[Blog](/blog/.md) / [Updates](/blog/tags/updates/.md) # A terminal user's next interface to object storage Abdullah Ibrahim, Xe Iaso · February 10, 2026 · 10 min read [![Abdullah Ibrahim](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/530615?v=4)](https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdullahibrahim/) [Abdullah Ibrahim](https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdullahibrahim/) Senior Software Engineer [![Xe Iaso](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/529003?v=4)](https://xeiaso.net) [Xe Iaso](https://xeiaso.net) Senior Cloud Whisperer ![Terminal window showing the tigris command in action with a colorful table display of uploaded files](/blog/assets/images/hero-image-b321439c3043f5ac494842cf3f1d396b.webp) I live in the terminal. If I can't do it from a shell prompt, it basically doesn't exist. In order to make Tigris easier to use for developers like me, we've made a brand new Tigris CLI that lets you manage your buckets directly from your shell. Take a gander: ``` $ tigris cp AGENTS.md t3://xedn/AGENTS.md Uploading object... ┌───────────┬────────┬──────────────┬───────────────────────┐ │ Path │ Size │ Content-Type │ Modified │ ├───────────┼────────┼──────────────┼───────────────────────┤ │ AGENTS.md │ 4.2 KB │ text/plain │ Feb 5, 2026, 12:56 PM │ └───────────┴────────┴──────────────┴───────────────────────┘ ``` That copied my local [AGENTS.md](http://AGENTS.md) file to [my bucket in Tigris](https://files.xeiaso.net/AGENTS.md). As you can see, this new Tigris CLI gives you all the buckety goodness you know and love anywhere with a shell prompt. Even Windows. It's just an `npm install` away: ``` npm install -g @tigrisdata/cli ``` Then `tigris login` and you're good to go! ## Wait, didn't you have a CLI already?[​](#wait-didnt-you-have-a-cli-already "Direct link to Wait, didn't you have a CLI already?") Fun fact: Tigris wasn't always an object storage company. We used to be a database company that made a database similar to DynamoDB. When we made that, we had a separate `tigris` command that let you interact with the database from the command line. Given that product is cancelled and offline, we've deprecated that old `tigris` command in favour of this new one that lets you interact with object storage. ## What's different about the `tigris` command?[​](#whats-different-about-the-tigris-command "Direct link to whats-different-about-the-tigris-command") The UNIX philosophy states that each command should be *as simple as possible* so that complex functionality can be created by chaining programs together [like how 8 simple ingredients at Taco Bell can assemble a wide array of menu options](http://widgetsandshit.com/teddziuba/2010/10/taco-bell-programming.html). Each of the subcommands in the `tigris` command follows this rule. Here are some examples so you get the idea: * `tigris login`: Authenticates you to Tigris with a temporary access key. * `tigris buckets list`: Lists the buckets in your current Tigris organization. * `tigris objects delete`: Delete an object. At a high level, `tigris` uses this pattern: ``` tigris DOMAIN OPERATION --flags ``` This maps really cleanly to how you'd intuitively expect it to work: * **Domain:** the area of concern: objects, buckets, credentials, forks, snapshots, etc. * **Operation**: is the verb: `list`, `get`, `put`, `delete`, `copy`, `move`. * **Arguments**: what comes after. You'll intuit your way through the rest of the program after one command, ideally so natural that you can squint at a `tigris` command once and then figure your way through the rest of the program. One neat side effect of this being natural for humans is that it's also natural for our artificial coworkers to figure out thanks to them being trained on so much CLI tool documentation! ``` ❯ Try running tigris objects put --help and copy yeetfile.js to the skynet bucket ⏺ Bash(tigris objects put --help) ⎿ Usage: tigris objects put|p [options] [command] Upload an object … +14 lines (ctrl+o to expand) ⏺ Bash(ls -la yeetfile.js 2>/dev/null || find . -name "yeetfile.js" -type f 2>/dev/null | head -5) ⎿ -rw-r--r-- 1 xe staff 5010 Jan 12 15:55 yeetfile.js ⏺ Bash(tigris objects put skynet yeetfile.js yeetfile.js) ⎿ ┌─────────────┬────────┬──────────────┬─────────────────────────┐ │ Path │ Size │ Content-Type │ Modified │ ├─────────────┼────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────────┤ … +2 lines (ctrl+o to expand) ⏺ Done. yeetfile.js has been uploaded to the xe-zohar-copy bucket (4.9 KB). ``` No hand-holding or custom skill files required! The agent reads the help text and just figures it out. This is the kind of design we're aiming for: natural enough that both humans and AIs can figure it out without needing to read a tutorial beyond `--help`. ## How did we get to this design?