clinkding - Linkding Bookmark Manager CLI

---

name: clinkding

description: Manage linkding bookmarks - save URLs, search, tag, organize, and retrieve your personal bookmark collection. Use when the user wants to save links, search bookmarks, manage tags, or organize their reading list.

homepage: https://github.com/daveonkels/clinkding

metadata: {"clawdis":{"emoji":"🔖","requires":{"bins":["clinkding"]},"install":[{"id":"homebrew","kind":"brew","formula":"daveonkels/tap/clinkding","bins":["clinkding"],"label":"Install clinkding (Homebrew)"},{"id":"go","kind":"go","module":"github.com/daveonkels/clinkding@latest","bins":["clinkding"],"label":"Install clinkding (Go)"}]}}

---

# clinkding - Linkding Bookmark Manager CLI

A modern Go-based CLI for managing bookmarks in [linkding](https://github.com/sissbruecker/linkding), a self-hosted bookmark manager.

What This Does

**Linkding** is a self-hosted bookmark manager (like Pocket, Instapaper). **clinkding** is the CLI that lets you manage your bookmarks from the terminal or via AI agents.

Think of it as:

Quick Start

Initial Setup

# Interactive configuration
clinkding config init

# Or manually configure
clinkding config set url https://your-linkding-instance.com
clinkding config set token YOUR_API_TOKEN

# Test connection
clinkding config test

Configuration File

Location: `~/.config/clinkding/config.yaml`

url: https://linkding.example.com
token: your-api-token-here

defaults:
  bookmark_limit: 100
  output_format: auto

Environment Variables

export LINKDING_URL="https://linkding.example.com"
export LINKDING_TOKEN="your-api-token-here"

Core Commands

Bookmarks

#### List & Search

# List recent bookmarks
clinkding bookmarks list

# Search by keyword
clinkding bookmarks list --query "golang tutorial"

# Filter by tag
clinkding bookmarks list --query "tag:programming"

# Recent bookmarks (last 7 days)
clinkding bookmarks list --added-since "7d"

# Unread bookmarks
clinkding bookmarks list --query "unread:yes"

# JSON output for scripting
clinkding bookmarks list --json

# Plain text (tab-separated)
clinkding bookmarks list --plain

#### Create Bookmarks

# Simple bookmark
clinkding bookmarks create https://go.dev

# With metadata
clinkding bookmarks create https://go.dev \
  --title "Go Programming Language" \
  --tags "golang,programming,reference" \
  --description "Official Go website" \
  --unread

# Check if URL already exists before creating
clinkding bookmarks check https://go.dev

#### Update Bookmarks

# Update title
clinkding bookmarks update 42 --title "New Title"

# Add tags
clinkding bookmarks update 42 --add-tags "important,work"

# Remove tags
clinkding bookmarks update 42 --remove-tags "old-tag"

# Mark as read
clinkding bookmarks update 42 --read

# Update description
clinkding bookmarks update 42 --description "Updated notes"

#### Get Bookmark Details

# Full details
clinkding bookmarks get 42

# JSON output
clinkding bookmarks get 42 --json

#### Archive & Delete

# Archive (hide from main list)
clinkding bookmarks archive 42

# Unarchive
clinkding bookmarks unarchive 42

# Delete permanently
clinkding bookmarks delete 42

Tags

# List all tags
clinkding tags list

# Create a tag
clinkding tags create "golang"

# Get tag details
clinkding tags get 1

# Plain text output
clinkding tags list --plain

Bundles

Bundles are collections of related bookmarks.

# List bundles
clinkding bundles list

# Create a bundle
clinkding bundles create "Go Resources" \
  --description "Everything related to Go programming"

# Update a bundle
clinkding bundles update 1 --name "Go Lang Resources"

# Get bundle details
clinkding bundles get 1

# Delete a bundle
clinkding bundles delete 1

Assets

Upload and manage file attachments for bookmarks.

