CLI

The context-dev CLI runs Context.dev operations from your terminal: brand lookups, crawls, web searches, batches, monitors, and more.

The CLI is generated from the API spec, so command names and flags can change between releases. Treat --help from your installed version as the source of truth.

Install

Release binary
Go

Download the archive for your operating system and architecture from the latest GitHub release. Extract context-dev, move it to a directory on your PATH, and check it:

context-dev --version

In CI, pin a release and verify its published checksums instead of downloading latest on every run.

With Go 1.25 or later:

go install github.com/context-dot-dev/context-dev-cli/cmd/context-dev@latest
context-dev --version

Go installs the binary in $(go env GOPATH)/bin; add that directory to PATH if the command isn’t found. Replace @latest with a release tag for reproducible builds.

Set your API key

Using a coding agent? It can create and store a key through agent registration while you confirm in your browser; see the Agent quickstart. The CLI reads CONTEXT_DEV_API_KEY from the environment. Copy a key from the API keys page and export it in the current shell:

export CONTEXT_DEV_API_KEY="ctxt_secret_..."

In CI, load the key from a secret manager. Avoid the global --api-key flag, because command-line arguments can appear in shell history and process listings.

Make your first request

--type picks the lookup, as in POST /brand/retrieve, and each type takes its own identifier flag:

context-dev brand retrieve \
  --type by_domain \
  --domain stripe.com \
  --transform 'brand.title'

The command prints the company name. Remove --transform to see the full response. Other lookup types work the same way:

# Company name
context-dev brand retrieve \
  --type by_name \
  --name "Stripe"

# Card transaction descriptor
context-dev brand retrieve \
  --type by_transaction \
  --transaction-info "SQ *CORNER CAFE" \
  --country-gl us \
  --high-confidence-only

Find a command

context-dev --help
context-dev web --help
context-dev brand retrieve --help

The command groups are parse, web, brand, industry, utility, monitors, batch, webhooks:deliveries, people, news, and logs. The CLI has no Scrape, Map URLs, or feedback command yet. Call POST /web/scrape, GET /web/urls, and POST /feedback directly or through an SDK. Common operations:

# Crawl part of a site to Markdown.
context-dev web web-crawl-md \
  --url https://docs.example.com/product/ \
  --max-pages 50 \
  --max-depth 3 \
  --url-regex '^https://docs\.example\.com/product/' \
  --use-main-content-only

# Search the web within a freshness window.
context-dev web search \
  --query "payments API pricing" \
  --num-results 20 \
  --freshness last_month \
  --include-domain stripe.com

# Extract a site's colors, typography, and component styles.
context-dev web extract-styleguide \
  --domain example.com \
  --color-scheme light

# Warm the Brand cache before a later lookup. This only queues the work.
context-dev utility prefetch \
  --type brand \
  --identifier '{"domain":"example.com"}'

Flags that take an object, such as --identifier and --timeout-opts, accept a JSON value.

Control output

Use --format json for stable output in scripts, and --transform with a GJSON path to keep only the fields you need, which also keeps large responses out of an agent’s context window:

context-dev web search \
  --query "payments API pricing" \
  --format json \
  --transform 'results.#.url' > urls.json

Use with an agent

Add a short instruction to your repository’s agent file:

AGENTS.md

## Context.dev

The `context-dev` CLI is installed. Read `CONTEXT_DEV_API_KEY` from the
environment and never print it. Run `context-dev <resource> <command> --help`
before using an unfamiliar command. Bound crawls and batch jobs, use JSON output
for automation, and review state-changing monitor commands before running them.

Troubleshoot

Symptom	Check
`command not found`	Put the extracted binary or the Go bin directory on `PATH`.
Unknown command or missing flag	Run `--help` for that exact command; examples may target another release.
`flag provided but not defined: -type`	Update to version 0.8.0 or newer; `command -v context-dev` shows which copy runs first on `PATH`.
`401`	Check that `CONTEXT_DEV_API_KEY` is set in the CLI’s environment, then read `error_code` in the response.
Unexpected JSON	Note `context-dev --version` and compare the output with the API reference.

Get started

Web data

Company and people data

Automation

Account and billing

Production

Install

Set your API key

Make your first request

Find a command

Control output

Use with an agent

Troubleshoot

​Install

​Set your API key

​Make your first request

​Find a command

​Control output

​Use with an agent

​Troubleshoot

Install

Set your API key

Make your first request

Find a command

Control output

Use with an agent

Troubleshoot