licli

licli is a CLI for Li Auto (LiXiang) vehicle APIs. It covers auth, real-time status, travel history, control commands, an HTTP API server, and an MCP server.

Run it without installing anything (PyPI via uvx, or npm via npx):

alias licli='uvx liauto'
licli help

# or

alias licli='npx -y @liauto/cli'
licli version

Commands

licli activate          # activate the current device (first activation or re-activation)
licli login             # device login, prints an OAuth URL, then persists the pasted token JSON
licli vehicles          # list cached vehicles
licli status <VIN>      # query vehicle state (--json/--raw)
licli travel <VIN> [YYYY-MM]   # monthly travel history; with YYYY-MM, that month's detail
licli control <VIN> <action>   # lock/unlock/find/wake + ac <on|off|auto|temp|fast-cool|fast-heat> + seat-vent/seat-heat [pos] <1-3|off> + wheel-heat <on|off> + window [pos] <0-99> + trunk <open|close> (action: result <id>)
licli version           # print version
licli serve             # HTTP API server (default 127.0.0.1:18001; --addr/--token/--allow-control)
licli mcp               # MCP server, stdio (default) or --transport http (default 127.0.0.1:18002)

Run licli with no arguments (or licli <unknown>) to print the command list.

Global flags: --json (JSON output), -v / --verbose (verbose logging to stderr).

Exit codes: 0 success, 1 user input error, 2 network failure, 3 HTTP non-200, 4 activation failure, 5 config permission/corrupt, 6 missing/invalid/expired activation code, or code bound to a VIN not in this account.

Activation code

Running licli requires a valid activation code, set as an environment variable:

export LICLI_CODE=<activation code>
licli activate    # activate the device (onboarding; also done automatically by login)
licli login       # establish the account (auto-activates a device if needed)
licli vehicles    # list vehicles (also tells you your VIN)

activate, login, vehicles, version, and help work without a code. serve and mcp also start without one: they bind and answer liveness (/healthz / tools/list) before login, and check the code per request. Every other command requires a code.

A code is issued by the tool's publisher (offline license-keygen --vin <VIN>) and is bound to a VIN: it is admitted only when that VIN appears in the vehicle list of the account you are logged in to. It is an Ed25519-signed token: the binary only verifies it with the built-in public key and cannot forge codes. A missing/invalid/expired code, or a code bound to a VIN not in this account, exits with code 6.

A code may also carry an optional tier (license-keygen --vin <VIN> --tier air|pro), recorded for reference only. The tier is not enforced: it changes nothing about which commands run, and a code without one is valid.

HTTP API server (serve)

licli serve runs a foreground HTTP server (default 127.0.0.1:18001, override with --addr). Bind to a loopback address, set --token, or pass --allow-control to enable the control endpoints.

Endpoints:

All endpoints except /healthz require Authorization: Bearer <token> when a token is configured. serve starts and answers /healthz before login: an activation code is checked per request, and every route except /healthz, the two /login routes, and the free-tier GET /vehicles needs one (bound to a VIN in the account). GET /vehicles is ungated like the CLI vehicles command, so a buyer can read their VIN before buying a bound code. The two control endpoints return 403 control_disabled unless the control gate is open (loopback bind, a configured token, or --allow-control); the two /login endpoints require the same control gate.

POST /control body (strict JSON, unknown fields rejected):

{ "action": "lock", "temp": 22.5, "pos": "fl", "level": 2, "open": true }

action is one of lock, unlock, find, wake, ac_on, ac_off, ac_auto, ac_temp, ac_fast_cool, ac_fast_heat, seat_vent, seat_heat, wheel_heat, window, trunk. The other fields are per-action; unset fields take the action's default:

pos is only valid for seat_vent/seat_heat/window; any other action rejects it. Errors use a unified envelope {"ok": false, "error": {"code", "message", "retryable"}}.

MCP server (mcp)

licli mcp serves the Model Context Protocol over stdio (default) or Streamable HTTP (--transport http, default 127.0.0.1:18002). It exposes eight tools: vehicles, status, travel_months, travel_month, control, control_result, login, login_submit. An activation code is checked per tool call: vehicles is ungated (free tier — read your VIN), login/login_submit are the bootstrap, and the rest require a code bound to a VIN in the account. The two control* tools are enabled by default under stdio; under --transport http they require --allow-control or --token. The two login* tools require the same control gate, and their token transits the MCP client (the model and the host transcript) — see the warning in the tool description.

Register it with Claude Code (no install needed):

claude mcp add licli -- uvx liauto mcp

Configuration

Credentials are stored under the XDG config directory (~/.config/licli by default, or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/licli) with 0700 directory and 0600 file permissions:

• device.json — activated device + key suite
• auth.json — API token, ID token, refresh token, expiry

Docker Compose deployment

Run the HTTP API server (serve) and MCP server (mcp) in containers sharing the host config:

services:
  licli-api: &licli
    build:
      dockerfile_inline: |
        FROM ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.13-alpine
        RUN uv tool install liauto
        RUN ln -sf /usr/local/bin/liauto /bin/licli
        ENV PATH="/root/.local/bin:$${PATH}"
        ENV XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/config
        ENV LICLI_SERVE_ADDR=0.0.0.0:18001
        ENV LICLI_MCP_ADDR=0.0.0.0:18002
        ENV LICLI_MCP_TRANSPORT=http
        ENTRYPOINT ["liauto"]
    command: ["serve", "--allow-control"]
    ports:
      - "18001:18001"
    environment:
      LICLI_CODE: ${LICLI_CODE:-}
      LICLI_SERVE_TOKEN: ${LICLI_SERVE_TOKEN:-}
    volumes:
      - ${LICLI_CONFIG_DIR:-~/.config/licli}:/config/licli
    restart: unless-stopped

  licli-mcp:
    <<: *licli
    command: ["mcp", "--allow-control"]
    ports:
      - "18002:18002"

licli-api shares its build, env, volume and restart policy with licli-mcp via the &licli anchor. Both read the same host credentials (auth.json / device.json under ~/.config/licli, or $LICLI_CONFIG_DIR). The containers bind non-loopback addresses, so --allow-control enables the control endpoints and LICLI_SERVE_TOKEN gates them behind a bearer token.

Log in once before starting the stack — the interactive login writes auth.json / device.json into the mounted config volume, and both services pick them up:

docker compose run --rm -it licli-api login