# List assets for a bookmark
clinkding assets list 42

# Upload a file
clinkding assets upload 42 ~/Documents/screenshot.png

# Download an asset
clinkding assets download 42 1 -o ./downloaded-file.png

# Delete an asset
clinkding assets delete 42 1

User Profile

# Get user profile info
clinkding user profile

Agent Usage Patterns

Save URL from Conversation

# User: "Save this for later: https://example.com"
clinkding bookmarks create https://example.com \
  --title "Article Title" \
  --description "Context from conversation" \
  --tags "topic,context"

Search Bookmarks

# User: "Find my golang bookmarks"
clinkding bookmarks list --query "golang"

# User: "Show me unread programming articles"
clinkding bookmarks list --query "tag:programming unread:yes"

# User: "What did I save last week?"
clinkding bookmarks list --added-since "7d"

Organize & Tag

# User: "Tag bookmark 42 as important"
clinkding bookmarks update 42 --add-tags "important"

# User: "Create a bundle for my AI research links"
clinkding bundles create "AI Research" \
  --description "Machine learning and AI papers"

Retrieve for Reading

# User: "Give me something to read"
clinkding bookmarks list --query "unread:yes" --limit 5

# User: "Show me my golang tutorials"
clinkding bookmarks list --query "tag:golang tag:tutorial"

Output Formats

Auto (Default)

Human-friendly tables and colors for terminal display.

JSON

clinkding bookmarks list --json

Machine-readable for scripting and agent parsing.

Plain Text

clinkding bookmarks list --plain

Tab-separated values for pipe-friendly parsing.

Relative Date Filtering

Supports human-friendly time ranges:

# Last 24 hours
clinkding bookmarks list --added-since "24h"

# Last 7 days
clinkding bookmarks list --added-since "7d"

# Last 6 months
clinkding bookmarks list --modified-since "180d"

**Supported units:** `h` (hours), `d` (days), `y` (years)

Common Workflows

Morning Reading Routine

# Check unread bookmarks
clinkding bookmarks list --query "unread:yes"

# Get top 5 most recent
clinkding bookmarks list --limit 5

Save from Clipboard

# macOS
pbpaste | xargs -I {} clinkding bookmarks create {}

# Linux
xclip -o | xargs -I {} clinkding bookmarks create {}

Batch Operations

# Tag multiple bookmarks
for id in 42 43 44; do
  clinkding bookmarks update $id --add-tags "important"
done

# Archive old unread bookmarks
clinkding bookmarks list --query "unread:yes" --added-since "30d" --plain | \
  while read id _; do
    clinkding bookmarks archive "$id"
  done

Backup Bookmarks

# Export all bookmarks as JSON
clinkding bookmarks list --json > bookmarks-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).json

# Export specific tag
clinkding bookmarks list --query "tag:important" --json > important.json

Global Flags

Available on all commands:

| Flag | Description |

|------|-------------|

| `-c, --config <file>` | Config file path |

| `-u, --url <url>` | Linkding instance URL |

| `-t, --token <token>` | API token |

| `--json` | Output as JSON |

| `--plain` | Output as plain text |

| `--no-color` | Disable colors |

| `-q, --quiet` | Minimal output |

| `-v, --verbose` | Verbose output |

Exit Codes

| Code | Meaning |

|------|---------|

| 0 | Success |

| 1 | General error (API/network) |

| 2 | Invalid usage (bad flags/args) |

| 3 | Authentication error |

| 4 | Not found |

| 130 | Interrupted (Ctrl-C) |

Troubleshooting

Test Configuration

# Verify settings
clinkding config show

# Test connection
clinkding config test

Common Issues

**Authentication Error:**

**Command-Specific Help:**

clinkding bookmarks --help
clinkding bookmarks create --help

Links

Installation

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew install daveonkels/tap/clinkding

Go Install

go install github.com/daveonkels/clinkding@latest

Binary Download

Download from [releases](https://github.com/daveonkels/clinkding/releases) for your platform.

