SLAB
In this section

FIRST RUN

From a bare machine to your first authenticated CLI call — nothing assumed installed.

One goal: get slab collector current to print your collector. When it does, every layer is wired — Python, the CLI, your API key, and your identity. Everything below is one-time setup. Do it once and every terminal you open afterwards just works — no re-typing, no export before each session.

what you're wiring up

WHERE YOU'LL TYPE THESE

Every command below runs in a terminal— a text window where you type a command and press Enter. If you've never opened one:

  • macOS — press ⌘ Space, type "Terminal", hit Enter.
  • Windows— open the Start menu, type "PowerShell", hit Enter. (Use PowerShell, not the older Command Prompt.)
  • Linux — open your terminal app (often Ctrl+Alt+T).

1. GET PYTHON

The slabCLI is a Python program, so you need Python 3.13 or newer. Installing Python is its own thing and depends on your OS, so we won't reprint it here — follow the official python.org downloads, or ask an AI assistant "how do I install Python 3.13 on {your OS}?" and follow along.

Confirm it's there before moving on — macOS/Linux call it python3, Windows just python:

python3 --version    # want: Python 3.13.x or newer

2. INSTALL THE CLI

The slab command ships on PyPI — one install, no clone:

pip install slab-cli    # installs the `slab` command
💡Prefer an isolated, always-on-PATH install? pipx install slab-cli (or uv tool install slab-cli) keeps the CLI in its own environment.

Confirm the command resolves — running it bare prints every command group:

slab

3. GRAB YOUR KEY AND COLLECTOR UUID

Your account — and the collector that owns your collection — were set up for you in this portal when you signed up (you don't create either from the CLI). The CLI needs two one-time values from the portal:

  • API key — mint one on Account. The raw key shows once, so copy it now.
  • Collector UUID — the identity the CLI acts as. It sits on the same page, right above the keys — copy your collector (or the one marked Default).

4. SAVE BOTH IN THE SHELL — FOR GOOD

Setting these for just the current window works, but they're forgotten the moment you close the terminal — you'd retype them every session. Save them once so every future terminal loads them automatically. Pick your OS:

echo 'export SLAB_API_KEY=sk_live_...' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export SLAB_COLLECTOR=your-collector-uuid' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc    # load them into the current terminal too
💡macOS/Linux: if echo $SHELL ends in bash, use ~/.bashrc (or ~/.bash_profile on macOS) instead of ~/.zshrc. Windows: setx saves them for every new terminal — but not the one you ran it in, so open a fresh window before the next step.

5. PROVE IT WORKS

The payoff command — it echoes back the collector you just set:

slab collector current

what you should see

If that prints your collector UUID, the whole chain is live: Python runs the CLI, and the CLI reads your key and collector from the shell. From here, every new terminal is ready with zero setup.

💡Seeing SLAB_COLLECTOR is not set? The CLI never guesses a collector — go back to step 4 and set it to the UUID from Account. Managing several collectors? Point SLAB_COLLECTOR at whichever one you want the CLI to act as.

What next

The CLI is wired — now put cards in it. The Adding Your Cards flow shows the three ways to build your collection and which to reach for first — walking a break's checklist and filling a purchase are far faster than adding one card at a time.

Prefer to explore first? The CLI documents itself — slab lists the groups, slab <group> --helpdetails one. And when you're ready to build your own project on the same endpoints, everything starts from that one API key.

Everything the CLI writes also shows up in the hosted collection app — same collection, rendered in the browser, no key needed (your portal sign-in works there). It's just another client of these endpoints, like the one you might build.