---
id: hf
version: "1.27.0"
license: Apache
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# hf — CLI extracted from the huggingface_hub library to interact with the Hugging Face Hub

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 220.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

hf is a command-line tool extracted from the huggingface_hub library to provide direct access to Hugging Face Hub operations without writing Python code. It handles authentication, model downloads, and other hub interactions through a clean CLI interface.

The package is explicitly designed for command-line use (especially via uv's uvx tool) rather than as a Python library for scripts. If you need programmatic access to the Hub from within Python code, the documentation recommends using huggingface_hub directly instead. The CLI wraps that library's core functionality into shell commands.

Use it for:

- Download pre-trained models directly from the Hub using a single command without writing Python.
- Authenticate with the Hub and check your account status from the command line.
- Manage model and dataset access in CI/CD pipelines or shell scripts.
- Quickly explore Hub resources and metadata without launching a Python interpreter.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

A command-line interface for interacting with the Hugging Face Hub—downloading models, managing authentication, and accessing hub resources without writing Python code.

Yes, if you need a lightweight CLI for Hub operations. Install via uvx for one-off commands or as a package if you run Hub CLI tasks frequently. Not suitable if you need programmatic Python access—use huggingface_hub directly for that. No known security issues and active maintenance make it safe to use.

## Install

pip install hf
uv add hf
poetry add hf

## Installing hf

Before you install: Active maintenance with a recent release (7 days old) and low install friction. The package is a thin CLI wrapper around huggingface_hub, so installation is straightforward and dependency overhead is minimal.

License in practice: Apache license is permissive, allowing use in most contexts without significant restrictions.

Quickstart:

# Install via uv (recommended)
uvx hf version

# Or install as a package
pip install hf

# Then use the CLI
hf auth whoami
hf download MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-M2

Requires Python >=3.9.0. The package is designed for CLI use via uvx; direct Python script imports are not recommended.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the CLI covers all huggingface_hub functionality or only a subset of common operations.
- Performance characteristics when downloading large models or managing many files.

## Package facts

- License: Apache (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 220.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

hugging face cli tool, download models from hub, huggingface command line, model hub authentication, hf hub cli interface, cli-tool, model-hub

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/hf) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/hf/)