GovCheck CLI

A beautiful command-line interface to fact-check claims about U.S. government policy using official .gov sources.

Installation

From npm (when published)

npm install -g govcheck

From source

cd cli
npm install
npm link

Usage

Interactive Mode

Simply run govcheck to enter interactive mode:

govcheck

This will display a beautiful banner and prompt you to enter claims to fact-check. You can check multiple claims in a session.

Direct Mode

Fact-check a claim directly from the command line:

govcheck "The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour"

Options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | -V, --version | Output version number | | -i, --interactive | Force interactive mode | | -q, --quiet | Minimal output (verdict and summary only) | | -h, --help | Display help |

Quiet Mode

For scripting or minimal output:

govcheck -q "There are 100 senators in Congress"
# Output: CONFIRMED (98%)
# The U.S. Senate consists of 100 members...

Exit Codes

| Code | Meaning | |------|---------| | 0 | Success | | 1 | General error | | 2 | Invalid input | | 3 | Network error | | 130 | Interrupted (Ctrl+C) |

Verdicts

| Verdict | Description | |---------|-------------| | ✓ CONFIRMED | Official .gov source directly supports the claim | | ✗ REFUTED | Official .gov source contradicts the claim | | ◐ PARTIALLY TRUE | Some elements confirmed, others not verifiable or incorrect | | ⚠ MISLEADING | Technically accurate but missing critical context | | ⏰ OUTDATED | Was accurate but information has since changed | | ? UNVERIFIABLE | Cannot locate official .gov source to verify | | 🏛️ NOT A GOVERNMENT MATTER | Claim is outside the scope of government sources |

Features

• Beautiful CLI Design - Rich colors, gradients, and box formatting
• Interactive Mode - Session-based fact-checking with prompts
• Direct Mode - Single command for quick checks
• Quiet Mode - Minimal output for scripting
• Animated Spinners - Visual feedback while processing
• Color-coded Verdicts - Instant visual understanding of results
• Source Attribution - Links to official .gov sources

Examples

# Check a policy claim
govcheck "Medicare covers Americans 65 and older"

# Check a statistic
govcheck "The U.S. national debt exceeds $30 trillion"

# Check legislation
govcheck "The Infrastructure Act allocated $550 billion for new spending"

Security

GovCheck follows security best practices:

• HTTPS Only - All API communication uses HTTPS
• Input Validation - Claims are validated and sanitized before sending
• Request Timeouts - Prevents hanging on network issues (60s timeout)
• Safe Error Handling - No sensitive data leaked in error messages
• No Credentials Stored - No API keys or secrets required
• Graceful Shutdown - Proper handling of SIGINT/SIGTERM signals

Environment Variables

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | GOVCHECK_API_URL | Override API URL (must be HTTPS) |

API

GovCheck uses the Gov Glance Fact Checker API.

• No API key required
• Rate limited to 10 requests per minute
• All verification uses official .gov sources only

Requirements

• Node.js 18.0.0 or higher

License

MIT

Links

• Website: govglance.foundation
• API Docs: factcheck.govglance.org/api-guide
• Twitter/X: @govglance

GovCheck is a project of the Gov Glance Foundation — Empowering citizens with government transparency.