Sentry CLI Usage Guide
Help users interact with Sentry from the command line using the sentry CLI.
Agent Guidance
Best practices and operational guidance for AI coding agents using the Sentry CLI.
Key Principles
- Prefer CLI commands over raw API calls — the CLI has dedicated commands for most tasks. Reach for
sentry issue view,sentry issue list,sentry trace view, etc. before constructing API calls manually or fetching external documentation. - Use
sentry schemato explore the API — if you need to discover API endpoints, runsentry schemato browse interactively orsentry schema <resource>to search. This is faster than fetching OpenAPI specs externally. - Use
sentry issue view <id>to investigate issues — when asked about a specific issue (e.g.,CLI-G5,PROJECT-123), usesentry issue viewdirectly. - Use
--jsonfor machine-readable output — pipe throughjqfor filtering. Human-readable output includes formatting that is hard to parse. - The CLI auto-detects org/project — most commands work without explicit targets by scanning for DSNs in
.envfiles and source code.
Design Principles
The sentry CLI follows conventions from well-known tools — if you're familiar with them, that knowledge transfers directly:
gh(GitHub CLI) conventions: ThesentryCLI uses the same<noun> <verb>command pattern (e.g.,sentry issue list,sentry org view). Flags followghconventions:--jsonfor machine-readable output,--fieldsto select specific fields,-w/--webto open in browser,-q/--queryfor filtering,-n/--limitfor result count.sentry apimimicscurl: Thesentry apicommand provides direct API access with acurl-like interface —--methodfor HTTP method,--datafor request body,--headerfor custom headers. It handles authentication automatically. If you know how to call a REST API withcurl, the same patterns apply.
Context Window Tips
- Use
--json --fieldsto select specific fields and reduce output size. Run<command> --helpto see available fields. Example:sentry issue list --json --fields shortId,title,count,userCount,lastSeen - Use
--jsonwhen piping output between commands or processing programmatically - Use
--limitto cap the number of results (default is usually 10–100) - Prefer
sentry issue view PROJECT-123over listing and filtering manually - Use
sentry apifor endpoints not covered by dedicated commands
Safety Rules
- Always confirm with the user before running destructive commands:
project delete,trial start - Verify the org/project context is correct before mutations — use
sentry auth statusto check defaults - Never store or log authentication tokens — use
sentry auth loginand let the CLI manage credentials - When in doubt about the target org/project, use explicit
<org>/<project>arguments instead of auto-detection
Workflow Patterns
Investigate an Issue
# 1. Find the issue
sentry issue list my-org/my-project --query "is:unresolved" --limit 5
# 2. Get details
sentry issue view PROJECT-123
# 3. Get AI root cause analysis
sentry issue explain PROJECT-123
# 4. Get a fix plan
sentry issue plan PROJECT-123
Explore Traces and Performance
# 1. List recent traces
sentry trace list my-org/my-project --limit 5
# 2. View a specific trace with span tree
sentry trace view my-org/my-project/abc123def456...
# 3. View spans for a trace
sentry span list my-org/my-project/abc123def456...
# 4. View logs associated with a trace
sentry trace logs my-org/abc123def456...
Stream Logs
# Stream logs in real-time
sentry log list my-org/my-project --follow
# Filter logs by severity
sentry log list my-org/my-project --query "severity:error"
Explore the API Schema
# Browse all API resource categories
sentry schema
# Search for endpoints related to a resource
sentry schema issues
# Get details about a specific endpoint
sentry schema "GET /api/0/organizations/{organization_id_or_slug}/issues/"
Arbitrary API Access
# GET request (default)
sentry api /api/0/organizations/my-org/
# POST request with data
sentry api /api/0/organizations/my-org/projects/ --method POST --data '{"name":"new-project","platform":"python"}'
Dashboard Layout
Sentry dashboards use a 6-column grid. When adding widgets, aim to fill complete rows (widths should sum to 6).
