The CLI itself is free and open-source under the Apache 2.0 license. Box provides a free developer tier with 15,000 API calls per month, 10GB storage, and 10GB bandwidth. Business plans start at $500/month with 175,000 API calls. You pay for the Box platform, not the CLI tool. Your agent uses the same API quota whether it works through the CLI or the web interface.

Can AI agents use Box CLI?

Yes. Box CLI works with any AI agent that can execute shell commands. Box also provides an official MCP server — available both hosted in the Box Admin Console and as an open-source self-hosted option — for agents that prefer the Model Context Protocol. The CLI supports bulk CSV operations where your agent can batch hundreds of file operations into a single command. v4.6.0 added encrypted credential storage, making it enterprise security-team approved.

What is the difference between Box CLI and Box Drive?

Box Drive syncs files between your local filesystem and Box cloud storage, keeping folders in sync automatically. Box CLI is an API tool — it executes specific operations like upload, download, search, and user management on demand. Your AI agent uses the CLI for programmatic content operations: bulk uploads, permission changes, compliance searches, user provisioning. Box Drive is for humans who want files on their desktop. Box CLI is for agents who need to operate on enterprise content at scale.

Does Box have MCP server support?

Yes. Box offers an official MCP server that can be hosted directly in Box (enabled via the Admin Console) or self-hosted as an open-source project. It works with AI platforms including Claude, Microsoft Copilot Studio, and Mistral Le Chat. The MCP server exposes the same content management capabilities as the CLI — file operations, search, metadata, and collaboration — through the Model Context Protocol standard.

Box CLI

258 stars

official open-source Has MCP Cross-platform macOS Windows Actively maintained

Box's official command-line tool. Upload, download, search, and manage enterprise content with bulk CSV operations, encrypted credential storage, and full API coverage from the terminal.

Box CLI has both a CLI and an MCP server. See when to use each

Part of the Box CLI tools for AI agents

What your agent can do

Enterprise content management is a black hole for time. Someone uploads a file to the wrong folder, someone else can't find the contract from last quarter, a third person needs to provision access for the new hire across twelve shared folders. Each of these is a five-minute task in the Box web UI. Multiply by a hundred employees and it's a full-time job nobody signed up for.Your AI agent handles the entire content operations layer. "Upload these quarterly reports to the Finance folder, tag them with Q1-2026, and share with the executive team." Your agent runs `box files:upload` with the right parent folder ID, applies metadata, and manages collaborator permissions. What took a human fifteen minutes of clicking through nested folders takes your agent one command.The bulk operations feature is where Box CLI pulls ahead of the web interface. Feed it a CSV file where each row represents an API call — create folders, move files, update permissions, provision users — and your agent processes hundreds of operations in a single run. Onboarding a new department? Your agent reads the org chart, creates the folder structure, sets granular permissions per role, and uploads template documents. One CSV, one command, done.Full-text search across enterprise content is the sleeper feature. `box search "Q1 revenue report" --type file --file-extensions pdf` returns results your agent can immediately download or share. For compliance workflows, your agent can search for documents matching specific criteria, verify metadata, and flag items that need review. The web UI search works, but your agent can chain searches with actions — find, verify, move, notify — without human context-switching.Box v4.6.0 added encrypted credential storage using your platform's native keychain (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, libsecret on Linux). Previous versions stored tokens in plaintext config files. For enterprises with security requirements, this is the difference between "approved for use" and "blocked by InfoSec."Box also provides an official MCP server, available both as a hosted service in the Box Admin Console and as an open-source self-hosted option. Agents that prefer the Model Context Protocol over shell commands get first-class access to the same content management capabilities.

Limitations

Enterprise-focused by design — requires a Box account and OAuth or JWT authentication setup, which is heavier than consumer cloud storage CLIs. The free developer tier caps at 15,000 API calls per month and 10GB storage, which limits bulk operations at scale. No real-time file watching or sync capability — Box Drive handles desktop sync separately. Some AI-triggered operations through the CLI may incur additional Box platform charges.

Key Commands

box files:upload Upload files to Box with automatic conflict handling

box files:download Download files or entire folders from Box to local storage

box search Full-text search across all enterprise content in Box

box folders:create Create folders and configure access permissions

box users:list List and manage enterprise users across the organization

box login Authenticate with Box using browser-based OAuth or Box Official App

GitHub Stats

repo box/boxcli

stars 258

language JavaScript

license Apache-2.0

last commit Mar 17, 2026

Links

Official documentation developer.box.com/guides/cli/ GitHub repository github.com/box/boxcli Box MCP server docs developer.box.com/guides/box-mcp/ Box Developer site developer.box.com

Alternatives

tool	description
Box CLI	current tool
Box Drive	Box's desktop sync client for keeping local folders synchronized with Box cloud storage. Designed for human desktop workflows rather than programmatic agent operations.
rclone	Multi-provider cloud storage CLI supporting 70+ backends including Box. Broader provider support but less Box-specific functionality like metadata templates and enterprise user management.

FAQ

Is Box CLI free?: The CLI itself is free and open-source under the Apache 2.0 license. Box provides a free developer tier with 15,000 API calls per month, 10GB storage, and 10GB bandwidth. Business plans start at $500/month with 175,000 API calls. You pay for the Box platform, not the CLI tool. Your agent uses the same API quota whether it works through the CLI or the web interface.
Can AI agents use Box CLI?: Yes. Box CLI works with any AI agent that can execute shell commands. Box also provides an official MCP server — available both hosted in the Box Admin Console and as an open-source self-hosted option — for agents that prefer the Model Context Protocol. The CLI supports bulk CSV operations where your agent can batch hundreds of file operations into a single command. v4.6.0 added encrypted credential storage, making it enterprise security-team approved.
What is the difference between Box CLI and Box Drive?: Box Drive syncs files between your local filesystem and Box cloud storage, keeping folders in sync automatically. Box CLI is an API tool — it executes specific operations like upload, download, search, and user management on demand. Your AI agent uses the CLI for programmatic content operations: bulk uploads, permission changes, compliance searches, user provisioning. Box Drive is for humans who want files on their desktop. Box CLI is for agents who need to operate on enterprise content at scale.
Does Box have MCP server support?: Yes. Box offers an official MCP server that can be hosted directly in Box (enabled via the Admin Console) or self-hosted as an open-source project. It works with AI platforms including Claude, Microsoft Copilot Studio, and Mistral Le Chat. The MCP server exposes the same content management capabilities as the CLI — file operations, search, metadata, and collaboration — through the Model Context Protocol standard.