Get insights about packages across npm, PyPI, Hex, and crates.io registries: search code and documentation, check security vulnerabilities, analyze dependencies, and compare packages. Works standalone or as an MCP server for AI assistants like Claude and Cursor.

Installation

Use npx without installation:

npx @pkgseer/cli --help

Or install globally:

npm install -g @pkgseer/cli

Quick Start

# Interactive setup (recommended for first-time users)
pkgseer init

# Or set up manually:
pkgseer login              # Authenticate with your PkgSeer account
pkgseer skill init         # Install as AI assistant skill

AI Assistant Integration

PkgSeer works with AI assistants in two ways:

Skills

Skills teach your AI assistant to use PkgSeer CLI commands through natural language:

pkgseer skill init

This installs a skill definition for Claude Code or Codex CLI. The AI runs CLI commands and reads the output.

MCP Server

MCP provides structured tools that AI assistants can call programmatically:

pkgseer mcp init

This provides structured tools that AI assistants can call programmatically. Configuration varies by assistant:

Claude Code / Codex CLI: The mcp init command configures these automatically.

Cursor IDE: Add to .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pkgseer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pkgseer/cli", "mcp", "start"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop: Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pkgseer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pkgseer/cli", "mcp", "start"]
    }
  }
}

CLI Commands

Search

Search code and documentation across packages:

# Search in specific packages
pkgseer search "authentication" -P express,passport
pkgseer search "http client" -P pypi:requests,pypi:httpx
pkgseer search "json parsing" -P hex:jason,hex:poison

# Search modes
pkgseer search "auth" -P lodash --mode code   # Code only
pkgseer search "auth" -P lodash --mode docs   # Docs only

# Wait options (for packages that need indexing)
pkgseer search "api" -P new-package --wait 60000  # Wait up to 60s
pkgseer search "api" -P new-package --no-wait     # Return immediately

# Resume long-running searches
pkgseer search "api" -P large-package --no-poll   # Disable polling, get searchRef
pkgseer search --resume <searchRef>               # Check status / get results

If packages haven't been indexed yet, the search will wait up to 30 seconds by default. Use --wait <ms> to customize or --no-wait to return immediately with progress info.

For long-running searches, use --no-poll to get a searchRef and later resume with --resume <ref>.

Package Commands

pkgseer pkg info lodash              # Package summary and metadata
pkgseer pkg vulns lodash@4.17.21     # Security vulnerabilities
pkgseer pkg quality express          # Quality score (0-100)
pkgseer pkg deps express             # Direct dependencies
pkgseer pkg deps express --transitive  # Include transitive deps
pkgseer pkg compare axios got fetch-h2  # Compare packages

Package format: [registry:]name[@version]

lodash — npm (default registry)
pypi:requests — PyPI
hex:phoenix — Hex
crates:serde — crates.io
lodash@4.17.21 — specific version

Documentation Commands

pkgseer docs list pypi:requests        # List available doc pages
pkgseer docs get lodash/chunk          # Fetch specific doc page
pkgseer docs search "routing" -P express  # Search docs only

Project Commands

pkgseer project init     # Create pkgseer.yml config
pkgseer project detect   # Detect package manifests
pkgseer project upload   # Upload project to PkgSeer

Authentication

pkgseer login            # Authenticate via browser
pkgseer logout           # Sign out
pkgseer auth status      # Check authentication state

Configuration

pkgseer config show      # Display current configuration

MCP Tools

When running as an MCP server, these tools are available:

Tool	Description
`package_summary`	Package metadata, versions, quickstart examples
`package_vulnerabilities`	Security advisories and CVEs
`package_dependencies`	Dependency tree (direct and transitive)
`package_quality`	Quality score with category breakdown
`compare_packages`	Side-by-side comparison of packages
`list_package_docs`	Available documentation pages
`fetch_package_doc`	Full content of a documentation page
`search`	Search code and docs across packages
`fetch_code_context`	Fetch code from search results
`search_project_docs`	Search docs for packages in current project

Configuration

Project Configuration

Create pkgseer.yml in your project root:

project: my-project-name

# Optional: limit which tools are available
enabled_tools:
  - package_summary
  - package_vulnerabilities
  - search_project_docs

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
`PKGSEER_API_TOKEN`	API token (alternative to `pkgseer login`)
`PKGSEER_URL`	Base URL for PkgSeer (for development/testing)

Documentation

Development

See CLAUDE.md for development guidelines.

bun install              # Install dependencies
bun run dev              # Development mode
bun test                 # Run tests
bun run build            # Build for production
bun run codegen          # Regenerate GraphQL types