Display types with default sizes:
| Display Type | Width | Height | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| big_number | 2 | 1 | common | Compact KPI — place 3 per row (2+2+2=6) |
| line | 3 | 2 | common | Half-width chart — place 2 per row (3+3=6) |
| area | 3 | 2 | common | Half-width chart — place 2 per row |
| bar | 3 | 2 | common | Half-width chart — place 2 per row |
| table | 6 | 2 | common | Full-width — always takes its own row |
| stacked_area | 3 | 2 | specialized | Stacked area chart |
| top_n | 3 | 2 | specialized | Top N ranked list |
| categorical_bar | 3 | 2 | specialized | Categorical bar chart |
| text | 3 | 2 | specialized | Static text/markdown widget |
| details | 3 | 2 | internal | Detail view |
| wheel | 3 | 2 | internal | Pie/wheel chart |
| rage_and_dead_clicks | 3 | 2 | internal | Rage/dead click visualization |
| server_tree | 3 | 2 | internal | Hierarchical tree display |
| agents_traces_table | 3 | 2 | internal | Agents traces table |
Use common types for general dashboards. Use specialized only when specifically requested. Avoid internal types unless the user explicitly asks.
Available datasets: spans (default, covers most use cases), discover, issue, error-events, transaction-like, metrics, logs, tracemetrics, preprod-app-size.
Run sentry dashboard widget --help for the full list including aggregate functions.
Row-filling examples:
# 3 KPIs filling one row (2+2+2 = 6)
sentry dashboard widget add <dashboard> "Error Count" --display big_number --query count
sentry dashboard widget add <dashboard> "P95 Duration" --display big_number --query p95:span.duration
sentry dashboard widget add <dashboard> "Throughput" --display big_number --query epm
# 2 charts filling one row (3+3 = 6)
sentry dashboard widget add <dashboard> "Errors Over Time" --display line --query count
sentry dashboard widget add <dashboard> "Latency Over Time" --display line --query p95:span.duration
# Full-width table (6 = 6)
sentry dashboard widget add <dashboard> "Top Endpoints" --display table \
--query count --query p95:span.duration \
--group-by transaction --sort -count --limit 10
Common Mistakes
- Wrong issue ID format: Use
PROJECT-123(short ID), not the numeric ID123456789. The short ID includes the project prefix. - Forgetting authentication: Run
sentry auth loginbefore any other command. Check withsentry auth status. - Missing
--jsonfor piping: Human-readable output includes formatting. Use--jsonwhen parsing output programmatically. - Org/project ambiguity: Auto-detection scans for DSNs in
.envfiles and source code. If the project is ambiguous, specify explicitly:sentry issue list my-org/my-project. - Confusing
--querysyntax: The--queryflag uses Sentry search syntax (e.g.,is:unresolved,assigned:me), not free text search. - Not using
--web: View commands support-w/--webto open the resource in the browser — useful for sharing links. - Fetching API schemas instead of using the CLI: Prefer
sentry schemato browse the API andsentry apito make requests — the CLI handles authentication and endpoint resolution, so there's rarely a need to download OpenAPI specs separately. - Using
sentry apiwhen CLI commands suffice:sentry issue list --jsonalready includescount,userCount,firstSeen,lastSeen,priority, and other fields at the top level. Use--fieldsto select specific fields. Run--helpto see all available fields. Only fall back tosentry apifor data the CLI doesn't expose.
Prerequisites
The CLI must be installed and authenticated before use.
