outline-skills

Operate Outline knowledge base - manage documents, collections, search, users, groups, comments, attachments, shares, stars, revisions, events, views, and file operations.

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Install skill "outline-skills" with this command: npx skills add visualdust/outline-skills/visualdust-outline-skills-outline-skills

Outline Skills

Purpose

Use this skill when the user asks to operate an Outline knowledge base via API/CLI.

Outline Content Guidance

Outline documents support rich, structured content — not just plain paragraphs. When creating or updating documents, actively choose formatting that fits the task: headings, bullet/numbered lists, task lists, tables, quotes, code fences, callouts, links, attachments, and Mermaid diagrams when helpful.

Prefer readable structure over large walls of text. For example:

  • use headings for sections
  • use lists for steps, options, and summaries
  • use tables for comparisons
  • use code fences for commands/snippets
  • use Mermaid for flows, architecture, or state diagrams

When to Trigger

Trigger this skill when requests involve:

  • Outline documents or collections
  • knowledge base search
  • users/groups/comments/attachments/file operations
  • share links, stars, revisions, events, or views

Agent Execution Checklist

Before running commands:

  1. Confirm the user intent (read vs write vs destructive action).
  2. Confirm required identifiers (document-id, collection-id, etc.).
  3. Ensure auth is configured.
  4. For destructive actions (delete, archive, revoke), confirm scope with user if ambiguous.

After running commands:

  1. Report the key result in plain language.
  2. Include IDs/URLs returned by Outline when useful.
  3. If command fails, provide likely cause + exact next command to retry.
  4. Do not publish or share documents/collections unless the user asked for it.

Prerequisites

  • Install CLI: pip install outline-kb-cli
  • API key format: ol_api_...
  • CLI command: outline-cli

Configuration

Supported Sources (highest priority first)

  1. CLI flags: --api-key, --base-url, --timeout
  2. Environment variables
  3. Project config: .outline-skills/config.json
  4. User config: ~/.outline-skills/config.json

Important Notes

Parameter Order: Global parameters (--api-key, --base-url, --timeout) MUST be placed BEFORE the subcommand:

# ✓ Correct
outline-cli --api-key "..." --base-url "..." collections list

# ✗ Wrong
outline-cli collections list --api-key "..." --base-url "..."

Base URL Format: The base URL usually include the /api suffix:

# ✓ Correct
https://app.getoutline.com/api
https://outline.example.com/api

# ✗ Wrong
https://app.getoutline.com
https://outline.example.com

Environment Variables

export OUTLINE_API_KEY="ol_api_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
export OUTLINE_BASE_URL="https://app.getoutline.com/api"  # Must include /api suffix

Config File Example

{
  "api_key": "ol_api_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "base_url": "https://app.getoutline.com/api",
  "timeout": 30
}

Quick Command Reference

Documents

outline-cli documents create --title "Title" --text "Content" --collection-id "collection-id"
outline-cli documents info --id "document-id"
outline-cli documents list --collection-id "collection-id"
outline-cli documents update --id "document-id" --title "New Title"
outline-cli documents archive --id "document-id"
outline-cli documents restore --id "document-id"
outline-cli documents delete --id "document-id"
outline-cli documents move --id "document-id" --collection-id "collection-id"
outline-cli documents duplicate --id "document-id"
outline-cli documents templatize --id "document-id"
outline-cli documents export --id "document-id"
outline-cli documents import --file "./doc.md"   # local file; Markdown/text is imported directly, other files use Outline import flow (supported formats depend on server)
outline-cli documents drafts --collection-id "collection-id"
outline-cli documents archived --limit 25 --offset 0
outline-cli documents deleted --limit 25 --offset 0
outline-cli documents viewed --limit 25 --offset 0
outline-cli documents empty-trash
outline-cli documents unpublish --id "document-id"
outline-cli documents add-user --id "document-id" --user-id "user-id"
outline-cli documents remove-user --id "document-id" --user-id "user-id"
outline-cli documents memberships --id "document-id"
outline-cli documents users --id "document-id"
outline-cli documents add-group --id "document-id" --group-id "group-id"
outline-cli documents remove-group --id "document-id" --group-id "group-id"
outline-cli documents group-memberships --id "document-id"

