Introducing "frappectl"

Frappe Framework
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I’ve been working on and off on frappe-cli. This is a CLI tool to access any frappe site and do anything on the user’s behalf. The idea is simple: LLM models are capable enough and don’t nearly need as much instruction to automate things. Just let them discover schema and endpoints.

The CLI follows basic principles:

  • gh like <noun> <verb> pattern.
  • Self-discovery for agents using --help, guide and schema exploration using doctype list/ doctype <show>.
  • No explicit instructions for anything else. No tool definitions, nothing. Frappe framework is already in training data of LLMs :person_shrugging:
  • Specify a local skill file for anything complex like end-to-end ticket handling workflow.

The interface is very basic and wraps REST API v2.

Command What it does
frappe-cli doc list <DocType> List documents. -f filters, --fields, --limit, --all.
frappe-cli doc get <DocType> <name> Fetch one document.
frappe-cli doc create <DocType> Create from --set scalars and/or piped/--input JSON.
frappe-cli doc update <DocType> <name> Update; optimistic by default, --force to override.
frappe-cli doc delete <DocType> <name> Delete (confirms / --yes).
frappe-cli doc submit|cancel|amend Document lifecycle.
frappe-cli doctype list / frappe-cli doctype show <name> Introspection / meta.
frappe-cli report run <name> Run a report with the same filter UX as list.
frappe-cli file upload|download Files, with --doctype/--name attach and --private.
frappe-cli api <path> Raw v2 access: frappe-cli api method/<path> -F key=value.
frappe-cli guide Print a short, self-contained usage primer (no site/auth needed).

This mostly works… to prove it, here is the most generic workflow automation that you see in “AI integration” demos → Submitting expense claims:

❯  Use `frappe-cli` to access frappe.io and create expense claim for me for     
  openai subscription. Invoice is present in this folder.                       

● I'll start by exploring the folder for the invoice and checking out the
  frappe-cli tool.

  Ran 1 shell command (ctrl+o to expand)

● I found the invoice (openapi-july-26.pdf). Let me read it and check the CLI's
  guide and auth status.

  Read 1 file, ran 1 shell command (ctrl+o to expand)

● Invoice details captured:
  - Invoice: Z3U*****-*****, dated July 5, 2026
  - Description: ChatGPT Pro Subscription (per seat), Jul 5–Aug 5, 2026
  - Total: ₹10,699.00 (₹9,066.95 + ₹1,632.05 IGST 18%)

  Let me confirm auth and inspect the Expense Claim DocType.

  Ran 2 shell commands (ctrl+o to expand)

● Authenticated on frappe.io. Let me find my Employee record and inspect the
  child table + remaining required fields.

  Ran 3 shell commands (ctrl+o to expand)

● Employee: EMP/00***, Frappe Technologies Private Limited. Now let me find the
  appropriate Expense Claim Type and the taxes child table structure.

  Ran 2 shell commands (ctrl+o to expand)

● There's an "LLM Subscription" expense type — a perfect match. Let me check how
  previous LLM Subscription / similar claims were filed to mirror the
  established pattern (especially the GST tax handling).

  Ran 1 shell command (ctrl+o to expand)

● The user's own pattern is consistent: no separate tax line — full amount
  claimed as a single expense line. Let me examine the most recent claim in
  detail to mirror its structure exactly.

  Ran 1 shell command (ctrl+o to expand)

● I have the full pattern. Let me check the "LLM Subscription" expense type's
  default account for this company.

  Ran 1 shell command (ctrl+o to expand)

● I have everything needed. I'll create the Expense Claim as a draft (mirroring
  the user's established pattern: full amount ₹10,699 as a single line, no
  separate tax breakout), then attach the invoice PDF. Leaving it as draft so
  you can review before submitting.

● Write(/tmp/claude-1000/-home-ankush-scratchpad/e5b900df-61f1-40f1-bde0-11f45cb
       65ec0/scratchpad/expense_claim.json)
  ⎿  Wrote 23 lines (ctrl+o to expand)

  Ran 1 shell command (ctrl+o to expand)

● Draft EXP0**** created (₹10,699.00). Now let me attach the invoice PDF.

  Ran 1 shell command (ctrl+o to expand)

● Done. Created the expense claim on frappe.io and attached the invoice.

What else you can do:

  • Reproduce bug described in this ticket #xyz.
  • I was away for a week; summarize last week’s gameplan post.

Roadmap:

Try it out using:

uv tool install git+https://github.com/frappe/frappe-cli # recommended
# or: pip install git+https://github.com/frappe/frappe-cli
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Frappe assistant as a 50-line bash wrapper around pi and frappe-cli dotfiles/bin/barista at master · ankush/dotfiles · GitHub

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This project is now renamed to frappectl (Akin to systemctl)

You can directly install from pypi using uv now.

uv tool install frappectl. (uninstall older version uv tool uninstall frappe-cli)

New features since announcement:

  • Read-only site profiles.
  • Specifying description for sites so agents can pick up site without specifying. e.g. update XYZ on ERP
  • frappectl assistant wrapper for using frappectl with coding agents.
  • API endpoint discovery for both RPC and controller methods (only works on develop branch for now)
  • OAuth login (works on develop branch for now)
  • Automatic update checks and passive notifications.
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