c7 — Context7 CLI

Get up-to-date, version-specific library docs from your terminal. No MCP client needed.

Built on top of Context7 — the same docs that power Cursor, Claude, and other AI coding assistants, now available as a simple CLI.

Note: This package is published as @vedanth/context7 on npm. The unscoped context7 on npm is a different, unrelated project.

Why?

Your AI coding assistant hallucinates APIs that don't exist. Context7's MCP fixes that — but only if you're inside an MCP-compatible editor.

c7 gives you the same docs anywhere:

• Pipe into agent prompts before they start coding
• Quick lookups without leaving the terminal
• Feed accurate docs into any LLM, any workflow

Install

npx @vedanth/context7               # Run directly (no install)
npm install -g @vedanth/context7     # Or install globally

Usage

# Find a library
c7 resolve nextjs

# Get docs (auto-resolves library name)
c7 docs nextjs "app router"
c7 docs react "server components" --tokens 10000

# Shorthand — skip the "docs" command
c7 react hooks
c7 express middleware
c7 tailwindcss "dark mode"

# Use exact Context7 ID (from resolve)
c7 docs /vercel/next.js "image optimization"

# Pipe into anything
c7 react hooks | pbcopy
c7 express middleware >> prompt.txt
c7 docs nextjs "api routes" | llm "summarize these docs"

Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | c7 resolve <library> | Find Context7 library IDs for a search term | | c7 docs <library> [topic] | Get docs (auto-resolves name to best match) | | c7 <library> [topic] | Shorthand for c7 docs |

Options

| Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | --tokens <n> | Max tokens to return (default: 5000) | | --api-key <key> | Context7 API key (or set CONTEXT7_API_KEY env) | | --json | Raw JSON output (resolve only) |

API Key (optional)

Works without an API key for basic usage. For higher rate limits:

1. Get a key at context7.com/dashboard
2. Set it: export CONTEXT7_API_KEY=your-key

Use Cases

Feed docs into coding agents:

DOCS=$(c7 nextjs "app router middleware" --tokens 8000)
claude "Build a Next.js middleware that redirects. Use these docs:\n$DOCS"

Quick API lookup:

c7 prisma "findMany" --tokens 3000

Compare versions:

c7 docs /vercel/next.js "image" --tokens 5000   # Latest
c7 docs /websites/nextjs_15 "image"              # v15 specific

How It Works

Context7 indexes documentation from source repos and official docs. The CLI queries their API to get relevant, version-specific code snippets and API references — the same data that powers the MCP server used by Cursor, Claude Code, and other AI editors.

Credits

Powered by Context7 by Upstash.

c7 vs other Context7 packages

| Package | What it is | |---------|------------| | @vedanth/context7 (this) | CLI tool — library docs in your terminal | | @upstash/context7 | Official MCP server for AI editors | | context7 (unscoped) | Different project, not related |

License

MIT