How to Install the Gradient CLI and SDK
Validated on 14 Dec 2023 • Last edited on 17 Jun 2025
You can launch Notebooks, Workflows, and Deployments programmatically with the SDK using Python.
The SDK is bundled with the Gradient CLI. The Gradient CLI is available on PyPI and works on Windows, MacOS, and Linux.
The CLI requires Python 3.4+ (or Python 2.7). Be sure to use a compatible version of pip (or pip3) depending on your Python version.
Installation
Pip install
pip install -U gradientThe -U option upgrades all specified packages to the newest available version.
You can verify that it is working by running
gradient versionwhich outputs a version like v2.0.5.
Connect your account
You can either stash your API key on your computer or include your API key on each command. The latter can be useful if you are working on several teams at the same time, as each team has its own API key.
Obtaining an API key
Sign in to your Paperspace account to create a new API key. Once logged in, navigate to your Profile on the top right hand side of your screen and click Team Settings.
Under Team Settings, click the API Keys tab. Enter in a name for your API Key and click the Add + button. Make sure to copy your new API key after it is generated. You won’t be able to see it again after leaving the page.
The API keys you generated here are used to authenticate your requests.
Set active API key
First, obtain an API Key, and then:
gradient apiKey XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAlternatively, you can set the environment variable PAPERSPACE_API_KEY temporarily to override your configured api key.
export PAPERSPACE_API_KEY=XXXX
gradient workflows run ...cat ~/.paperspace/config.json
Using a virtual environment
For Python 3.4+
First, install virtualenv:
pip install virtualenvCreate a new virtual environment:
python3 -m virtualenv <virtual_env_dir_path>Activate the virtual environment:
source <virtual_env_dir_path>/bin/activateVirtualenvs can also be run in other ways, for example, using conda.
Enable autocomplete
Add the following to your .bashrc (or .zshrc) to enable autocomplete anytime you activate your shell. If Gradient was installed in a virtual environment, the following has to be added to the activate script:
eval "$(_GRADIENT_COMPLETE=source gradient)"
Alternatively, you can create an activation script by:
(_GRADIENT_COMPLETE=source gradient) > ~/paperspace_complete.sh
and then add . ~/paperspace_complete.sh to your .bashrc, .zshrc or activate script.
For more, see https://click.palletsprojects.com/en/7.x/bashcomplete/ .
Install the latest pre-release version
If you need a pre-release version of the CLI use the following command to install it:
pip install -U --pre gradient