The official CLI for the Olostep API — scrape, search, crawl, map, and batch the web from your terminal. Every data command returns JSON on stdout, so it pipes cleanly into jq, scripts, agents, and CI.
Pure JavaScript, Node 18+, no native binaries to download. Installs in under a second, starts in ~200 ms, ships as a single ~100 KB bundle.
npm install -g olostep-cli
olostep initRequires Node.js 18+.
One-liner alternatives (no manual npm step):
# macOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://olostep.com/install.sh | sh
# Windows PowerShell
iwr -useb https://olostep.com/install.ps1 | iexolostep init is the recommended first step — it signs you in, installs the Olostep skills into every detected AI agent, and configures the MCP server, all in one go.
To just sign in: olostep login (or --no-browser for SSH).
To sign out: olostep logout.
For CI/agents: set OLOSTEP_API_KEY=....
Get a key at https://www.olostep.com/dashboard/api-keys.
Or try without installing: npx -y olostep-cli@latest --help.
# Pull one URL as clean markdown
olostep scrape "https://example.com" --formats markdown
# Live web search
olostep search "best web scraping APIs 2025" --limit 10
# Discover all URLs on a site
olostep map "https://example.com" --top-n 20
# AI-researched answer with citations
olostep answer "What does Olostep do?"
# Crawl every page on a site
olostep crawl "https://docs.example.com" --max-pages 50
# Scrape many URLs from a CSV, in parallel
olostep batch-scrape urls.csv --formats markdown,htmlPipes stay clean — logs go to stderr, JSON to stdout:
olostep map "https://example.com" | jq '.urls[:10]'
olostep scrape "https://example.com" | jq -r '.result.markdown_content'
olostep search "topic" --json | jq '.links[].url'Run olostep <command> --help for the full flag list.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
olostep login |
Browser PKCE sign-in |
olostep logout |
Remove saved credentials |
olostep init |
Login + install skills + install MCP server |
olostep status |
Show auth status and config paths |
olostep auth login |
Alias for olostep login |
olostep auth logout |
Alias for olostep logout |
olostep auth status |
Alias for olostep status |
olostep auth set-key <key> |
Save an API key directly (no browser needed) |
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
olostep scrape <url> |
Turn a URL into markdown, HTML, JSON, text, PDF, or screenshot |
olostep scrape-get <id> |
Re-fetch a prior scrape by ID |
olostep search <query> |
Live web search — returns deduplicated links with title + description |
olostep map <url> |
Discover every URL on a site |
olostep answer <question> |
AI-researched, cited answer from live web data |
olostep crawl <url> |
Crawl an entire site (async, polls until done) |
olostep batch-scrape <urls.csv> |
Scrape up to 10 000 URLs in parallel |
olostep batch-update <batch_id> |
Update metadata on a batch job |
Common flags on every data command: --out <path> (write JSON to file, default stdout), --timeout <seconds>, --api-key <key>.
olostep search extra flags: --limit <n> (default 12, max 25), --include-domains <list>, --exclude-domains <list>.
olostep add skills # install all skills into every detected agent
olostep skills install # same (alias)
olostep skills list # show what's installed and where
olostep skills update # re-install / overwrite existing skills
olostep skills uninstall # remove all skillsolostep mcp install # detect agents, use hosted endpoint (default)
olostep mcp install --agent cursor # target one agent
olostep mcp install --transport stdio # local `npx olostep-mcp` instead
olostep mcp install --no-global # project-scoped config
olostep mcp install --dry-run --json # show the plan, don't write
olostep list mcp # see where it's installed
olostep mcp uninstall # remove the olostep entry| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
olostep doctor |
Run health checks — auth, API reachability, MCP endpoint, agent configs |
olostep doctor --json |
NDJSON output (one record per check) — good for CI |
olostep doctor --skip-network |
Auth + config checks only, no network calls |
olostep doctor --fail-on-warn |
Exit 1 on any warning too |
olostep version |
Show CLI version, Node version, channel |
olostep version --json |
Machine-readable: { cli, node, channel } |
olostep update |
Update to the latest version |
olostep add skills installs 13 skill files — SKILL.md files that land in Claude Code, Cursor, and other agents so they know what Olostep can do and when to use it.
