> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.nuvolos.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.nuvolos.com/reference/nuvolos-cli-and-python-api.md).

# Nuvolos CLI and Python API

## What the CLI and Python API are

Nuvolos provides two programmatic interfaces for managing your work on the platform without using the web UI:

* **CLI (Command-Line Interface)** - a terminal tool you run from a shell. You type commands like `nuvolos app start` or `nuvolos app exec` to control applications, trigger workflows, or automate repetitive tasks. It works inside any Nuvolos application terminal or on your local machine.
* **Python API** - a Python library that wraps the same operations in Python functions and classes. You call methods like `nuvolos.app.start()` instead of typing shell commands, making it easy to integrate Nuvolos into Python scripts, notebooks, and CI/CD pipelines.

Both tools talk to the same underlying [Nuvolos REST API](https://api.nuvolos.cloud/docs), so they have identical capabilities - the choice between them is a matter of preference and context.

## Why use them?

| Use case                         | Example                                                                                                                                                                        |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Automate repetitive work**     | Start an application, run a script, and stop the application — all in a single shell command or cron job.                                                                      |
| **Scale computation**            | Launch an application on a [credit-based size](/reference/applications/application-resources.md#size-and-price-of-an-application) with high CPU, memory, or GPU from a script. |
| **Build pipelines**              | Chain data ingestion, model training, and result export into a reproducible workflow.                                                                                          |
| **Work from your local machine** | Trigger Nuvolos operations from your laptop without opening a browser.                                                                                                         |

## Getting started

* [Installing the CLI](/reference/nuvolos-cli-and-python-api/installing-the-cli.md)
* [Using the CLI](/reference/nuvolos-cli-and-python-api/using-the-cli.md)

## Source code

* [Nuvolos CLI](https://github.com/nuvolos-cloud/nuvolos-cli) (GitHub)
* [Nuvolos Python API](https://github.com/nuvolos-cloud/nuvolos-client-api) (GitHub)