financial-insights

SKILL.md

Financial insights

Use this skill to answer questions about a user’s Link-connected financial data, including:

Recent transactions

Spending patterns

Account balances

Linked wallet sources

Basic summaries derived from the user’s financial data

Available precomputed insights about purchase patterns and preferences

All commands are read-only. They do not move money, initiate payments, modify accounts, or expose payment credentials.

Safety and privacy

Do not retrieve financial data until the user is authenticated with the required source actions.

Only retrieve the data needed to answer the user’s request. Do not run every list command by default.
Do not expose sensitive identifiers, access tokens, credentials, or payment instrument details. Summarize financial information at the level needed to answer the user’s question.

If the user asks for an action that would move money, reference skills/create-payment-credential/SKILL.md instead.

Authentication

Before retrieving financial data, check whether the user is authenticated and whether the current session has the required source actions.

link-cli auth status --format json

When present, inspect authorization_details in the response for entries with type: "source" and the required actions. The field may be absent when the token endpoint did not return authorization details or when authentication comes from LINK_ACCESS_TOKEN; in that case, run only the minimum data command needed and handle a permission error as described below.

If the user is not authenticated, start a login that requests only the source actions needed for the requested data. If the user is already authenticated but one or more required source actions are missing, use auth upgrade instead of auth login. auth upgrade preserves the current session while the user approves the additional access and replaces it only after approval succeeds.

The insights commands will indicate when the access token is insufficient to retrieve a particular insight in the list. It will provide authorization_remediation indicating required scopes and authorization_details when more access is needed. When LINK_ACCESS_TOKEN is set, explain the missing access but do not attempt to upgrade access through the CLI. Otherwise, upgrade to obtain the requisite access or skip using insights.

Use the minimum required source actions:

Transactions processed through Link: read_link_transactions

Transactions imported from bank connections: read_external_transactions

Account balances: read_balances

Data source details and descriptions: read_source_details. This action is broadly useful, for example if you will ever need to tie a transaction or balance to a particular account name.

Pre-computed aggregations: all of the above.

If the user asks a question that requires multiple data types, request all relevant actions together.

If this skill supports a purchase and the merchant is unspecified, identify the needed Link capabilities before login. Request transaction access with the payment scopes in one login when a purchase-pattern insight is likely to help. The current top-brand insight can use a source granting either read_link_transactions or read_external_transactions; requesting both covers both kinds of source. If already authenticated, consult insights list-available-types and request only the missing access it reports.

Example for a new login that needs all financial data types:

link-cli auth login \
  --client-name "<your-agent-name>" \
  --source-actions read_link_transactions \
  --source-actions read_balances \
  --source-actions read_external_transactions \
  --source-actions read_source_details \
  --format json

Example for adding balance access to an existing session:

link-cli auth upgrade \
  --client-name "<your-agent-name>" \
  --source-actions read_balances \
  --format json

Replace <your-agent-name> with a clear name for the agent or application. Present the returned verification_url to the user, then follow the response's _next instruction or poll with:

link-cli auth status --interval 5 --max-attempts 60 --format json

Do not proceed until authentication or the access upgrade succeeds. If the approval expires, is denied, or times out, report that outcome instead of repeatedly starting new authorization flows.

Choosing the right command

Use the smallest command set that answers the user’s question.

User asks about
Command

Available purchase-pattern insights and their access requirements
link-cli insights list-available-types

A specific available insight or observed shopping preference
link-cli insights list

Recent purchases, merchants, spend, transaction history, income, deposits, subscriptions
link-cli transactions list

Current available balance, account balance, cash position
link-cli balances list

Connected accounts, cards, banks, wallet sources, source metadata
link-cli sources list

Examples:

“Which brands do I tend to shop at?” → Discover available insight types, then retrieve the relevant insight.

“Buy flour from my usual store.” → Use a relevant available insight to inform merchant selection; treat the result as a clue, not a guaranteed preference.

“How much did I spend on restaurants last month?” → Use transactions only.

“What is my current checking account balance?” → Use balances only.

“Which accounts are connected?” → Use sources only.

“Summarize my cash position and recent spending.” → Use balances and transactions.

