Quick Start - Dify Docs

Before you start, make sure difyctl is installed.

Sign in to your Dify host. For Dify Cloud, use https://cloud.dify.ai; on a self-hosted deployment, use the console API URL.
difyctl auth login --host https://cloud.dify.ai
difyctl prints a one-time code and a verification URL, then waits:
! Copy this one-time code: WDJP-XKLM Open: https://cloud.dify.ai/device
Open the URL in a browser, enter the code, and sign in. Return to the terminal and you’ll see:
✓ Logged in to cloud.dify.ai as <your-email> (<your-name>) Workspace: <your-workspace>

Step 2: Find Your App

List the apps in your workspace:

difyctl get app

You should see something like this:

NAME          ID                                    MODE      UPDATED
Customer FAQ  0a1b2c3d-4e5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789  chat      2026-06-08T03:14:27.521839
Daily Report  7f3e9a2b-1c4d-4e8f-9a0b-2d5c8e1f4a7b  workflow  2026-06-05T22:41:09.812016

Copy the ID of the app you want to run. The examples below use the two IDs from this table.

Step 3: Run Your App

How you pass input depends on the app type.

Chatbot / Chatflow / Agent / Text Generator
Workflow

Pass your message as a positional argument:

difyctl run app 0a1b2c3d-4e5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789 "What are your business hours?"

The reply prints to stdout. For Chatbot, Chatflow, and Agent apps, a hint also prints to stderr so you can continue the same conversation later:

Our business hours are Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm PT.

hint: continue this conversation with --conversation 4f7d8c2a-9b1e-4c6d-8a3f-5e2b7c9d0a1f

Pass inputs as a single JSON object with --inputs:

difyctl run app 7f3e9a2b-1c4d-4e8f-9a0b-2d5c8e1f4a7b --inputs '{"topic":"quarterly report","audience":"executives"}'

The workflow’s outputs print to stdout as JSON:

{"summary":"Q3 revenue grew 14% YoY...","sections":["revenue","costs","outlook"]}

Next Steps

The everyday commands, copy-paste ready: Common Tasks
Where your token lives and how sessions work: Authenticate
Everything else you can do with difyctl: Command Index

​Step 1: Sign In

​Step 2: Find Your App

​Step 3: Run Your App

​Next Steps

Step 1: Sign In

Step 2: Find Your App

Step 3: Run Your App

Next Steps