Installation
curl https://cli.sentry.dev/install -fsS | bash
curl https://cli.sentry.dev/install -fsS | bash -s -- --version nightly
# Or install via npm/pnpm/bun
npm install -g sentry
Authentication
sentry auth login
sentry auth login --token YOUR_SENTRY_API_TOKEN
sentry auth status
sentry auth logout
Command Reference
Auth
Authenticate with Sentry
sentry auth login— Authenticate with Sentrysentry auth logout— Log out of Sentrysentry auth refresh— Refresh your authentication tokensentry auth status— View authentication statussentry auth token— Print the stored authentication tokensentry auth whoami— Show the currently authenticated user
→ Full flags and examples: references/auth.md
Org
Work with Sentry organizations
sentry org list— List organizationssentry org view <org>— View details of an organization
→ Full flags and examples: references/organizations.md
Project
Work with Sentry projects
sentry project create <name> <platform>— Create a new projectsentry project delete <org/project>— Delete a projectsentry project list <org/project>— List projectssentry project view <org/project>— View details of a project
→ Full flags and examples: references/projects.md
Issue
Manage Sentry issues
sentry issue list <org/project>— List issues in a projectsentry issue explain <issue>— Analyze an issue's root cause using Seer AIsentry issue plan <issue>— Generate a solution plan using Seer AIsentry issue view <issue>— View details of a specific issue
→ Full flags and examples: references/issues.md
Event
View Sentry events
sentry event view <org/project/event-id...>— View details of a specific event
→ Full flags and examples: references/events.md
Api
Make an authenticated API request
sentry api <endpoint>— Make an authenticated API request
→ Full flags and examples: references/api.md
Cli
CLI-related commands
sentry cli feedback <message...>— Send feedback about the CLIsentry cli fix— Diagnose and repair CLI database issuessentry cli setup— Configure shell integrationsentry cli upgrade <version>— Update the Sentry CLI to the latest version
→ Full flags and examples: references/setup.md
Dashboard
Manage Sentry dashboards
sentry dashboard list <org/title-filter...>— List dashboardssentry dashboard view <org/project/dashboard...>— View a dashboardsentry dashboard create <org/project/title...>— Create a dashboardsentry dashboard widget add <org/project/dashboard/title...>— Add a widget to a dashboardsentry dashboard widget edit <org/project/dashboard...>— Edit a widget in a dashboardsentry dashboard widget delete <org/project/dashboard...>— Delete a widget from a dashboard
→ Full flags and examples: references/dashboards.md
Repo
Work with Sentry repositories
sentry repo list <org/project>— List repositories
→ Full flags and examples: references/teams.md
Team
Work with Sentry teams
sentry team list <org/project>— List teams
→ Full flags and examples: references/teams.md
Log
View Sentry logs
sentry log list <org/project-or-trace-id...>— List logs from a projectsentry log view <org/project/log-id...>— View details of one or more log entries
→ Full flags and examples: references/logs.md
Sourcemap
Manage sourcemaps
sentry sourcemap inject <directory>— Inject debug IDs into JavaScript files and sourcemapssentry sourcemap upload <directory>— Upload sourcemaps to Sentry
→ Full flags and examples: references/sourcemap.md
Span
List and view spans in projects or traces
sentry span list <org/project/trace-id...>— List spans in a project or tracesentry span view <trace-id/span-id...>— View details of specific spans
→ Full flags and examples: references/traces.md
Trace
View distributed traces
sentry trace list <org/project>— List recent traces in a projectsentry trace view <org/project/trace-id...>— View details of a specific tracesentry trace logs <org/trace-id...>— View logs associated with a trace
→ Full flags and examples: references/traces.md
Trial
Manage product trials
sentry trial list <org>— List product trialssentry trial start <name> <org>— Start a product trial
→ Full flags and examples: references/trials.md
Init
Initialize Sentry in your project (experimental)
sentry init <target> <directory>— Initialize Sentry in your project (experimental)
→ Full flags and examples: references/setup.md
Schema
Browse the Sentry API schema
sentry schema <resource...>— Browse the Sentry API schema
→ Full flags and examples: references/setup.md
Global Options
All commands support the following global options:
--help- Show help for the command--version- Show CLI version--log-level <level>- Set log verbosity (error,warn,log,info,debug,trace). OverridesSENTRY_LOG_LEVEL--verbose- Shorthand for--log-level debug
Output Formats
JSON Output
Most list and view commands support --json flag for JSON output, making it easy to integrate with other tools:
sentry org list --json | jq '.[] | .slug'
Opening in Browser
View commands support -w or --web flag to open the resource in your browser:
sentry issue view PROJ-123 -w