Output format

Use JSON for agent-readable structured output.

link-cli insights list-available-types --format json
link-cli insights list --insight <insight_id> --format json
link-cli transactions list --format json
link-cli balances list --format json
link-cli sources list --format json

The default toon format is intended for humans. Prefer --format json whenever parsing, filtering, aggregating, or summarizing results.

All monetary amounts across all endpoints are integers in the currency's smallest unit (e.g. 152340 = $1,523.40 USD). Format amounts with a currency-aware formatter that uses the currency's ISO 4217 minor-unit exponent; do not assume every currency has two decimal places or always divide by 100.

Keep sign interpretation field-specific. Only transactions.amount uses negative for money leaving the account and positive for money entering it. Do not apply transaction sign semantics to balance fields; interpret current, cash.available, and credit.used according to the balance type.

Insights

Use precomputed insights when their descriptions match the user's question. First discover IDs and access requirements without computing every insight:

link-cli insights list-available-types --format json

The response contains data entries with id, description, and optionally authorization_remediation, plus has_more. Continue with --starting-after <last_id> while has_more is true. An insight may be listed even when the current session lacks the access needed to retrieve its data. If the insight is needed, use the reported remediation with auth upgrade for a CLI-managed session; follow the environment-token rule above for LINK_ACCESS_TOKEN. Pass missing scope values as one space-separated --scope argument; for a source authorization_details entry, pass each listed action as a separate --source-actions flag. Do not guess insight IDs or assume that every listed insight has data for this user.

Retrieve only relevant IDs (repeat --insight for more than one), or omit the filter when the user needs all available insights:

link-cli insights list --insight <insight_id> --format json

Both commands support --limit (1–100) and --starting-after for pagination. Each page has data and has_more; use the last item's id as the next cursor, keeping the filter unchanged. Stop if has_more is true but no usable cursor is returned.

Each retrieved insight has a status:

ready: use its data entries and mention as_of (Unix seconds) when giving an answer. A number_of_items value contains number_of_items.label and number_of_items.count.

pending: the computation is not ready; suggest checking later.

no_data: inspect error_code, error_message, and authorization_remediation. For missing_permissions, follow the authentication guidance above; otherwise report that data is unavailable. In a purchase flow, continue without the insight when access is unavailable or the user declines to share data.

Other value types or statuses may appear in future responses. Preserve their JSON rather than inventing a meaning. Treat purchase-pattern results as observed history, not a definitive statement of the user's preference. Use raw transactions only if the available insights cannot answer the question and transaction-level detail is needed.

Sources (concept)

A source is a financial account connected to the user's Link wallet — a bank account, credit card, savings account, etc. Each source has a unique id (e.g. csmrpd_abc123) that other endpoints may expose as source_id:

In transactions list, source_id indicates which account a transaction belongs to.

In balances list, each balance entry includes a source_id identifying the account.

In sources list, the full source metadata (name, institution, type, status) is returned.

Use a source_id to correlate data across commands — for example, to find transactions for a specific account or to match a balance to its source type. Do not assign transactions with a null source_id to a source by guessing from their description.

Transactions

Use transactions to answer questions about spending, income, merchants, categories, recurring payments, deposits, or account activity.

link-cli transactions list --format json

Common options:

link-cli transactions list --format json --start-date 2025-01-01 --end-date 2025-01-31
link-cli transactions list --format json --category groceries
link-cli transactions list --format json --origin external_connection
link-cli transactions list --format json --source <source_id> --source <source_id>

Flag
Description

--start-date
Only transactions on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD).

--end-date
Only transactions on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD).

--category
Filter by category.

--origin
Filter by origin: link or external_connection.

--source
Filter by source ID (repeatable).

See Pagination for shared list controls.

Response fields

Field
Note

amount
Negative = money leaving the account (debit/purchase), positive = money entering (credit/deposit).

origin
external_connection (from linked bank/card) or link (Link-native transaction).

category
May be null if unclassified.

status
API-provided status string. Do not assume a closed set of values; observed values include succeeded. Interpret or filter a status only when its meaning is known.

For transaction summaries:

Normalize signs consistently before calculating totals.