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
setup |
Teaches the agent how to configure the Olostep MCP server. Use this first. |
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
scrape |
Turn one URL into clean markdown / HTML / JSON / text |
search |
Live web search — results, answers, and in-site URL discovery |
answers |
Cited, structured answers from live web data |
crawl |
Autonomously crawl a whole site |
map |
Discover every URL on a site |
batch |
Scrape up to 10 000 URLs in parallel |
extract-schema |
Scrape a page into structured JSON matching a schema |
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
integrate |
Auto-install the Olostep SDK into a project |
docs-to-code |
Scrape API docs and write working code from them |
migrate-code |
Read a migration guide and update local code |
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
research |
Cited, comparative web research for a decision |
debug-error |
Look up an error message against live GitHub / SO / docs |
olostep add skills # all 13
olostep add skills --category usage # core data skills only
olostep add skills --skill scrape --skill map # cherry-pick
olostep add skills --agent cursor --agent claude
olostep list skills --jsonOther flags: --exclude <name>, --global / --no-global, --link-mode <auto|symlink|copy>, --overwrite / --no-overwrite.
Supported agents for skills: Cursor, Claude, Codex, Windsurf, Continue, Augment, Roo, Gemini, Copilot, Factory.
The CLI writes the Olostep MCP server entry into your agent's config — no JSON editing needed.
Two transports:
http(default) — hosted athttps://mcp.olostep.com/mcp. No local process, no Node dependency for the agent.stdio— runsnpx -y olostep-mcplocally. Useful for offline / corporate-proxy setups.
The installer merges only the olostep key into your existing config without touching other servers. Restart your agent after install.
Supported agents for MCP install: Cursor, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, VS Code, Kilo, OpenCode, Continue, Codex.
API key resolution order (first match wins):
--api-key <key>flagOLOSTEP_API_KEYenv varOLOSTEP_API_TOKENenv var.envfile in the current directory- Saved credentials (
olostep login/olostep auth set-key)
Credentials are shared with the Python CLI — existing users keep their login after upgrading.
| OS | Credentials path |
|---|---|
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/olostep-cli/credentials.json |
| Linux | ~/.config/olostep-cli/credentials.json |
| Windows | %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\olostep-cli\credentials.json |
Environment variables:
| Variable | Effect |
|---|---|
OLOSTEP_API_KEY |
API key |
OLOSTEP_API_TOKEN |
API key (legacy alias) |
OLOSTEP_JSON=1 |
Force JSON output on every command (same as passing --json globally) |
OLOSTEP_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1 |
Silence the "update available" notice |
OLOSTEP_CLI_CONFIG_DIR |
Override the credentials directory |
PowerShell tokenizes , and * differently — quote arguments:
olostep scrape "https://example.com" --formats "markdown,html"
olostep map "https://example.com" --include-url "/*"
olostep answer "Extract facts" --json-format '{"company":"","year":""}'CI / agents — set OLOSTEP_API_KEY and optionally OLOSTEP_JSON=1 to always get machine-readable output:
OLOSTEP_API_KEY=sk_... OLOSTEP_JSON=1 olostep scrape "https://example.com"Health check in CI:
olostep doctor --json --skip-network | jq 'select(.status == "fail")'- Olostep — https://www.olostep.com
- Docs — https://docs.olostep.com · CLI docs
- API keys — https://www.olostep.com/dashboard/api-keys
- npm — https://www.npmjs.com/package/olostep-cli
- GitHub — https://github.com/olostep-api/olostep-cli
MIT — see LICENSE.