[​](#how-did-we-get-to-this-design "Direct link to How did we get to this design?") Inside Tigris we use a Request-For-Comment flow for many of these big projects. A lot of the time in planning is spent drawing up a formal specification. We write this formal spec way before we even *think* about writing code. Having this all specified makes it a lot easier to iterate and gather feedback. Needless to say, this project generated *a lot* of feedback, probably the most out of any of these user-facing projects. When Abdullah was working on the CLI, he wanted to write a formal specification for the CLI and then transform that into the scaffolding for the code. This eventually evolved into [specs.yaml](https://github.com/tigrisdata/cli/blob/main/src/specs.yaml), which we parse with some custom code to generate the scaffolding required to wire everything up. This spec file ended up serving two purposes: it drove the RFC process by being the canonical source of truth for what the CLI should do, but it also was reused to generate the CLI itself. Change the spec, regenerate the CLI, everything updates and all is balanced as all things should be. As a neat side effect of this, here's [the implementation of the `objects put` command](https://github.com/tigrisdata/cli/blob/main/src/lib/objects/put.ts). It's in `src/lib/objects/put.ts` and directly maps to `objects put`. This gives us filesystem-based command routing the same way that Next.js gives you filesystem based web routing. This spec-driven approach worked well enough that I think other teams should use it too. We're going to evolve this a bit more and make some tooling to generate CLI scaffolds in the future. Stay tuned! ## Example commands[​](#example-commands "Direct link to Example commands") Here's some side by side examples comparing the `tigris` and `aws` commands for interacting with object storage: | Tigris Command | AWS S3 Equivalent | Description | | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | `tigris ls` | `aws s3 ls` | List buckets or objects | | `tigris ls ` | `aws s3 ls s3://bucket/` | List objects in a bucket | | `tigris ls /path/` | `aws s3 ls s3://bucket/path/` | List objects in a path | | `tigris mk ` | `aws s3 mb s3://bucket` | Create a new bucket | | `tigris mk /folder/` | `aws s3api put-object --bucket bucket --key folder/` | Create a folder | | `tigris touch /key` | `aws s3api put-object --bucket bucket --key key` | Create empty object | | `tigris cp ./info.json t3://bucket/info.json` | `aws s3 cp ./info.json s3://bucket/info.json` | Copy a file from the filesystem to Tigris | | `tigris cp t3://bucket/info.json ./info.json` | `aws s3 cp s3://bucket/info.json ./info.json` | Copy a file from Tigris to the filesystem | | `tigris objects put ` | `aws s3 cp s3://` | Copy objects/folders | | `tigris objects get > test.json` | `aws s3 cp file.txt s3://bucket/` | Upload file | | `tigris rm /key` | `aws s3 rm s3://bucket/key` | Delete object | | `tigris rm /` | `aws s3 rm s3://bucket/ --recursive` | Delete folder recursively | | `tigris configure` | `aws configure` | Save credentials | | `tigris whoami` | `aws sts get-caller-identity` | Show current user info | | `tigris logout` | (no direct equivalent) | End session | note You can also use `t3` as shorthand for `tigris` in the CLI! See how much simpler that all is? We think that making these commands direct like this will make it a lot easier for you to understand and work with Tigris. ## The real star: `tigris cp`[​](#the-real-star-tigris-cp "Direct link to the-real-star-tigris-cp") My favorite subcommand is `cp` (copy). It does everything you'd expect from the UNIX tool `cp` on your local machine, but it understands `t3://` URLs. This means you can copy files between buckets, download stuff, upload stuff—all with one command that behaves exactly like you'd expect: ``` # Copy a remote object to a new location tigris cp t3://my-bucket/my-path/my-object.json