Distinguish debits from credits when possible.

Group by merchant, category, account, currency, or time period only when relevant.

Mention if the answer is based on a limited retrieved window.

Balances

Use balances to answer questions about current account balances or available funds.

link-cli balances list --format json
link-cli balances list --format json --source <source_id>

Flag
Description

--source
Filter by source ID (repeatable).

See Pagination for shared list controls.

Response fields

Field
Note

type
cash (bank/savings) or credit (credit card/line of credit). Determines which sub-object is present.

current
Balance before pending transactions. Not the same as available funds.

cash.available
Object mapping currency codes to available funds (current minus outbound pending plus inbound pending). Only present when type is cash.

credit.used
Object mapping currency codes to credit used. Only present when type is credit.

as_of
When the balance was last updated — may be stale by hours or days.

When summarizing balances:

Preserve currencies.

Do not add balances across different currencies unless the user explicitly asks and exchange-rate data is available.

Use the current field as the default definition of a balance, unless the user's question requires considering pending transactions.

If multiple sources are returned, summarize by account/source.

Sources

Use sources to answer questions about connected wallet sources, linked accounts, or available financial data sources. See Pagination for shared list controls.

link-cli sources list --format json

Response fields

Field
Description

id
Unique source identifier (same as source_id in other endpoints).

name
Display name of the source.

type
Source type (e.g. card, bank_account).

capabilities
Object indicating what data is available. Each key (e.g. balances, transactions) maps to an object with a status field (e.g. eligible).

external_connection.status
Connection status to the external institution.

granted_actions
List of actions the user has granted for this source.

When summarizing sources:

Include only non-sensitive metadata needed for the answer.

Avoid exposing full account numbers, credentials, tokens, or payment instrument details.

Prefer labels such as institution, account type, source status, and last updated time when available.

Pagination

All three list commands support the same pagination flags:

Flag
Description

--limit
Maximum results per page (1-100). Prefer 100 when multiple pages may be needed.

--starting-after
Fetch the next page after a cursor value.

--ending-before
Fetch the previous page before a cursor value. Use for reverse navigation, not normal forward collection.

JSON responses contain a data array and may contain has_more. They do not provide a separate next-cursor field. When has_more is true, derive the next cursor from the final item in data:

Command
Next cursor

transactions list
Final transaction's id.

balances list
Final balance's source_id.

sources list
Final source's id.

For example:

link-cli transactions list --format json --limit 100 --starting-after <last_transaction_id>

Keep all filters identical across pages and change only --starting-after. Stop when has_more is false or absent, or when enough data has been retrieved for a non-exhaustive lookup. If has_more is true but data is empty or the required cursor is null or missing, stop and report that pagination could not continue.

Do not exhaustively paginate unless the user’s request requires a complete bounded result, such as a total for a specified time range.

Answering user questions

When answering:

State the direct answer first.

Mention the relevant time range and data source.

Note any limitations, such as partial pagination, missing categories, pending transactions, or unsupported currencies.

Avoid dumping raw records and object IDs unless the user asks for them.

Prefer concise summaries, totals, and notable patterns.

Example response style:

You spent $342.18 on restaurants across 12 transactions in July. The largest restaurant transaction was $86.40 at Example Bistro on July 18. This is based on the transactions returned for your connected Link sources.

Error handling

If authentication fails, ask the user to re-authenticate.

If a command returns no data, say that no matching Link financial data was available for the requested scope.

If the CLI returns an error indicating missing permissions or source actions, request only the specific missing action. Use auth upgrade when a session is already authenticated and auth login when it is not, then wait for approval before retrying the data command once.

If data is incomplete or paginated, clearly state that the answer is based on the data retrieved so far.

Guardrails

Do not:

Move money.

Initiate payments.

Modify financial sources.

Retrieve unrelated financial data.

Request broader source actions than needed.

Expose credentials, tokens, or full payment details.

Present uncertain derived insights as definitive.

Do:

Use read-only commands.

Authenticate before retrieval.

Request the minimum required source actions.

Use --format json for parsing.

Retrieve only the data needed.

Summarize clearly and note limitations.