diff --git a/tests/integration/test_cli_integration.py b/tests/integration/test_cli_integration.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c222663f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/test_cli_integration.py
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tempfile
+
+import pytest
+import yaml
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def cli_schema_file(redis_url, redis_test_name):
+    """Creates a temporary schema YAML file for integration testing CLI commands."""
+    index_name = redis_test_name("cli_int_index")
+    prefix = redis_test_name("cli_int_doc")
+    schema_data = {
+        "index": {
+            "name": index_name,
+            "prefix": prefix,
+            "storage_type": "hash",
+        },
+        "fields": [
+            {"name": "title", "type": "text"},
+            {"name": "tag", "type": "tag"},
+        ],
+    }
+    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile("w", suffix=".yaml", delete=False) as f:
+        yaml.dump(schema_data, f)
+        temp_path = f.name
+
+    yield temp_path, index_name
+
+    if os.path.exists(temp_path):
+        os.remove(temp_path)
+
+    # Belt-and-suspenders index teardown: a test that fails midway through the
+    # lifecycle (e.g. the assertion after `delete` never runs) must not leave
+    # the index behind for the next test run. `destroy` on an already-gone
+    # index is a no-op from the CLI's own error handling, so this is safe to
+    # run unconditionally.
+    run_cli("index", "destroy", "-i", index_name, "--url", redis_url)
+
+
+def run_cli(*args, redis_url=None):
+    """Helper to execute rvl CLI commands via subprocess runner."""
+    cmd = [sys.executable, "-m", "redisvl.cli.runner"] + list(args)
+    env = os.environ.copy()
+    if redis_url:
+        env["REDIS_URL"] = redis_url
+    # `rvl index info` renders a box-drawing table. Without this the child
+    # process inherits a non-UTF-8 stdout encoding on some platforms and dies
+    # with a UnicodeEncodeError before printing anything.
+    env["PYTHONIOENCODING"] = "utf-8"
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        cmd,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        encoding="utf-8",
+        env=env,
+        check=False,
+    )
+    return result
+
+
+def test_cli_version():
+    res = run_cli("version")
+    assert res.returncode == 0
+    assert (
+        "redisvl" in res.stdout.lower()
+        or "version" in res.stdout.lower()
+        or "." in res.stdout
+    )
+
+
+def test_cli_index_lifecycle(redis_url, cli_schema_file):
+    schema_path, index_name = cli_schema_file
+
+    # 1. Create index
+    create_res = run_cli("index", "create", "-s", schema_path, "--url", redis_url)
+    assert create_res.returncode == 0, f"create failed: {create_res.stderr}"
+
+    # 2. List all indexes
+    list_res = run_cli("index", "listall", "--url", redis_url)
+    assert list_res.returncode == 0, f"listall failed: {list_res.stderr}"
+    assert index_name in list_res.stdout
+
+    # 3. Get index info
+    info_res = run_cli("index", "info", "-i", index_name, "--url", redis_url)
+    assert info_res.returncode == 0, f"info failed: {info_res.stderr}"
+    assert index_name in info_res.stdout
+
+    # 4. Get index stats
+    stats_res = run_cli("stats", "-i", index_name, "--url", redis_url)
+    assert stats_res.returncode == 0, f"stats failed: {stats_res.stderr}"
+    assert (
+        index_name in stats_res.stdout
+        or "num_docs" in stats_res.stdout
+        or "STAT" in stats_res.stdout
+    )
+
+    # 5. Delete index
+    delete_res = run_cli("index", "delete", "-i", index_name, "--url", redis_url)
+    assert delete_res.returncode == 0, f"delete failed: {delete_res.stderr}"
+
+    list_after_delete = run_cli("index", "listall", "--url", redis_url)
+    assert list_after_delete.returncode == 0, list_after_delete.stderr
+    assert index_name not in list_after_delete.stdout, (
+        "delete exited 0 but the index is still listed -- a no-op delete "
+        "against an already-gone index would pass this test if it only "
+        "checked the exit code"
+    )
+
+    # 6. Re-create index to test destroy
+    create_res2 = run_cli("index", "create", "-s", schema_path, "--url", redis_url)
+    assert create_res2.returncode == 0, f"second create failed: {create_res2.stderr}"
+
+    list_after_recreate = run_cli("index", "listall", "--url", redis_url)
+    assert index_name in list_after_recreate.stdout, (
+        "second create exited 0 but the index isn't listed -- confirms the "
+        "index from step 5 was actually gone rather than the create being a "
+        "no-op against a still-existing index"
+    )
+
+    # 7. Destroy index (with --drop / clear keys)
+    destroy_res = run_cli("index", "destroy", "-i", index_name, "--url", redis_url)
+    assert destroy_res.returncode == 0, f"destroy failed: {destroy_res.stderr}"
+
+    list_after_destroy = run_cli("index", "listall", "--url", redis_url)
+    assert list_after_destroy.returncode == 0, list_after_destroy.stderr
+    assert (
+        index_name not in list_after_destroy.stdout
+    ), "destroy exited 0 but the index is still listed"
+
+
+def test_cli_error_paths(redis_url):
+    # Non-existent schema file
+    schema_res = run_cli(
+        "index", "create", "-s", "non_existent_file_xyz.yaml", "--url", redis_url
+    )
+    assert schema_res.returncode != 0
+
+    # Info for non-existent index
+    info_res = run_cli(
+        "index", "info", "-i", "non_existent_index_xyz_9999", "--url", redis_url
+    )
+    assert info_res.returncode != 0
+
+    # Stats for non-existent index
+    stats_res = run_cli(
+        "stats", "-i", "non_existent_index_xyz_9999", "--url", redis_url
+    )
+    assert stats_res.returncode != 0
+
+    # Invalid CLI subcommand
+    invalid_res = run_cli("invalid_command_name")
+    assert invalid_res.returncode == 2