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By Not Operations

not manage

Clio Manage is the legal practice management software used by thousands of law firms to track matters, contacts, and bills. not manage is an open source, unofficial command line tool that gives you secure, terminal-level access to the Clio API. No browser, no GUI. It connects only to your Clio account, the same way signing in to Clio in a browser does. Your login stays in your computer's password storage. Your data stays on your machine.

This is not an official Clio product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Clio or Themis Solutions Inc. It is an independent open source tool by Not Operations that uses the public Clio Manage API.

Install

npm i -g not-manage && not-manage
View source on GitHubView on npm

Security

Your data stays on your machine.

Law firm data is sensitive. You deserve to know exactly how a tool works before you use it. Here is the plain version: the tool talks only to your Clio account, over the same kind of secure connection you get when you sign in to Clio in a browser. Nothing is sent to us or anyone else. Everything stays on your computer. You can read the code yourself, run it past an AI, or have anyone you trust review it so you know nothing weird is in there. The CLI itself asks you to acknowledge that output may contain confidential data before you run your first command.

Your login stays on your computer

Your Clio login is stored in your computer's built-in password storage (Keychain on Mac, Credential Manager on Windows, or your Linux equivalent). It is never saved in a plain text file and never sent to us or any third party.

Connects only to your Clio account

The tool talks to the Clio Manage API and nothing else. No tracking, no analytics, no calls to any other service. You can confirm this by reading the source code. Every network call is in one place in the repo.

You can verify the code

The code is open source on GitHub. Read it yourself, paste it into Claude or ChatGPT and ask it to find anything concerning, or have your IT person or a developer you trust review it. The codebase is short enough to review in an afternoon.

Redacted by default

Every data command redacts client names, emails, phone numbers, and common PII patterns before printing output. You have to explicitly pass --unredacted to see raw data. Redaction is best-effort and not a substitute for your own review process, but it means accidental screen shares and copy-pastes are far less likely to expose client information.

Get Clio data into your AI chats safely

If you use Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor, you can pull your Clio data (matters, contacts, bills) straight into your AI context window. The data goes from your machine to your AI tool. You choose what to share. No middleman. No black box. Easy, efficient, and secure.

Read-only by design

The CLI only reads data from your Clio account. It cannot create, modify, or delete anything. There is no write command. You cannot accidentally change a matter status, overwrite a contact, or mess up a bill. The worst case scenario is that you see your own data in your own terminal.

What it does

Query the Clio API from your terminal.

Read your Clio data without opening a browser. Every command hits the Clio Manage API directly. Pipe the output to a file, feed it into an AI context window, or use it in scripts you write with Claude Code or Cursor.

Setup and auth

not-manage setup
not-manage auth login
not-manage auth status
not-manage whoami

Matters

not-manage matters list --status open
not-manage matters list --client-id 999
not-manage matters get 456
not-manage matters list --all --json

Contacts

not-manage contacts list --query "acme"
not-manage contacts list --client-only
not-manage contacts get 12345

Bills and invoices

not-manage bills list --overdue-only
not-manage bills list --client-id 999
not-manage invoices list --state awaiting_payment
not-manage bills get 987

Activities and time entries

not-manage activities list --matter-id 456
not-manage time-entries list --user-id 88
not-manage activities list --status unbilled

Tasks, users, and practice areas

not-manage tasks list --matter-id 456
not-manage users list --name "Sarah"
not-manage practice-areas list

Feed Clio data directly into AI tools with the --json flag

Every command supports --json output. Pipe it to a file, copy it into a Claude or ChatGPT conversation, or use it as input to a script you wrote with an AI coding assistant. You stay in control of where the data goes.

not-manage matters list --status open --all --json > open-matters.json

Who it's for

For every Clio developer and law firm tech person who wants terminal access to their data.

Clio Manage does not ship a native command line tool. Until it does, this is the open source Clio Manage integration tool that fills that gap.

Law firm automation and IT

You're building law firm automation workflows, pulling reports, or scripting against the Clio API. You want a real command line tool, not a GUI export. You need to know the tool is safe before your managing partner asks.

AI tools for lawyers who code

You use Claude Code, Cursor, or OpenAI Codex to write small scripts that save you time. You want live Clio data in your AI context window, and you need a secure, local way to get it out of Clio without trusting a black box service.

Legal tech consultants

You're building a Clio Manage integration for your clients. You need a working reference implementation of the Clio login flow, one you can actually read, run, modify, and hand over.

