Log into overleaf.com
Open DevTools (F12) → Application → Cookies
Copy the value of overleaf_session2

olcli auth --cookie "YOUR_SESSION_COOKIE"

Verify with:

olcli whoami

Debug authentication issues:

olcli check

Clear stored credentials:

olcli logout

Common Workflows

Pull a project to work locally

olcli pull "My Paper"
cd My_Paper/

Edit and sync changes

# After editing files locally
olcli push              # Upload changes only
olcli sync              # Bidirectional sync (pull + push, propagates local deletions)
olcli sync --no-delete  # Sync without propagating local deletions to remote

Delete or rename remote files

olcli delete chapters/old.tex          # remove a file from the project
olcli rm figures/old.pdf               # alias
olcli rename old.tex new.tex           # rename a file
olcli mv chapters/draft.tex chapters/intro.tex   # alias

Inspect ignore rules

olcli ignored              # list active patterns (built-ins + .olignore + .olignore.local)
olcli push --show-ignored  # see what was filtered on this run
olcli sync --no-ignore     # escape hatch: upload everything

Compile and download PDF

olcli pdf                      # Compile and download
olcli pdf -o paper.pdf         # Custom output name
olcli compile                  # Just compile (no download)

Download .bbl for arXiv submission

olcli output bbl               # Download compiled .bbl
olcli output bbl -o main.bbl   # Custom filename
olcli output --list            # List all available outputs

Upload figures or assets

olcli upload figure1.png "My Paper"          # Upload to project root
olcli upload diagram.pdf                      # Auto-detect project from .olcli.json

Download specific files

olcli download main.tex "My Paper"           # Download single file
olcli zip "My Paper"                          # Download entire project as zip

arXiv Submission Workflow

Complete workflow for preparing an arXiv submission:

# 1. Pull your project
olcli pull "Research Paper"
cd Research_Paper

# 2. Compile to ensure everything builds
olcli compile

# 3. Download the .bbl file (arXiv requires .bbl, not .bib)
olcli output bbl -o main.bbl

# 4. Download any other needed outputs
olcli output aux -o main.aux    # If needed

# 5. Package for submission
zip arxiv.zip *.tex main.bbl figures/*.pdf

# 6. Verify the package compiles locally (optional)
# Then upload arxiv.zip to arxiv.org

Commands Reference

Command	Description
`olcli auth --cookie <value>`	Authenticate with session cookie
`olcli whoami`	Check authentication status
`olcli logout`	Clear stored credentials
`olcli check`	Show config paths and credential sources
`olcli list`	List all projects
`olcli info [project]`	Show project details
`olcli pull [project] [dir]`	Download project files
`olcli push [dir]`	Upload local changes
`olcli sync [dir]`	Bidirectional sync
`olcli upload <file> [project]`	Upload a single file
`olcli download <file> [project]`	Download a single file
`olcli delete <file> [project]`	Delete a remote file or folder by path (alias: `rm`)
`olcli rename <old> <new> [project]`	Rename a remote file or folder (alias: `mv`)
`olcli ignored [dir]`	List active ignore patterns
`olcli zip [project]`	Download as zip archive
`olcli compile [project]`	Trigger compilation
`olcli pdf [project]`	Compile and download PDF
`olcli output [type]`	Download compile outputs

Tips

Auto-detect project: Run commands from a synced directory (contains .olcli.json) to skip the project argument
Dry run: Use olcli push --dry-run or olcli sync --dry-run to preview before applying
Force overwrite: Use olcli pull --force to overwrite local changes
Two-way deletes: olcli sync propagates local deletions to the remote; use --no-delete to opt out per run
Build artifacts: .aux, .bbl, .log, .synctex.gz etc. are filtered by default. Add custom patterns to a .olignore file (gitignore-style)
PDF rule: thesis.pdf next to thesis.tex is auto-ignored; standalone figures/diagram.pdf is preserved
Project ID: You can use project ID instead of name (24-char hex from URL)
Debug auth: Run olcli check to see where credentials are loaded from

overleaf

Overleaf Skill

Installation

Authentication