Universal File Opener CLI

UFO CLI

Your agent. Any file. UFO gives accessible regular files useful basic information, including unfamiliar formats. Dedicated readers go deeper on supported documents, images, archives, media and text/data. Screen supported files for hidden content and privacy risks, then make targeted changes in new, reviewable copies. One offline CLI and local MCP server, with JSON receipts.

Inspection reports its coverage gaps. Basic information for an unknown file does not imply a dedicated reader, editor or security inspector for its format. File and resource limits apply.

Free for individuals and small teams. Every command and supported file type is included, with no signup or watermark. Organizations with fewer than ten people and under USD 1 million in annual revenue, including funding, qualify; any organization can evaluate it free. See the eligibility details.

Website and comparison with other agent tools: https://universalfileopener.com/cli/

Install

Native Linux x86_64 installation needs glibc 2.35 or later (Ubuntu 24.04 and Debian 12 tested). Native Alpine/musl installation is unsupported. The Java runtime is included; the container option below uses its own runtime.

curl -fsSL https://universalfileopener.com/install.sh | shufo doctorufo skill install --agent claude-code --dir "$PWD"

install.sh downloads the app image from the latest release, checks it against the release's SHA256SUMS and installs it under ~/.local, without sudo. The same release has a Debian package (sudo apt install ./universal-file-opener_1.5.1_amd64.deb) and ufo-cli-1.5.1-docker.tar, an archive of the container image for offline transfer.

Container

From a directory containing report.docx, download and run the public image:

docker run --rm --network none --read-only --cap-drop ALL \  --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" --security-opt no-new-privileges \  --pids-limit 128 --cpus 2 --memory 1g \  --tmpfs /tmp:rw,nosuid,nodev,size=256m \  --mount type=bind,src="$PWD",dst=/input,readonly \  ghcr.io/krauqllc/ufo-cli:1.5.1 text /input/report.docx

No GitHub login is needed. The temporary mount is required. For edits, mount a separate writable output folder at /output and select a new file there. The container reads, edits and recognizes text; page rendering and Office-to-PDF conversion need the application package. For a deployment pinned to an immutable image, use the digest in the release notes.

Connect an agent

Run in the project folder. For Cursor use ufo skill install --agent cursor --dir "$PWD". For Codex use ufo skill install --agent codex --dir "$PWD" --replace; it adds or updates only the marked UFO section of the project's AGENTS.md, keeping the rest. Start a new session after installing the guide.

For an MCP client instead of the skill, ufo mcp print-config --client claude-code prints a template. Replace its executable and folder placeholders, then merge it into the client configuration. Printing does not register a server. Follow the complete setup instructions.

Get your first useful result

From a clone of this repository, with Python 3.10+ and jsonschema installed:

python3 tools/cli/first_run_demo.py --ufo "$(command -v ufo)" \  --expect-version 1.5.1 --output first-look --mcp

The short example generates two fictional inputs. It collects basic information for an unfamiliar file, finds document properties, a reviewer comment and hidden text in a supported DOCX, and writes a clean copy. It independently checks the saved ZIP/XML bytes, original hashes, full receipt schemas and refusal to replace an existing output. Open first-look/START_HERE.txt to review the results.

Every notInspected gap and skipped clean category remains in the evidence. The optional MCP check discovers tools and calls inspection over local stdio; it does not establish that an installed assistant has connected successfully.

Working efficiently

Read the help for the operation you need: ufo edit paragraphs --help. Locate text with ufo find --text 'budget' --compact report.docx, then read selected paragraphs, cells or slides with ufo text --format structure --compact. Batch independent changes to one file, and reuse the output receipt's hash for the next edit. Store full receipts when you need an audit record.

--compact applies to text, find, inspect --deep and edit; intake, convert and unpack do not accept it. For MCP, read tools/list schemas: find takes one file and report requires an output path.

Only operations that declare --expect-sha256 accept revision guards. replace-text, PDF page edits, image transforms and archive edits do not. Check each operation's help rather than copying another operation's flags. Always review what a receipt skipped and inspect the output before handoff.

What is in this repository

The binaries are on the Releases page. This repository holds what you need to check them:

The other files under tools/ are the helpers these import. They need Python 3.10 or newer, jsonschema for receipt validation, and an installed UFO build.

Reviewed distribution source is also available under packaging/npm/, packaging/linux-cli/registry/ and packaging/homebrew/. These wrappers and descriptors target the same Linux x86_64 release. The Homebrew tap is public: brew install krauqllc/ufo/ufo. The release also provides a complete local MCPB bundle for compatible Linux clients, listed in the official MCP Registry. Directory revision 1.5.1-1 keeps engine and bundle version 1.5.1 unchanged. Choose only existing task folders when installing the bundle; no directories are granted by default. npm publication awaits the publisher's 2FA; Smithery and Glama account submission are separate pending steps.

Check it yourself

UFO=$(command -v ufo)python3 tools/cli/evaluate_sample.py --ufo "$UFO" --expect-version 1.5.1 --output sample-resultpython3 tools/cli/own_file_evaluation.py --files ~/my-files --ufo "$UFO" --expect-version 1.5.1 --output my-files-reportpython3 tools/corpus/download_realworld_corpus.py --download --output corpuspython3 tools/corpus/compare_agent_tools.py --download --corpus tools/corpus/realworld_corpus_manifest.tsv --corpus-root corpus --ufo "$UFO"

--download fetches the pinned releases of the other tools, and --setup-libraries creates the Python library environment the comparison uses. Both need the network once; the runs themselves do not.

License

The files here are Apache 2.0 (LICENSE, NOTICE). The binaries are licensed under ENGINE-LICENSE.txt: free for individuals, evaluation, education, non-commercial use, and organizations with fewer than ten people and under USD 1 million in annual revenue, including funding. Larger organizations need a license.

Install a delivered file with ufo license install ./license.json, then run ufo license status. A fresh file arrives for each paid period; install renewals with ufo license install ./license.json --replace. Checks are offline. For delivery or recovery help, contact [email protected] with the order number.

Security

Report a security problem to [email protected] with "Security" in the subject.