kagi is a terminal CLI for Kagi that gives you command-line access to search, quick answers, ask-page, assistant, translate, summarization, public feeds through news and smallweb, paid API commands like fastgpt and enrich, and account-level settings like lenses, custom assistants, custom bangs, and redirect rules. it is built for people who want one command surface for interactive use, shell workflows, and structured JSON output.

the main setup path is kagi auth. on a real terminal it opens a guided setup flow where you choose Session Link or API Token, get the official instructions inline, paste the credential, save it to ./.kagi.toml, and validate it immediately. if you also use Kagi's paid API, the same wizard can add that too.

documentation | npm | github

if you already use Kagi and want to access it from scripts, shell workflows, or small tools, this CLI gives you a practical path without making the paid API flow the starting point.

• use your existing session-link URL for subscriber features
• get structured JSON for scripts, agents, and other tooling
• use one CLI for search, quick answers, assistant, translate, summarization, news, and smallweb
• add KAGI_API_TOKEN only when you want the paid public API commands

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Microck/kagi-cli/main/scripts/install.sh | sh
kagi --help

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Microck/kagi-cli/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex
kagi --help

npm install -g kagi-cli
pnpm add -g kagi-cli
bun add -g kagi-cli

# homebrew
brew tap Microck/kagi
brew install kagi

# scoop
scoop bucket add kagi https://github.com/Microck/scoop-kagi
scoop install kagi

# AUR (arch linux)
yay -S kagi-cli

run the guided setup:

kagi auth

the wizard is the default setup path. it guides you through:

• Session Link from https://kagi.com/settings/user_details
• API Token from https://kagi.com/settings/api
• saving into ./.kagi.toml
• immediate validation

non-interactive alternative:

add your subscriber session token directly:

how to get it:

1. click the top-right menu icon
2. go into Settings
3. click Account in the left sidebar
4. in Session Link, click Copy

kagi auth set --session-token 'https://kagi.com/search?token=...'
kagi auth check

add an api token when you want the paid public api commands:

how to get it:

1. click the top-right menu icon
2. go into Settings
3. click Advanced in the left sidebar
4. go into Open API Portal
5. under API Token, click Generate New Token

export KAGI_API_TOKEN='...'

example config:

[auth]
# Full Kagi session-link URL or just the raw token value.
session_token = "https://kagi.com/search?token=kagi_session_demo_1234567890abcdef"

# Paid API token for summarize, fastgpt, and enrich commands.
api_token = "kagi_api_demo_abcdef1234567890"

# Base `kagi search` auth preference: "session" or "api".
preferred_auth = "api"

notes:

• kagi auth is interactive on TTYs and becomes the default onboarding path
• kagi auth set --session-token accepts either the raw token or the full session-link URL
• environment variables override .kagi.toml
• base kagi search defaults to the session-token path when both credentials are present
• set [auth] preferred_auth = "api" if you want base search to prefer the API path instead
• search --lens and all runtime search filters require KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN
• auth check validates the selected primary credential without using search fallback logic

for the full command-to-token matrix, use the auth-matrix docs page.

for automation, stdout stays JSON by default. --format pretty only changes rendering for humans.

generate a completion script and install it with your shell of choice:

# bash
kagi --generate-completion bash > ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/kagi

# zsh
kagi --generate-completion zsh > ~/.zsh/completion/_kagi

# fish
kagi --generate-completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/kagi.fish

# powershell
kagi --generate-completion powershell >> $PROFILE

see the installation guide for platform-specific setup details.

use search as part of a shell pipeline:

kagi search "what is mullvad"

switch the same command to terminal-readable output:

kagi search --format pretty "how do i exit vim"

scope search to one of your lenses:

kagi search --lens 2 "developer documentation"

prefix a search with one of your configured snaps:

kagi search --snap reddit "rust async runtime"

run a filtered search against the subscriber web-product path:

kagi search --region us --time month --order recency "rust release notes"

use explicit date bounds instead of a preset time window:

kagi search --from-date 2026-03-01 --to-date 2026-03-31 "rust release notes"

force personalized search on or off for one request:

kagi search --personalized "best cafes nearby"
kagi search --no-personalized "best cafes nearby"

run a few searches in parallel:

kagi batch "rust programming" "python tutorial" "go language"

change batch output format for shell pipelines:

kagi batch "rust" "python" "go" --format compact

continue research with assistant:

kagi assistant "plan a focused research session in the terminal"

run assistant with a saved assistant profile and markdown output:

kagi assistant --assistant research --format markdown "summarize the latest rust release"

ask assistant about a page directly:

kagi ask-page https://rust-lang.org/ "What is this page about?"

list or export Assistant threads:

kagi assistant thread list
kagi assistant thread export <THREAD_ID>

manage custom assistants:

kagi assistant custom list
kagi assistant custom get "Release Notes"
kagi assistant custom create "Release Notes" --model gpt-5-mini --web-access --lens 2 --instructions "Focus on release diffs and migration notes."
kagi assistant custom update "Release Notes" --bang-trigger relnotes --no-personalized

get a quick answer with references:

kagi quick --format pretty "what is rust"

translate text and keep all text-mode extras:

kagi translate "Bonjour tout le monde"

plain kagi translate "..." means --from auto --to en.

translate to a specific target language:

kagi translate "Bonjour tout le monde" --to ja

translate only the core text result:

kagi translate "Bonjour tout le monde" --no-alternatives --no-word-insights --no-suggestions --no-alignments

use the subscriber summarizer:

kagi summarize --subscriber --url https://kagi.com --summary-type keypoints --length digest

use the paid api summarizer:

kagi summarize --url https://example.com --engine cecil

get a faster factual answer through the paid api:

kagi fastgpt "what changed in rust 1.86?"

query enrichment indexes:

kagi enrich web "local-first software"
kagi enrich news "browser privacy"

inspect account-level search settings:

kagi lens list
kagi bang custom list
kagi redirect list

inspect or change one lens, bang, or redirect rule:

kagi lens get "Default"
kagi lens update "Default" --description "primary search profile"
kagi bang custom create "Docs" --trigger docs --template "https://docs.rs/releases/search?query=%s"
kagi bang custom update docs --shortcut-menu
kagi redirect create '^https://old.example.com/(.*)|https://new.example.com/$1'
kagi redirect disable '^https://old.example.com/(.*)|https://new.example.com/$1'

if you want a quick feel for the cli before installing it, this is the kind of output you get from auth setup, quick answer, translate, ask-page, the subscriber summarizer, assistant, and the public news feed:

if you are working on the cli itself, build from a local checkout:

git clone https://github.com/Microck/kagi-cli.git
cd kagi-cli
cargo build --release
./target/release/kagi --help

for the fuller install matrix and platform-specific setup, use the installation guide.

• installation guide
• quickstart guide
• authentication guide
• workflows

this project is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Kagi Inc. it is an independent, community-built tool.

mit license