pp-qbo

Qbo — Printing Press CLI

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the qbo-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:

1. Install via the Printing Press installer into a user bin directory:

   npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install qbo --cli-only --bin-dir ~/.local/bin
   

2. Verify: qbo-pp-cli --version
3. Ensure ~/.local/bin is on $PATH for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.5 or newer). This installs into $GOPATH/bin (default $HOME/go/bin), so add that directory to $PATH instead:

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/payments/qbo/cmd/qbo-pp-cli@latest

If --version reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

QuickBooks Online CLI — sync full ledger, query SQLite locally, run duplicate expenses audit, and manage accounting from the terminal.

Command Reference

accounts — Manage accounts

• qbo-pp-cli accounts create — Create or update an account
• qbo-pp-cli accounts get — Get an account by ID

bills — Manage vendor bills

• qbo-pp-cli bills create — Create or update a bill
• qbo-pp-cli bills get — Get a bill by ID

cdc — Change Data Capture (CDC) endpoints for incremental syncs

• qbo-pp-cli cdc — Query changed entities since a timestamp

changed — Show ledger entities modified since a duration or timestamp

• qbo-pp-cli changed --since 24h — Retrieve records updated since cutoff date (from local cache)

customers — Manage customers

• qbo-pp-cli customers create — Create or update a customer
• qbo-pp-cli customers get — Get a customer by ID

duplicates — Find duplicate purchases or bills to prevent double-billing

• qbo-pp-cli duplicates --days 3 — Scan local database for matching transactions

invoices — Manage invoices

• qbo-pp-cli invoices create — Create or update an invoice
• qbo-pp-cli invoices get — Get an invoice by ID

journal_entries — Manage journal entries

• qbo-pp-cli journal-entries create — Create or update a journal entry
• qbo-pp-cli journal-entries get — Get a journal entry by ID

net-worth — Calculate net worth from asset and liability accounts

• qbo-pp-cli net-worth — Output net worth ledger report (from local cache)

payments — Manage customer payments

• qbo-pp-cli payments create — Create or update a payment
• qbo-pp-cli payments get — Get a payment by ID

purchases — Manage purchases (Expenses)

• qbo-pp-cli purchases create — Create or update a purchase
• qbo-pp-cli purchases get — Get a purchase by ID

query — Run raw SQL queries against QBO (limitations apply; sync first to query SQLite locally)

• qbo-pp-cli query — Run raw QuickBooks SQL query

reconcile — Match bank transaction lines for reconciliation

• qbo-pp-cli reconcile --amount 150.00 --date 2026-06-01 — Find match candidates in local database

sync — Synchronize QBO ledger tables to local SQLite cache

• qbo-pp-cli sync — Initial bulk paginated sync or CDC incremental update

vendors — Manage vendors

• qbo-pp-cli vendors create — Create or update a vendor
• qbo-pp-cli vendors get — Get a vendor by ID

Finding the right command

When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:

qbo-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"

which resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code 0 means at least one match; exit code 2 means no confident match — fall back to --help or use a narrower query.

Auth Setup

The CLI uses the OAuth2 Authorization Code flow. To authorize the CLI:

1. Interactive Login: Run the login command, providing your Client ID and Client Secret:

   qbo-pp-cli auth login --client-id <id> --client-secret <secret>
   

2. Production Routing: If authenticating against a production company, set the environment environment variable before logging in:

   export QBO_ENVIRONMENT=production
   

3. Custom Callback Redirects: If your app uses a hosted production redirect URI (e.g. Cloudflare page), pass the --redirect-uri flag:

   qbo-pp-cli auth login \
     --client-id <id> \
     --client-secret <secret> \
     --redirect-uri https://1cdc515d.qbo-legal-docs-xc5.pages.dev/callback
   

Run qbo-pp-cli doctor to verify setup and active token status.

Agent Mode

Add --agent to any command. Expands to: --json --compact --no-input --no-color --yes.

• Pipeable — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr

• Filterable — --select keeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:

  qbo-pp-cli accounts get mock-value --agent --select id,name,status
  

• Previewable — --dry-run shows the request without sending

• Non-interactive — never prompts, every input is a flag

• Explicit retries — use --idempotent only when an already-existing create should count as success

Agent Feedback

When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:

qbo-pp-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
qbo-pp-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
qbo-pp-cli feedback list --json --limit 10

Entries are stored locally at ~/.local/share/qbo-pp-cli/feedback.jsonl. They are never POSTed unless QBO_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT is set AND either --send is passed or QBO_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true. Default behavior is local-only.

Write what surprised you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.

Output Delivery

Every command accepts --deliver <sink>. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:

Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.

Named Profiles

A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled agent calls the same command every run with the same configuration - HeyGen's "Beacon" pattern.

qbo-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
qbo-pp-cli --profile briefing accounts get mock-value
qbo-pp-cli profile list --json
qbo-pp-cli profile show briefing
qbo-pp-cli profile delete briefing --yes

Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults. agent-context lists all available profiles under available_profiles so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.

Exit Codes

Argument Parsing

Parse $ARGUMENTS:

1. Empty, help, or --help → show qbo-pp-cli --help output
2. Starts with install → ends with mcp → MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above
3. Anything else → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with --agent)

MCP Server Installation

1. Install the MCP server:

   go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/payments/qbo/cmd/qbo-pp-mcp@latest
   

2. Register with Claude Code:

   claude mcp add qbo-pp-mcp -- qbo-pp-mcp
   

3. Verify: claude mcp list

Direct Use

1. Check if installed: which qbo-pp-cli If not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill).
2. Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.
3. Execute with the --agent flag:

   qbo-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent
   

4. If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help: qbo-pp-cli <command> --help.