Collections

outline-cli collections list
outline-cli collections info --id "collection-id"
outline-cli collections create --name "Collection Name"
outline-cli collections update --id "collection-id" --name "New Name"
outline-cli collections delete --id "collection-id"
outline-cli collections documents --id "collection-id"
outline-cli collections add-user --id "collection-id" --user-id "user-id"
outline-cli collections remove-user --id "collection-id" --user-id "user-id"
outline-cli collections memberships --id "collection-id"
outline-cli collections add-group --id "collection-id" --group-id "group-id"
outline-cli collections remove-group --id "collection-id" --group-id "group-id"
outline-cli collections group-memberships --id "collection-id"
outline-cli collections export --id "collection-id" --format "markdown"
outline-cli collections export-all --format "markdown"

Sharing workflow for collections:

  • To share a collection with a specific person, use collections add-user.
  • This requires user-id, so first find the user with users list --query, usually by email or name.
  • After creating a collection/document, if sharing may be needed, ask the user whether it should be shared before the next interaction.
  • If sharing with the user you are talking to, admin is usually the right default.
  • If auth info shows the API key already belongs to the same person the user wants to share with, no extra sharing is needed.
  • If sharing with someone else, ask whether they should get read-only access or edit/manage access.
  • If the target person is ambiguous, confirm identity before sharing.

Search

outline-cli search "query"
outline-cli search "query" --titles-only
outline-cli search "query" --collection-id "collection-id" --limit 10

Authentication

outline-cli auth info  # Get current user and team information

Returns:

  • Current user details (id, name, email, role, preferences)
  • Team/workspace information
  • User's groups and permissions
  • Available teams

Use cases:

  • Verify API key is working and check which user it belongs to
  • Get current user's ID for permission operations
  • Check user's role and permissions
  • Troubleshoot authentication issues

Users / Groups

outline-cli users list --limit 25
outline-cli users info --id "user-id"
outline-cli users invite --email "new-user@example.com" --name "New User"
outline-cli users update --id "user-id" --name "Updated Name"
outline-cli users update-role --id "user-id" --role member
outline-cli users suspend --id "user-id"
outline-cli users activate --id "user-id"
outline-cli users delete --id "user-id"

outline-cli groups list
outline-cli groups info --id "group-id"
outline-cli groups create --name "Group Name"
outline-cli groups update --id "group-id" --name "New Name"
outline-cli groups delete --id "group-id"
outline-cli groups add-user --id "group-id" --user-id "user-id"
outline-cli groups remove-user --id "group-id" --user-id "user-id"
outline-cli groups memberships --id "group-id"

Comments / Attachments

Comment Features:

  • outline-cli comments create accepts Markdown text through Outline's text field, so common formatting like paragraphs, lists, bold, italics, and inline code renders as rich text in Outline comments
  • Maximum length is still about 1000 characters per posted comment
  • Longer comments create replies are auto-split into numbered threaded comments like [1/3], [2/3], [3/3]
  • Auto-splitting tries to preserve Markdown block boundaries such as paragraphs, lists, and fenced code blocks
  • Comments can be threaded (replies), resolved/unresolved, and reacted to with emojis

Comment Operations:

outline-cli comments list --document-id "document-id"
outline-cli comments create --document-id "document-id" --data "Comment text"
outline-cli comments create --document-id "document-id" --data "Reply text" --parent-id "parent-comment-id"
outline-cli comments update --id "comment-id" --data "Updated comment"
outline-cli comments delete --id "comment-id"
outline-cli comments resolve --id "comment-id"
outline-cli comments unresolve --id "comment-id"
outline-cli comments add-reaction --id "comment-id" --emoji "👍"
outline-cli comments remove-reaction --id "comment-id" --emoji "👍"

When to use comment features:

  • Use resolve to mark discussions/issues as completed
  • Use unresolve to reopen discussions that need more attention
  • Use reactions for quick feedback (👍, ❤️, 😊, etc.)
  • Use --parent-id to reply to specific comments and create threaded discussions
  • comments create is the preferred path for rich-text replies from Markdown input
  • For very long replies, let the CLI auto-split them instead of manually guessing chunk sizes
  • When listing comments on documents with many comments, use --limit and --offset for pagination