Anyone who wants to review before installing

Open source means you don't have to take our word for it. Paste the source into Claude, ChatGPT, or any AI and ask it to find anything concerning. The full codebase is a few hundred lines, short enough to review in an afternoon.

Quick start

Up and running in 5 minutes.

  1. 1

    Create a Clio app

    Go to the Clio developer portal and create an application for your region. If you don't have developer access yet, register at docs.developers.clio.com.

  2. 2

    Add the redirect URI

    In your Clio app settings, add this redirect URI:

    http://127.0.0.1:53123/callback
  3. 3

    Install and set up

    npm i -g not-manage && not-manage
  4. 4

    Verify

    not-manage auth status
not-manage whoami

Use cases

What you can actually do with it.

Commands are the how. These are the why.

Get your Clio data into a file

Run any command with --json and pipe the output to a file. You now have a structured snapshot of your matters, contacts, bills, or users that you can open in any tool: a spreadsheet, a script, or an AI.

not-manage matters list --status open --all --json > open-matters.json

Feed live Clio data into Claude or ChatGPT

Export your overdue bills, open matters, or contact list as JSON, then paste it into a Claude or ChatGPT conversation. Ask it to summarize, flag patterns, draft follow-up emails, or identify anything that needs attention.

not-manage bills list --overdue-only --json > overdue.json

Write scripts with AI coding tools

Use Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex to write automation scripts that call not manage commands. Your AI assistant writes the script; not manage provides the Clio data. You never have to touch the login flow directly.

not-manage contacts list --client-only --json | your-script.js

Build or debug a Clio Manage integration

The source code is a working, tested reference implementation of the Clio Manage login flow and API. If you are building your own integration, this is the fastest way to understand how the API actually behaves.

not-manage auth status
not-manage whoami

FAQ

Common questions

What is not manage?
not manage is an open source, local first command line tool for the Clio Manage API. Clio Manage is the legal practice management software used by law firms to track matters, contacts, bills, and users. not manage lets you query that data from your terminal. No browser, no GUI, nothing leaving your machine.
Is it safe to use with law firm data?
Yes. The code is fully open source on GitHub. You can read every line, have anyone on your team review it, or paste it into Claude or ChatGPT and ask it to find anything concerning. Your login credentials are stored in your computer's built-in password storage (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, or Linux Secret Service) and are never written to a plain text file or sent to any third party. The only connection the tool makes is to your Clio account, the same secure connection you get when you sign in to Clio in a browser. Your data stays on your machine.
How do I set up Clio Manage OAuth with this CLI?
Create a developer application at docs.developers.clio.com, add http://127.0.0.1:53123/callback as a redirect URI, then run not-manage auth setup to complete the Clio Manage OAuth flow and store your credentials in your computer's password storage.
Can I use this as an AI tool for lawyers with Claude Code or Cursor?
Yes. Every command supports --json output. Pipe it to a file and load it into Claude Code, Cursor, OpenAI Codex, or any AI coding tool as context. You control what gets shared. The data never goes anywhere you don't explicitly send it.
Should I use a Claude Code MCP server or this CLI to access Clio data?
Use the CLI. An MCP server is a black box running as a persistent background process alongside Claude Code. You have no practical way to verify it is not exfiltrating your Clio credentials or client data to a third-party server. That is not a hypothetical concern for a law firm handling attorney-client privileged information. With not manage, you can read every single line of code on GitHub before you run it. You can paste it into Claude or ChatGPT and ask it to find anything suspicious. You can have your IT person or any developer you trust review it in an afternoon. The code is short. Every network call is in one place. The tool talks to your Clio account and nothing else. When you export data, you decide what file to load into Claude Code. Your credentials never touch a process you did not personally review. That is the difference.
Is this a Clio Manage integration tool for law firm automation?
Yes. not manage is designed for law firm automation workflows: exporting open matters, flagging overdue invoices, querying contacts for scripts, or feeding Clio data into AI pipelines. It is the open source alternative to building a full Clio Manage integration from scratch.
Is not manage affiliated with Clio (Themis Solutions)?
No. This is an independent open source project by Not Operations. Clio is a trademark of Themis Solutions Inc. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Clio and uses the public Clio Manage API under their developer terms.

Open source

The source is on GitHub. Read it, contribute to it, or paste it into an AI to review it. Licensed under Apache 2.0.

github.com/Not-Operations/not-manage

Support

Bug reports and questions are best raised as GitHub issues. For anything else:

hello@notoperations.com