AppBrain CLI

A single-binary command-line client for AppBrain’s Keyword API. Sign in once, then track Google Play keyword rankings, analyze competitors, and generate keyword reports — from your terminal, your scripts, or an AI agent.

On a terminal you get colored tables, rank sparklines, and clickable app names. With --json you get clean, machine-readable output for scripts, jq, CI, and agents.

The AppBrain CLI is currently in beta. If you hit a rough edge, email contact@appbrain.com.

Install

macOS and Linux:

curl -fsSL https://www.appbrain.com/cli/install | sh

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr https://www.appbrain.com/cli/install.ps1 -UseB | iex

The installer picks the right binary for your OS and architecture, verifies its SHA-256 against a checksum published next to it, and drops a single self-contained executable in ~/.local/bin (no sudo required, no runtime to install). Supported targets: macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon), Linux (x64 + arm64), and Windows (x64).

Pinning a version

curl -fsSL https://www.appbrain.com/cli/install | APPBRAIN_CLI_VERSION=0.9.0 sh

Published versions are immutable, so a pinned install always fetches the exact same binary. Without a pin, the installer fetches the current latest release.

First steps

appbrain login            # browser-based sign-in (use --device on a headless/SSH box)
appbrain whoami           # confirm your account and per-service entitlements
appbrain doctor           # pass/fail health check: config, token, server, entitlements
appbrain keyword overview # your apps and their tracked keywords

Run appbrain --help (or appbrain keyword --help) for the full command surface.

Commands

Cross-cutting commands live at the top level; Keyword API commands are grouped under appbrain keyword.

Command	What it does
`login [--device]`	Sign in (browser loopback, or device code for headless boxes)
`whoami`	Show your account and per-service entitlements
`doctor`	Health check; exits non-zero on any failure
`config show / path`	Inspect the resolved settings (the token is masked)
`logout`	Remove the local config file
`keyword rankings <query>`	Live Google Play ranking for a keyword
`keyword overview`	Your apps and their tracked keywords
`keyword history keyword <query>`	Rank history for a keyword
`keyword history app <package>`	Rank history for one of your apps
`keyword competitors list / discover <package>`	Auto-discovered competitors
`keyword competitors keywords <package> <competitor>`	Competitor keyword gap analysis
`keyword tracked list / add / remove`	Manage tracked keywords
`keyword report generate / get / list`	AI-assisted keyword reports
`keyword scrape <keyword...>`	Scrape live Google Play results

Global flags work on any command and may be placed before or after the subcommand: --country (comma-separated where multiple countries are allowed), --partner, --base-url, and --json.

Output formats

On a terminal, the default pretty format renders colored tables sized to your window, with rank sparklines and clickable app links; keyword history --chart adds a rank-over-time line chart. For scripts and automation:

`--format`	Use
`pretty` (default)	Colored tables, sparklines, charts, clickable links
`json` (`--json`)	Canonical proto-JSON — the high-fidelity path for agents
`ndjson`	The response’s primary list, one JSON object per line (great for `jq`)

appbrain --json keyword overview | jq '.apps[].appInfo.packageName'
appbrain --format ndjson keyword rankings "photo editor" --country de | jq -r .packageName

Errors print structured JSON ({"error":{"code","message"}}) in machine formats, or a red message in pretty, and always exit non-zero.

Authentication for scripts and CI

For non-interactive use, provide your token via the APPBRAIN_API_TOKEN environment variable:

export APPBRAIN_API_TOKEN=…       # from a secrets manager, ideally
appbrain keyword overview --json

There is intentionally no token flag — command-line arguments are visible to other users via ps and land in shell history. When you sign in interactively with appbrain login, the token is stored in ~/.config/appbrain/config.json, written 0600 in a 0700 directory.

Requirements

An AppBrain account. The keyword commands are free for any developer account — sign in with appbrain login, then track up to 20 keywords on the free tier. An AppBrain Intelligence subscription lifts that cap to unlimited tracking. The CLI is a companion to the web Keyword Tracker & Optimizer — same API, same data.

See also the AppBrain API overview and the API specification.

AppBrain is a directory focused on discovering great apps and games. We give statistics, rankings and search options that Google Play and the App Store don't have. All trademarks are owned by their respective owners. AppBrain doesn't offer APKs or binaries, and always lets users install the official version from Google Play or the App Store.

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