financial-insights (stripe/link-cli): a skill that lets Claude read your Link transactions, balances and linked accounts

Stripe's skill makes Claude answer questions about your spending, balances and linked accounts by reading your Link wallet through the link-cli command.

Installs: 21.4K; on skills.sh
Stars: 889; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

The skill makes Claude run link-cli commands to list transactions, balances, connected sources and precomputed purchase-pattern insights, then summarize the answer. It triggers on prompts such as "check my balance", "how much did I spend", "show my transactions" and "what accounts are connected". Claude is told to use the smallest command that answers the question, not to pull every list by default.

You must sign in first. Claude checks link-cli auth status, and if you are not signed in it starts a login that you approve on the Link site. SKILL.md says no financial data is retrieved until you approve, and that Claude should request only the access a question needs.

It needs the link-cli program from Stripe, which is not part of the skill. See the install box and the permissions section, because this skill reads real financial data.

Good for

People with a Link wallet who want spending summaries from Claude
Users who want to see balances and which accounts are connected
Developers building agents that need approved, scoped access to Link financial data

Install financial-insights

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the financial-insights skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npm i -g @stripe/link-cli
npx skills add stripe/link-cli --skill financial-insights

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js, npm.

Install the link-cli program first. The README says integrations run the installed link-cli binary and never download it at startup. Then sign in with link-cli auth login when Claude asks.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Reads a user's Link financial data — transactions, balances, and wallet sources — so agents can answer questions about spending and available source capabilities. Use when the user says "check my balance", "how much did I spend", "show my transactions", "what accounts are connected", "summarize my spending", "recent purchases", or asks about their financial activity, account balances, or linked sources. Also use available precomputed insights to answer questions about shopping preferences or identifying preferred businesses.

Sections in SKILL.md

Safety and privacy
Authentication
Choosing the right command
Output format
Insights
Sources (concept)
Transactions
Response fields
Balances
Response fields
Sources
Response fields
Pagination
Answering user questions
Error handling
Guardrails

Key facts

Author: Stripe
License: MIT (repo LICENSE); SKILL.md says 'Complete terms in LICENSE'
Repository: stripe/link-cli
Installs on skills.sh: 21,386 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 889 as of 2026-11-02
Last repo commit: 2026-10-30
Files in the skill folder: 1 file (SKILL.md)
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket pass, Snyk pass
Version: 0.28.0
Needs: The link-cli program (npm package @stripe/link-cli)
Allowed tools: Bash(link-cli:*) and Bash(npm install -g @stripe/link-cli:*)

What it includes

Check, start or widen your Link connection
`auth login` requests the userinfo:read and payment_methods.agentic scopes and all four financial-insights source actions by default. You approve it from a verification link. `auth upgrade` adds only a missing action.
Runs code · link-cli auth status / login / upgrade
Spending, income, merchants, subscriptions
Filters: --start-date, --end-date, --category, --origin (link or external_connection) and --source. Amounts are integers in the smallest currency unit.
Runs code · link-cli transactions list
Current balances and available funds
Cash accounts show available funds by currency, credit accounts show credit used. Balances may be hours or days old.
Runs code · link-cli balances list
Connected banks, cards and wallet sources
Returns name, type, capabilities, connection status and the actions you granted.
Runs code · link-cli sources list
Precomputed purchase-pattern insights
Used for questions like which brands you shop at. Results are treated as observed history, not a stated preference.
Runs code · link-cli insights list-available-types / list
How Claude summarizes
Direct answer first, with the time range and source. It avoids dumping raw records or showing account numbers, tokens or payment details.
Answering rules
What it must not do
Do not move money, start payments, change financial sources, fetch unrelated data or override your narrower access choice.
Guardrails

From the official docs

Permissions

High risk

Claude can read your transactions, balances and linked accounts once you approve a login. Narrow the access when you approve, and use it only with a wallet you mean to share.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only modeHow to turn it on

Watch out for

Reads your bank and card activity
With default access Claude can fetch your Link transactions, transactions imported from connected bank accounts, balances and account details (name, type, connection status). The README says the data comes through Stripe Financial Connections (12,000+ US institutions). Whatever Claude fetches is printed into your conversation, so it goes wherever that conversation goes. Narrow the access when you log in, and keep the chat out of shared workspaces.
Default login also asks for a payment scope
A new login requests payment_methods.agentic along with the financial scopes. Use --no-agentic-payments if you do not want the payment scope.
Allowed to install link-cli globally
The allowed tools include npm install -g @stripe/link-cli. Install the program yourself first so you can check the package.
Your data goes into the chat
Whatever Claude retrieves becomes part of the conversation. SKILL.md tells it to fetch only what the question needs and to avoid showing identifiers and tokens.

Technical details

Turning on read-only	SKILL.md says all commands are read-only. For payment-only access it uses auth login with --no-financial-insights, and for narrower data access it passes only the source-actions it needs.
Talks to	Link (through link-cli)
Sign-in and keys	You log in with link-cli auth login: it shows a verification URL and a short phrase, and you approve the connection on the Link site. The README says the granted scope is stored in a credential file at a default location (--auth or LINK_AUTH_FILE change the path). SKILL.md also names a LINK_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable.
Scopes	userinfo:read payment_methods.agentic read_link_transactions read_external_transactions read_balances read_source_details

Questions

What does the financial-insights skill do?

It makes Claude read your Link financial data and answer questions such as how much you spent, what your balance is and which accounts are connected. It uses the link-cli program, and you approve access by logging in to Link in a browser.

How do I install it in Claude Code, the Claude app or Codex?

Use the install box above. It has two parts: the link-cli program (npm i -g @stripe/link-cli) and the skill (npx skills add stripe/link-cli). The skill's metadata lists link-cli as a required program, and the README does not describe a Claude app upload.

Can it move money or make payments?

SKILL.md says all commands it uses are read-only and that it must not move money, start payments or change sources. It points payment requests to a different skill, create-payment-credential, in the same repo.

What access does it ask for?

By default a new login asks for the userinfo:read and payment_methods.agentic scopes and four source actions: Link transactions, external transactions, balances and source details. You can narrow this, for example with --no-financial-insights for payment-only access.

Is it safe to install?

It gives Claude a route to real financial data: Link transactions, imported bank transactions, balances and account details (with the default login). Everything Claude fetches enters your conversation, so it goes to whichever model provider and workspace that chat runs in. SKILL.md tells Claude to fetch only what a question needs and to avoid showing identifiers and tokens. Only use it with a Link wallet you mean to share, and read what the login asks for before you approve it.

Why does it ask me to sign in?

SKILL.md tells Claude to check authentication before it retrieves anything. If you are not signed in, or a needed action is missing, Claude starts a login or upgrade and waits for you to approve it on the Link site.

Can I use an access token instead of logging in?

SKILL.md mentions a LINK_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable. When it is set, Claude explains missing access but does not try to upgrade access through the CLI.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: stripe/link-cli
Folder: skills/financial-insights

stripe/link-cli skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 2

link-cli README · github.com
SKILL.md · github.com