sference-cli 0.0.3

sference command-line interface

sference CLI

Command-line interface for the sference batch API (sference). It uses the Python SDK (sference-sdk) and is published on PyPI as sference-cli.

Installation

pip install sference-cli
# or isolated install on PATH:
uv tool install sference-cli
# or:
pipx install sference-cli

Then:

sference --help

Authentication

1. Interactive (browser): sference auth login — opens the console login page, then prompts for an API key from Console → API keys.
2. Non-interactive / CI: sference auth login --api-key 'sk_...'
3. Environment variable: SFERENCE_API_KEY overrides the saved credential file.

Credentials are stored in ~/.sference/credentials.json unless SFERENCE_API_KEY is set.

Verify the current credential:

sference auth me
sference auth me --json

Quick examples (batches and streams)

Use a model string supported by your sference deployment (for self-hosted stacks, match the model your workers consume).

Batches

sference batch submit --input-file ./workload.jsonl --model Qwen/Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct --window 24h
sference batch status --batch-id <batch_id>
sference batch wait --batch-id <batch_id>
sference batch results --batch-id <batch_id>
sference batch download-results --batch-id <batch_id> --out ./out.jsonl
# Submit, wait, print JSONL results on stdout (stderr: progress; resumable cache)
sference batch stream --input-file ./workload.jsonl --model Qwen/Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct --window 24h

Streams

sference stream create --name "my-stream" --window 24h
sference stream list
sference stream submit --stream-id <stream_id> --input-file ./lines.jsonl --model Qwen/Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct
sference stream status --stream-id <stream_id>
sference responses tail --stream-id <stream_id>

cURL: OpenAI-compatible /v1/responses

The CLI uses this API for stream submit (via POST /v1/responses). You can call it directly with the same API key as sference auth login (or SFERENCE_API_KEY). For self-hosted APIs, set SFERENCE_BASE_URL to your API origin.

export TOKEN=sk_...   # or: export TOKEN="$SFERENCE_API_KEY"

RID=$(curl -sS -X POST "${SFERENCE_BASE_URL:-https://api.sference.com}/v1/responses" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $TOKEN" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "model": "Qwen/Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct",
    "input": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
    "metadata": {"completion_window": "24h"}
  }' | jq -r '.id')

curl -sS "${SFERENCE_BASE_URL:-https://api.sference.com}/v1/responses/${RID}" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $TOKEN"

Environment variables

Variable	Purpose
SFERENCE_API_KEY	API key (or JWT); overrides ~/.sference/credentials.json
SFERENCE_BASE_URL	API base URL (default https://api.sference.com)
SFERENCE_CONSOLE_URL	Console URL for auth login browser step (default https://console.sference.com)
SFERENCE_STREAM_CACHE	Optional path to the stream resumable-cache file (default ~/.sference/stream_cache.json)
SFERENCE_STREAM_CHECKPOINTS	Optional path for responses tail event checkpoints (default ~/.sference/stream_checkpoints.json)

Commands

Auth

Command	Description
sference auth login	Store an API key (optional --api-key, --console-url, --no-browser)
sference auth me	Show current user (--json for machine-readable output)

Batch

Command	Description
sference batch list	List batches (table; --json for raw payload)
sference batch submit	Submit a JSONL file (--input-file, optional --model for content-only lines, --window must be 24h)
sference batch stream	Submit, wait, print JSONL results on stdout (see below)
sference batch status	Get one batch (--batch-id, --json)
sference batch wait	Poll until terminal state (--batch-id, --poll-interval, --timeout, --json)
sference batch results	JSON results payload (--batch-id, --json)
sference batch cancel	Cancel a batch (--batch-id, --json)
sference batch download-results	Download results JSONL to a file (--batch-id, --out, --format jsonl)

Global options on most batch commands: --base-url (default https://api.sference.com).

