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The syntheo command bundles the CLI and the local MCP server. It reads the desktop app’s SQLite database, on your computer.

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Availability

The CLI is not included in the published packages (AppImage, .deb, .exe, .msi) and is not published as a separate binary in GitHub Releases. For now, build it from source.
In the app, under Settings → Developers → CLI & MCP, the “Syntheo CLI” row offers an “Install” button. On published versions, this button stays inactive, because the CLI is not bundled. The “Copy config” button of the “MCP server” also stays inactive in this case: write the configuration yourself (see MCP for agents).

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Build from source

Prerequisite: Rust installed with rustup. The repository pins its toolchain version in rust-toolchain.toml; rustup downloads it automatically.
cargo installs the syntheo executable in ~/.cargo/bin (%USERPROFILE%\.cargo\bin on Windows). Add this folder to your PATH if your terminal can’t find the command.
The .deb package installs the desktop app as /usr/bin/syntheo. On a machine where the .deb is installed, syntheo may therefore launch the app instead of the CLI, depending on the order of your PATH. Check with which -a syntheo. If in doubt, call the CLI by its absolute path, ~/.cargo/bin/syntheo, especially in your MCP clients’ configuration.
To update the CLI, get the latest sources (git pull) and run the cargo install command again. Keep the CLI and the app at the same version: the CLI never migrates the database.

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Connect the CLI to your data

Open the app once so it creates its database. After that, the CLI and the MCP server work even when the app is closed, except for recording import, which requires the app to be open. Without options, the CLI looks for app.db in your system’s data folder: For another database, pass a global option or an environment variable:
--base points to a folder that contains app.db. --db-path takes precedence over --base. Then check the connection:

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Read and write access

Meeting reads open the database read-only. The proposals create, proposals decline, meetings import and syntheo mcp commands open the database for writing, to prepare or decline edits and to create an imported meeting. No command creates the database or runs a migration: that is the app’s job.

CLI for agents

JSON output and best practices.

CLI reference

All commands and options.