Shell Completion

# Bash
clinkding completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/clinkding

# Zsh
clinkding completion zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_clinkding"

# Fish
clinkding completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/clinkding.fish

---

**Built by:** [@daveonkels](https://github.com/daveonkels)

**License:** MIT

Agent Workflows for Smart Bookmark Creation

Adding URLs with Automatic Metadata

When a user says "Add this to linkding" or "Save this URL", follow this workflow:

**1. Extract metadata from the URL**

Use the `summarize` skill to get title and description:

# Get page metadata
summarize url https://example.com --format json

This returns structured data with:

**2. Infer appropriate tags from content**

Map the content to **existing canonical tags only**. Do NOT create new tags.

Use this canonical tag list (263 tags total):

**Tag Selection Rules:**

**3. Create the bookmark with metadata**

clinkding bookmarks create "https://example.com" \
  --title "Title from summarize" \
  --description "Summary from summarize (1-2 sentences)" \
  --tags "webdev,tools,reference"

Example Workflow

**User:** "Save this to linkding: https://github.com/awesome/project"

**Agent Actions:**

# 1. Check if already bookmarked
clinkding bookmarks check https://github.com/awesome/project

# 2. Get metadata (use summarize skill)
summarize url https://github.com/awesome/project --format json

# 3. Analyze content and infer tags
# From summary: "A CLI tool for Docker container management"
# Canonical tags: docker, devops, cli, tools

# 4. Create bookmark
clinkding bookmarks create https://github.com/awesome/project \
  --title "Awesome Project - Docker Container CLI" \
  --description "Command-line tool for managing Docker containers with enhanced features" \
  --tags "docker,devops,cli"

Tag Mapping Heuristics

Use these rules to map content → canonical tags:

| Content Type | Canonical Tags |

|--------------|----------------|

| Web development, HTML, CSS, JavaScript | `webdev`, `css`, `javascript` |

| React, frameworks, frontend | `webdev`, `react` |

| Design, UI/UX, mockups | `design` |

| Python, Go, Ruby code | `programming`, `python`/`ruby` |

| Docker, K8s, DevOps | `docker`, `devops`, `cloud` |

| Home automation, ESP32, sensors | `smart-home`, `esphome`, `iot` |

| AI, ML, LLMs | `ai`, `llm` |

| Productivity tools, workflows | `productivity`, `tools` |

| Finance, investing, crypto | `finance` |

| Marketing, SEO, ads | `marketing` |

| Shopping, deals, stores | `ecommerce` |

| Tutorials, guides, docs | `guide`, `howto`, `documentation` |

| Security, privacy, encryption | `security`, `privacy` |

| Local (DFW/Seattle) | `texas`, `seattle` |

Validation Before Creating

Always run these checks:

# 1. Does URL already exist?
clinkding bookmarks check <url>

# 2. Do the tags exist?
clinkding tags list --plain | grep -iE "^(tag1|tag2|tag3)$"

# 3. Are we using canonical tags?
# Cross-reference against the 263 canonical tags
# Never create new tags without explicit user request

User Requests to Save Multiple Links

If user provides multiple URLs:

# Process each URL separately with metadata extraction
for url in url1 url2 url3; do
  # Get metadata
  # Infer tags
  # Create bookmark
done

Updating Existing Bookmarks

If user says "Update that bookmark" or "Add tags to my last save":

# Get most recent bookmark
recent_id=$(clinkding bookmarks list --limit 1 --plain | cut -f1)

# Add tags (don't remove existing ones unless asked)
clinkding bookmarks update $recent_id --add-tags "new-tag"

# Update description
clinkding bookmarks update $recent_id --description "Updated notes"

Key Principles

1. **Always fetch metadata** - Use `summarize` to get good titles/descriptions

2. **Use existing tags** - Never create new tags without checking canonical list

3. **Be selective** - 2-5 tags max, choose the most specific applicable

4. **Validate first** - Check for duplicates before creating

5. **Provide context** - Include brief description explaining why it's useful

---

Current Canonical Tag Structure

Dave's linkding instance has **263 canonical tags** after consolidation from 17,189 duplicates.

Top categories (by bookmark count):

**Golden Rule:** When in doubt, use broader existing tags rather than creating new specific ones.