Sygal CLI

Convert documents to Markdown,
from your terminal.

The same local-first engine as the Sygal desktop app, headless and scriptable, built for developers and AI agents.

Install

npm install -g sygal-cli

Available for macOS, Windows and Linux, same command everywhere.

14-day free trial

Installation

One command,
three platforms.

npm installs the right native conversion engine for your platform automatically.

01

Check your version

node --version

Requires Node.js 20 or later. Install Node.js

02

Then install Sygal

npm install -g sygal-cli

Installs the sygal command globally, ready to use from any folder.

macOS

Apple Silicon native binary, installed automatically.

Windows

Windows x64 native binary, installed automatically.

Linux

Linux x64 native binary. Requires glibc 2.28+ (Ubuntu 18.04+, Debian 10+, RHEL 8+, Amazon Linux 2+). Not compatible with Alpine/musl, use a glibc-based image for containers.

Same 29 formats and the same 100% local processing as the desktop app. See the details.

Usage

The commands
you'll actually use.

Real commands from the README.

These commands run from the folder containing your file. You can also give a full path, for example sygal convert ~/Desktop/report.pdf.

sygal convert report.pdf

Convert a single file. Output written next to the source.

sygal convert folder/ --format both -o ./output

Convert a whole folder recursively, output both .md and .json.

sygal convert https://example.com/article

Convert a web page straight to Markdown.

sygal convert scan.pdf --pdf-ocr all

Scanned PDF, OCR every page.

sygal convert doc.docx --advanced

Also OCR the images embedded inside the document.

sygal convert note.txt --translate en

Translate the converted output.

Configuration and licence

sygal config set-ocr-provider openai

Choose your OCR provider: OpenAI, Mistral, Claude, NVIDIA NIM or Gemini.

sygal config set-api-key openai

Set your API key, read from stdin, encrypted at rest, bound to your machine.

sygal license activate <key>

Activate, check, or release your licence.

sygal update

Update the CLI via npm.

For AI agents

Built for humans
and for agents.

Strict machine-readable output and stable error codes, designed for agent pipelines like Hermes or OpenClaw.

Strict JSON output

sygal convert folder/ --json

Exit code 1 on failure, stable error codes: unsupported_format, api_key_missing, invalid_api_key, rate_limited, network_error, scanned_pdf_detected, ocr_call_limit_exceeded, license_expired, sidecar_down, timeout and more.

Deferred OCR, zero API calls

sygal convert doc.docx --advanced --ocr defer --json
sygal inject doc.docx.md --transcripts transcriptions.json

For agents that can read images themselves. Extracted images are saved next to the source, markers mark their position in the Markdown, and the JSON output lists every deferred image with its index, path and page. sygal inject then puts each transcription back exactly where it belongs.

Pricing

One licence.
One seat, either side.

Try free for 14 days, no card needed. Then a one-time purchase, no subscription, ever.

€22one-time

Lifetime licence, no subscription.

Buy Sygal CLI

14-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked

This licence gives you one seat, usable on the CLI or the desktop app, never both at the same time. Switch anytime: deactivate on one to activate on the other.

Resources

Complete guide and agent skill, free to download, no email required.

Guide (PDF)

Every command, flag, and usage example.

Agent skill (.md)

Drop it into your AI agent so it can drive the CLI.