Responses (/v1/responses)

Command	Description
sference responses create	Create one response (--model, --content, optional --wait, --poll-ms, --timeout-s)
sference responses result	Poll until terminal state (--id, --poll-ms)
sference responses tail	Print completion events as JSONL via GET /v1/responses/events (optional --stream-id to scope to a stream; omit for non-stream completions). Flags: --consumer, --from-latest, --no-checkpoint, --poll-ms

Stream (first-class streams API)

Long-lived streams are separate from batches: you create a stream, submit responses tied to it over time (POST /v1/responses with metadata.stream_id), and consume completion events with cursor-based pagination on GET /v1/responses/events (pass stream_id when scoping to a stream). Authenticate with your secret API key like other /v1 calls.

Command	Description
sference stream create	Create a stream (--name, --window 1h or 24h, --json)
sference stream list	List streams (--json)
sference stream status	Full detail + counters (--stream-id, --json)
sference stream submit	Create responses from JSONL via POST /v1/responses per line (metadata.stream_id set automatically; --stream-id, --input-file, --model required for content-only lines) — per line: OpenAI batch-style {custom_id?, method, url, body} or content-only {content}
sference stream cancel	Stop accepting new items and stop enqueueing pending work; does not auto-cancel in-flight requests (--stream-id, --json)
sference stream archive	Finalize the stream (optional after cancel); no new items (--stream-id, --json)

Example JSONL lines for stream submit (both accepted):

{"custom_id":"req-1","method":"POST","url":"/v1/chat/completions","body":{"model":"Qwen/Qwen3.5-4B","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"hi"}]}}

{"content":"hi"}

---

Streaming batches (batch stream)

Use sference batch stream when you want a single command that submits a JSONL file, waits until the batch finishes, and writes result lines to stdout so you can pipe or redirect them.

Pipe-friendly UX

• Stdout: only the results JSONL (one JSON object per line, same shape as GET /v1/batches/{id}/results.jsonl).
• Stderr: status lines while waiting, e.g. Batch batch_abc status=running (42s).

Example:

sference batch stream --input-file workload.jsonl > results.jsonl

Content-only JSONL (model supplied globally):

sference batch stream --input-file prompts.jsonl --model Qwen/Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct > results.jsonl

Resumable cache

Batches can take a long time. If you interrupt the command (e.g. Ctrl+C) and run it again with the same input file contents, the CLI reuses the cached batch id instead of submitting a duplicate job.

• Cache file: ~/.sference/stream_cache.json (override with SFERENCE_STREAM_CACHE).
• Key: SHA-256 of the raw input file bytes (same bytes ⇒ same key, regardless of path).
• Stored fields: batch_id, base_url (must match current --base-url), created_at.
• After results are written to stdout, the entry for that input is removed so the cache does not grow forever.
• If the cached batch no longer exists on the server (404), the cache entry is dropped and a new batch is submitted.

Force a fresh submission (ignore cache):

sference batch stream --input-file workload.jsonl --no-cache > results.jsonl

Polling

• --poll-interval (default 2): seconds between GET /v1/batches/{id} polls. There is no built-in maximum wait time (suited to 24h-style batches).

Exit codes

• 0 — batch status is completed.
• 1 — batch status is failed or cancelled (results JSONL is still printed when available).

End-to-end example

export SFERENCE_API_KEY=sk_...
sference batch stream --input-file fixtures/example_batch.jsonl --poll-interval 5 > out.jsonl

---

JSONL input formats

The SDK and CLI accept two line shapes (see also fixtures/example_batch.jsonl):

1. OpenAI-compatible: each line has custom_id, method, url, and body (e.g. chat completions payload with per-line model). The CLI --model flag is ignored for these lines (a warning may be emitted by the SDK).
2. Content-only: each line is {"content": "..."}. Then --model is required on submit/stream.

---

Python SDK

The CLI uses the sync SferenceClient from sference-sdk (import sference_sdk).

For your own code, see ../sdk-python/README.md for:

• Batches (sync): submit_batch, wait_for_completion, get_results
• /v1/responses (sync): create_response, get_response (standalone or metadata.stream_id for streams)
• Async: AsyncSferenceClient — same surface as sync with await, plus iter_responses_events / list_responses_events for completion tailing (GET /v1/responses/events)

That README also documents when to prefer batches vs streams and includes cURL examples.