IMPORTANT - Comment Threading Limitation:

  • Outline only supports ONE level of threading (replies to top-level comments)
  • When replying to a comment that already has a parentCommentId, you MUST use that comment's parent as your --parent-id, NOT the comment itself
  • Example:
    • Top-level comment A (parentCommentId: null)
    • Reply B to A (parentCommentId: A's ID)
    • To reply to B, use --parent-id A's ID, NOT B's ID
  • If you try to reply to a reply (nested 2+ levels), the comment will be created but won't display correctly in the UI

Attachment Operations:

outline-cli attachments create --name "file.pdf" --document-id "document-id" --content-type "application/pdf" --size 1024
outline-cli attachments redirect --id "attachment-id"
outline-cli attachments delete --id "attachment-id"

Shares / Stars / Revisions / Events

outline-cli shares create --document-id "document-id"
outline-cli shares list --document-id "document-id"
outline-cli shares info --id "share-id"
outline-cli shares revoke --id "share-id"
outline-cli shares update --id "share-id" --published

outline-cli stars create --document-id "document-id"
outline-cli stars list
outline-cli stars delete --id "star-id"
outline-cli stars update --id "star-id" --index 0

outline-cli revisions list --document-id "document-id"
outline-cli revisions info --id "revision-id"

outline-cli events list --limit 25
outline-cli events list --document-id "document-id"

File Operations / Views

outline-cli file-operations list --type export
outline-cli file-operations info --id "file-operation-id"
outline-cli file-operations redirect --id "file-operation-id"
outline-cli file-operations delete --id "file-operation-id"

outline-cli views create --document-id "document-id"
outline-cli views list --document-id "document-id" --limit 25

Useful Aliases

  • outline-cli docs / outline-cli doc -> outline-cli documents
  • outline-cli colls / outline-cli coll -> outline-cli collections

Troubleshooting

Authentication Errors

401 Unauthorized:

  • Check API key exists and starts with ol_api_
  • Key may have expired - Ask user to verify the key is still valid in Outline settings
  • Guide user to create a new key: Settings → API → Create new API key
  • Ensure the key hasn't been revoked or deleted

403 Forbidden:

  • Permission scope issue - The API key may not have sufficient permissions
  • Resource access denied - The user account associated with the key may not have access to the requested collection or document
  • Ask user to verify:
    • The API key has the required scopes (read, write, admin)
    • Their account has access to the specific collection/document
    • They are not trying to access archived or deleted resources

Connection and URL Errors

404 Not Found:

  • If specific resource (document/collection): Resource may not exist or has been deleted
  • If basic operations fail (e.g., collections list, users list):
    • Base URL is likely incorrect
    • Ask user to confirm the base URL includes /api suffix
    • Example: https://outline.example.com/api (not https://outline.example.com)
    • Verify the Outline instance URL is correct

Connection errors:

  • Verify OUTLINE_BASE_URL is set correctly
  • Verify instance is reachable (not behind firewall/VPN)
  • Check for typos in the URL

Comment-Specific Issues

400 Bad Request - "Comment must be less than 1000 characters":

  • Single comment is limited to 1000 characters
  • Solution: Split long content into multiple comments
  • Consider using document content for longer text instead of comments

Comment not rendering Markdown:

  • Comments only support plain text, not Markdown
  • Use document content for formatted text

Created content is not visible to the user

  • Ask which Outline account the user is logged in with.
  • The configured API key may belong to a different account than the one the user is using in the web UI.
  • In that case, the created collection/document may need to be shared with the user's account before they can see it.

Sharing and privacy safety

  • Do not publish or share content unless the user explicitly asked.
  • Prefer email for identity matching when available; users usually will not know their user-id.
  • If the user asks to share with another person and permission level is unclear, ask before granting access.
  • If you are not sure whether the target account is the user's own account, confirm first.

Command not found

pip install --upgrade outline-kb-cli

Safety Notes

  • Never hardcode API keys
  • Prefer env vars or config files
  • For local config files on Unix:
chmod 600 ~/.outline-skills/config.json
  • Confirm destructive actions before execution when user intent is unclear

Source Transparency

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