Decodo CLI

Scrape websites, search engines, eCommerce platforms, and social media from your terminal or shell scripts. The Decodo CLI connects you to the Decodo Web Scraping API without building proxy rotation, parsers, or retry logic from scratch.

• Structured outputs in JSON, Markdown, NDJSON, and screenshots
• Server-side JavaScript rendering and anti-bot handling
• 125M+ IPs across 195+ locations
• Pipe-friendly for jq, CI, and coding agents

What is the Decodo CLI?

The Decodo CLI is a command-line interface for the Decodo Web Scraping API. It wraps every API target as a subcommand and adds shell-native output modes for scripting, automation, and agent workflows.

Instead of maintaining scraping infrastructure, you get a single binary for reliable web data access from the terminal.

Why use the CLI?

Use the CLI when you need web scraping outside an IDE or MCP client:

• Scripts and CI — run scrapes in pipelines, cron jobs, and GitHub Actions
• Shell pipelines — pipe results to jq, grep, or custom tools
• Coding agents — invoke scraping as a subprocess (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Windsurf)
• Quick terminal access — one command to scrape, search, or screenshot

For MCP-based scraping inside an IDE, see the Decodo MCP server. The CLI is the right tool when you need direct shell access or scripting.

Key features

Web scraping from the terminal, no infrastructure required. Scrape any website, including JavaScript-heavy pages, without handling proxy rotation, CAPTCHA solving, or anti-bot systems.

Structured outputs for automation. Markdown (human-readable), JSON and NDJSON (pipe-friendly), and PNG screenshots — built for scripts, data pipelines, and agent subprocess calls.

Built-in support for popular targets. Tier-1 commands for scrape, search, and screenshot, plus schema-driven subcommands for Google and Bing, Amazon, Walmart, and Target, Reddit, TikTok, and YouTube, and more. Run decodo targets to list everything available.

Global proxy infrastructure. 125M+ residential IPs, 195+ geo-locations, and a 99.99% success rate on even the most protected targets — all via the Decodo API.

Pipe-friendly by design. Compact JSON when piped, human-readable output in a TTY, and explicit exit codes for auth, validation, rate limits, and API errors.

Fast time to value. From API token to first scrape in minutes — install with one command or use npx with zero setup.

Use cases

Use the Decodo CLI when you need web scraping from the shell, structured data extraction in automation, reliable access to dynamic websites, or an alternative to building scraping infrastructure from scratch. Common scenarios:

• Shell scripts and CI — scrape or search in pipelines without embedding SDK logic
• Data pipelines — stream NDJSON results into jq, databases, or downstream tools
• Coding agent subprocesses — let agents call decodo search or decodo scrape directly
• eCommerce intelligence — query Amazon, Walmart, and Target targets from the terminal
• Social media data collection — gather posts and metadata from Reddit, TikTok, and YouTube
• Quick research — search the web or capture screenshots without leaving the terminal

Quick start

1. Create a free account at dashboard.decodo.com — up to 2K free requests, no credit card required.
2. Get your API key. Obtain a Web Scraping API basic authentication token from the playground.
3. Install Node.js 18+ from nodejs.org (required for npm/npx installs).
4. Install the CLI (pick one method below).
5. Configure auth and run your first scrape:

decodo setup
decodo scrape https://ip.decodo.com
decodo search "decodo scraping api"

Installation

Requires Node.js 18+

macOS / Linux (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://decodo.github.io/cli/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://decodo.github.io/cli/install.ps1 | iex

npm (any platform)

npm install -g @decodo/cli

Run without installing

npx @decodo/cli --version
npx @decodo/cli scrape https://ip.decodo.com --token "$DECODO_AUTH_TOKEN"

Authentication

Get a Basic auth token from the Decodo playground.

# Interactive — saves token to config
decodo setup

# Environment variable — no saved config required
export DECODO_AUTH_TOKEN='your-token'

# Per-command override
decodo whoami --token 'your-token'

Precedence: --token flag → DECODO_AUTH_TOKEN env var → saved config (decodo setup).

decodo whoami   # shows token source (flag / env / config)
decodo reset    # clear saved config

Test your setup

Once installed and authenticated, try:

decodo scrape https://ip.decodo.com
decodo google-search "top articles hacker news" --page-count 5 --parse

You should see markdown or parsed JSON within seconds. If you see an auth error, double-check your token from the dashboard.

