you only want to send --asset files).

For files you reuse across many documents (company logo, standard signature, letterhead), upload them once to your asset library via pressa assets upload and reference them with --stored-asset. The CLI sends only the filename; the server loads the bytes for you. This is an alternative to per-compile upload for files that do not change often. See pressa assets for the full workflow.

# invoice.tex references \\includegraphics{logo}; CLI finds logo.png
  # next to invoice.tex and bundles it automatically.
$ pressa compile invoice.tex
  Bundled 1 asset: logo.png

$ pressa compile letter.tex --asset signature.png=/Users/me/assets/sig.png

Stdin input

Pass - instead of a filename to read LaTeX from stdin. This is useful for piping content from other tools.

Examples

$ pressa compile report.tex
# Compiles report.tex and saves report.pdf

$ pressa compile report.tex --compiler xelatex

$ pressa compile report.tex --json
# {"pdf_url": "https://...", "pages": 3, "compilation_time_ms": 1250}

$ pressa compile report.tex --output ./build/final-report.pdf

$ echo "\\documentclass{article}\\begin{document}Hello\\end{document}" | pressa compile -

pressa render

Render a saved V2 template with placeholder data and download the PDF. No LaTeX on your side - the template owns the layout, you supply the values. Data is validated against the template schema before anything compiles, the compiler is auto-detected from the source, and stored assets resolve automatically. Paid plans only.

Usage

$ pressa render <template> --data <source> [options]

Options

Examples

$ pressa render invoice --data '{"customer_name": "Acme GmbH", "amount": 1250}'

$ pressa render invoice --data april.json --output invoice-april.pdf

pressa templates

Manage saved LaTeX templates. Available on paid plans only.

Each template has a required LaTeX file plus two optional fields with different roles. --description is a short human-readable summary shown next to the name in templates list. --instructions (or --instructions-file) is a longer prose markdown playbook (up to 50000 chars) that an AI agent reads alongside the LaTeX when filling the template - defaults, workflow rules, edge cases, conditional logic. Templates that have an instructions playbook show a badge in the list output.

Commands

Options

Examples

$ pressa templates list

$ pressa templates save invoice invoice.tex --description "Standard invoice layout"

$ pressa templates save invoice invoice.tex \
     --description "Toptal monthly invoice" \
     --instructions-file invoice-rules.md

$ pressa templates get invoice \
     --output invoice.tex \
     --instructions-out invoice-rules.md

$ pressa templates delete invoice --yes

pressa assets

Manage your persistent asset library - binary files (logos, signatures, diagrams, embedded PDFs) that you want to reuse across many documents. Available on paid plans only. Uploaded assets persist until deleted and are referenced from pressa compile with the --stored-asset flag.

Commands

Options

Examples

$ pressa assets upload ./brand/logo.png
# Uploaded logo.png (18 KB)

$ pressa compile invoice.tex --stored-asset logo.png

$ pressa assets list

$ pressa assets upload ~/Downloads/company-seal-v3.png --name seal.png

$ pressa assets get logo.png --output ./logo.png

$ pressa assets delete logo.png --yes

pressa usage

Check your current plan and compilation usage.

Usage

$ pressa usage

Options

Example output

$ pressa usage

Plan:          Free
Compilations:  42 / 50
Resets:        May 1, 2026

Configuration

The CLI stores its configuration in ~/.pressa/config.json. This file is created automatically when you run pressa auth.

Config file format

{
  "api_key": "pressa_k_abc123",
  "api_url": "https://api.pressa.dev"
}

URL override

All commands accept a --url flag to temporarily override the API URL without modifying the config file. This is useful for local development or testing against a staging server.

$ pressa compile report.tex --url http://localhost:3100