Stackoverflow CLI (stackoverflow)

A blazing-fast native command-line tool and agent interface for searching and scraping StackOverflow questions and answers via Apify, written in Rust. Features YAML-first output optimized for terminal and LLM readability, raw JSON via --json, secure OS keystore credential storage, and multi-account support.

Ported from the original C# prototype Stackoverflow.Console by Niels Bosma to high-performance native Rust under the SpaceCorps organization.

• ⚡ Native Speed & Zero Dependencies: Standalone static binary with 1–3 ms cold start times.
• 🔐 OS Keystore Integration: API tokens are stored in macOS Keychain, Windows DPAPI, or Linux Secret Service (secret-tool).
• 🤖 Agentic Protocol: Clean YAML on stdout by default; structured JSON with --json; deterministic error envelopes on stderr with stable exit codes.
• 👥 Multi-Account Safety: Configure multiple named accounts (stackoverflow accounts add work) and target them explicitly with --account work (-a work).
• 📖 Self-Documenting: Embedded stackoverflow agent-readme [--json] delivers complete machine-readable rules and documentation directly to LLM agents.

Download prebuilt standalone binaries for macOS, Linux, and Windows from GitHub Releases.

cargo install --git https://github.com/SpaceCorps/Stackoverflow-Cli --locked

You can authenticate in three ways:

stackoverflow login [account_name]

Opens your browser to https://console.apify.com/account/integrations, securely prompts for your token without terminal echo, verifies it against the API, and stores it in your OS keystore.

# Add a named account (prompted securely)
stackoverflow accounts add work

# Or pass via stdin in CI/CD pipelines
printf %s "$APIFY_TOKEN" | stackoverflow accounts add ci --api-key-stdin

# List and verify stored accounts
stackoverflow accounts list --check

# Test account connectivity
stackoverflow accounts test work

Set APIFY_TOKEN in your environment or pass --api-key <key> on any command:

export APIFY_TOKEN="your-apify-token"
stackoverflow search "Rust memory leaks"

Search StackOverflow for questions matching a query.

# Basic keyword search
stackoverflow search "AI coding agent orchestration"

# Filter by tags and include top answers
stackoverflow search "code review automation" --tagged "python,ai" --answers

# Limit results and sort by newest
stackoverflow search "multi-agent workflow" --sort newest --max 20

# Structured JSON output for agent pipelines
stackoverflow search "memory leak debugging" --json

Options:

• <QUERY>: Search query keywords (required)
• --tagged <TAGS>: Filter by comma-separated tags (e.g. 'python,machine-learning')
• --answers: Include top answers for each question
• --site <SITE>: Stack Exchange site (default: "stackoverflow")
• --max <COUNT>: Maximum number of questions to return
• --sort <SORT>: Sort order (relevance, newest, votes, activity)
• --account <ACCOUNT> / -a <ACCOUNT>: Account name to resolve from keystore
• --api-key <KEY>: Direct Apify API token
• --json: Output as structured JSON

Scrape questions from StackOverflow tags or a specific URL.

# Scrape questions by tags
stackoverflow scrape "ai-agent,llm"

# Scrape a specific tag page with limit
stackoverflow scrape "https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/ai-agent" --max 20

# Scrape a specific question URL
stackoverflow scrape "https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12345678/some-question"

# Fast scrape without answer bodies
stackoverflow scrape "rust" --no-answers

Options:

• <TARGET>: Comma-separated tags (e.g. 'ai-agent,llm') or StackOverflow URL (required)
• --answers: Include top answers for each question (default: true)
• --no-answers: Fast scrape without answer bodies
• --site <SITE>: Stack Exchange site (default: "stackoverflow")
• --max <COUNT>: Maximum number of questions to return
• --sort <SORT>: Sort order (newest, votes, activity)
• --account <ACCOUNT> / -a <ACCOUNT>: Account name to resolve from keystore
• --api-key <KEY>: Direct Apify API token
• --json: Output as structured JSON

Outputs the embedded operating manual for AI agents driving this CLI:

# Print markdown manual
stackoverflow agent-readme

# Print structured JSON specifications
stackoverflow agent-readme --json

Pass --json to any command to receive raw JSON instead of YAML:

stackoverflow search "quantum computing" --json | jq '.[].title'

Errors are printed to stderr with machine-readable exit codes matching the code field:

{
  "error": "The Apify API token was rejected.",
  "code": "auth_required",
  "detail": "HTTP 401: Unauthorized",
  "remediation": "Set APIFY_TOKEN, use --api-key <key>, or run: stackoverflow login"
}

Full documentation, guides, and agent discovery manifests are available at: https://spacecorps.github.io/Stackoverflow-Cli/

• Authentication Guide
• Agent Manual (llms.txt)
• Full Agent Specification (llms-full.txt)
• A2A Agent Card
• AgentSkills Manifest

MIT License. See LICENSE for details. Original prototype created by Niels Bosma. Maintained by SpaceCorps.