Commands

Tier-1 commands

| Command | Description | | --- | --- | | decodo scrape <url> | Scrape a URL (markdown by default) | | decodo search <query> | Web search (--engine google\|bing, --geo, --limit) | | decodo screenshot <url> | Capture a PNG screenshot (-o file or directory) | | decodo targets | List all scrape targets by group | | decodo setup | Save auth token interactively | | decodo whoami | Show configured auth source | | decodo reset | Remove saved auth config |

Schema-driven target commands

Every API target is also available as its own subcommand (kebab-case name from decodo targets):

decodo google-search "decodo scraping api"
decodo universal https://ip.decodo.com
decodo universal --help

Use decodo <target> --help for target-specific flags (--parse, --geo, and others from the schema).

Output modes

By default, scrape commands print the first result's content (parsed JSON when the target supports --parse, markdown for decodo scrape).

| Flag | Effect | | --- | --- | | --full | Print the full API response envelope | | --format ndjson | One JSON object per result line on stdout (pipe-friendly) | | --pretty | Indented JSON on stdout | | -o, --output <path> | Write to a file instead of stdout | | -v, --verbose | Print debug logs to stderr |

TTY vs pipe: When stdout is a terminal, human-readable output is used where possible. When piped or redirected, raw bytes or compact JSON is written. Screenshot output must go to -o or a redirect — writing binary PNG to a TTY is rejected.

NDJSON line contract: With --format ndjson, stdout is one JSON object per API result line. Without --full, each line is that result's content. With --full, each line is the full result entry (e.g. content, status_code, url). There is no envelope-level .results[] on a single line — pipe each line through jq individually.

# Parsed JSON from Google Search
decodo google-search "query" --parse

# Full envelope, pretty-printed
decodo google-search "query" --full --pretty

# NDJSON stream for jq / agents
decodo google-search "query" --format ndjson --full | jq -c '.url'

Examples

Pipe-friendly workflows

# Search and extract titles
decodo google-search "rust web scraping" --page-count 3 --parse | jq '.results.results.organic[].title'

# Scrape JSON API endpoint
decodo scrape https://ip.decodo.com/json | jq '.proxy.ip'

# Screenshot to file, then open
decodo screenshot https://example.com -o shot.png

Scraping geo-restricted content

# Request from a specific country
decodo scrape https://example.com --country us
decodo search "shoes" --geo de
decodo google-search "shoes" --geo de --parse

Use decodo <target> --help for all geo, locale, and target-specific options from the API schema.

Agent tooling

Coding agents (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Windsurf) should invoke the CLI as a shell subprocess, not embed scraping logic.

Recommended patterns:

# Zero-install (good for CI and ephemeral agents)
npx --yes @decodo/cli search "topic" --token "$DECODO_AUTH_TOKEN"

# Global install (faster repeat calls)
decodo search "topic"
decodo scrape https://example.com --full --format ndjson

Guidelines for agents:

1. Require DECODO_AUTH_TOKEN or run decodo setup before scraping.
2. Prefer --format ndjson --full when parsing multiple results programmatically.
3. Use decodo targets to discover available target commands.
4. Use decodo <target> --help for schema-accurate flags.
5. Check exit codes (below) to distinguish auth, usage, and API errors.

Environment variables

| Variable | Description | | --- | --- | | DECODO_AUTH_TOKEN | Basic auth token (overrides saved config, below --token) | | DECODO_CONFIG_HOME | Override config directory (default: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/decodo, else ~/.config/decodo) |

Exit codes

| Code | Meaning | | --- | --- | | 0 | Success | | 1 | General error | | 2 | Usage error (invalid flags, missing args) | | 3 | Authentication error (missing or invalid token) | | 4 | Validation error (invalid request parameters) | | 5 | Rate limit | | 6 | Timeout | | 7 | API / network error |

Troubleshooting

No auth token found

Run decodo setup or export DECODO_AUTH_TOKEN.

command not found: decodo

The install script auto-configures PATH and prints a source step — re-run it or open a new terminal. You can also use npx @decodo/cli.

Validation / API errors

Read the Error: message on stderr. Use --full to inspect the raw API response.

Screenshot TTY error

Use -o shot.png or redirect: decodo screenshot <url> > shot.png.

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (24 recommended)
• pnpm 10.x (corepack enable if needed)

Install and build

git clone https://github.com/Decodo/cli
cd cli
pnpm install
pnpm build

Run locally

node build/esm/index.js --help
pnpm link --global && decodo --help

Tests and checks

pnpm lint
pnpm typecheck
pnpm test

Related repositories

Web Scraping API, Decodo MCP server, Decodo OpenClaw skill

Try it

Install the CLI and start scraping from your terminal in minutes.

Start for free | Docs | Discord

License

All code is released under the MIT License.