t3://my-bucket/new-path/my-object.json # Copy a remote folder recursively tigris cp -r t3://my-bucket/my-path/ t3://my-bucket/new-path/ # Copy with wildcard tigris cp t3://my-bucket/my-path/*.json t3://my-bucket/new-path/ # Download a remote object to local tigris cp t3://my-bucket/my-file.txt ./local-file.txt # Download a folder to local tigris cp -r t3://my-bucket/my-path/ ./local-dir/ # Upload a local file to remote tigris cp ./local-file.txt t3://my-bucket/my-file.txt # Upload a local folder to remote tigris cp -r ./local-dir/ t3://my-bucket/my-path/ ``` See that `t3://` prefix? That's our URL scheme for Tigris objects. Your brain already knows how `cp` works; we just made it work with object storage too. > "Instead of being fixated on an existing tool, you can do something new" —Abdullah ## Frequently Asked Questions[​](#frequently-asked-questions "Direct link to Frequently Asked Questions") ### Is the Tigris CLI free to use?[​](#is-the-tigris-cli-free-to-use "Direct link to Is the Tigris CLI free to use?") Yes! The Tigris CLI is completely free and open source. You can install it with `npm install -g @tigrisdata/cli` and start managing your object storage immediately. Tigris also offers a generous free tier for storage and bandwidth. ### Does the CLI work on Windows?[​](#does-the-cli-work-on-windows "Direct link to Does the CLI work on Windows?") Yes, the Tigris CLI is cross-platform and works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Since it's distributed as an npm package, it works anywhere Node.js is installed—including Windows PowerShell, Command Prompt, and Windows Terminal. ### Can I use Tigris CLI with existing AWS S3 workflows?[​](#can-i-use-tigris-cli-with-existing-aws-s3-workflows "Direct link to Can I use Tigris CLI with existing AWS S3 workflows?") The Tigris CLI follows similar patterns to AWS S3 commands, making migration straightforward. See the comparison table above for command equivalents. However, the Tigris CLI uses a more intuitive, UNIX-philosophy syntax (like `tigris cp` instead of `aws s3 cp`) that's designed to be easier to remember and type. ### How do I authenticate with the Tigris CLI?[​](#how-do-i-authenticate-with-the-tigris-cli "Direct link to How do I authenticate with the Tigris CLI?") Run `tigris login` to authenticate with a temporary access key, or use `tigris configure` to set up a long-lived authentication keypair. Both methods will store your credentials securely for future sessions. ### Is Tigris S3-compatible?[​](#is-tigris-s3-compatible "Direct link to Is Tigris S3-compatible?") Yes, Tigris provides an S3-compatible API. While the Tigris CLI offers a more natural command interface, you can also use existing S3 tools with Tigris if needed. ### Can AI assistants use the Tigris CLI?[​](#can-ai-assistants-use-the-tigris-cli "Direct link to Can AI assistants use the Tigris CLI?") Yes! The CLI is designed with discoverable help text that AI assistants can understand and use. Commands follow the pattern `tigris DOMAIN OPERATION`, so you can ask an AI to "upload this file with tigris" and it can typically figure out the correct command from `--help` output. ## Conclusion[​](#conclusion "Direct link to Conclusion") Please try the CLI out! It's [open source on GitHub](https://github.com/tigrisdata/cli). We use it internally at Tigris. We plan to replace the AWS CLI with our CLI company-wide–there's only so many times you can type `aws s3api` before your fingers fall off. Install our CLI with `npm`: ``` npm install -g @tigrisdata/cli ``` Then run `tigris login` to get started or `tigris configure` to set your authentication keypair. You'll be authenticated and ready to upload files within seconds. Try it out! Let us know what you think! We're still balancing familiarity with natural design, and real feedback beats internal speculation every time. Open [an issue on GitHub](https://github.com/tigrisdata/cli), stop by [our Discord](https://community.tigrisdata.com) or reply wherever you found this post. The shell is waiting. Ready to control Tigris from your terminal? Install the Tigris CLI with npm and manage your object storage without leaving the command line. [Get the CLI](https://github.com/tigrisdata/cli) **Tags:** * [Updates](/blog/tags/updates/.md) * [Build with Tigris](/blog/tags/build-with-tigris/.md) * [Feature](/blog/tags/feature/.md)