cligle

cligle is a small Python command-line based Google search program. It sends requests in this shape to SerpAPI:

https://serpapi.com/search.html?engine=google&start=[NUM]&q=[QUERY]&api_key=[API_KEY]

Perfect for people who don't want to leave the terminal to search. Available on PyPI.

Setup

1. Add your API key securely with:

   cligle -set

   The key is entered twice with hidden input and saved to ~/.cligle/api_key.txt. Running the command again replaces the saved key.

2. If you need to use a different SerpApi endpoint, set it with CLIGLE_SEARCH_URL:

   export CLIGLE_SEARCH_URL="https://your-provider.example/search"

The packaged CLI stores the key at ~/.cligle/api_key.txt. You can use a different location with --key-file. The project's local api_key.txt is also supported for development and is ignored by Git.

No third-party Python packages are required.

Usage

After installing the package, the same command is available from anywhere:

python3 -m pip install cligle
cligle "python argparse tutorial"

The exact short form also works:

cligle query

Multiple words do not need quotes:

cligle python argparse tutorial

Open a specific results page with -p or --page:

cligle "python argparse tutorial" --page 2
cligle "python argparse tutorial" -p 3

Page numbers start at 1. If no page is specified, page 1 is requested. SerpApi uses a zero-based result offset internally, so page 1 sends start=0, page 2 sends start=10, page 3 sends start=20, and so on.

Useful options:

cligle -set --key-file /path/to/api_key.txt
cligle "latest Python news" --engine google
cligle "latest Python news" --page 2
cligle "latest Python news" --key-file /path/to/api_key.txt
cligle "latest Python news" --json

Save results to a chosen directory:

cligle "latest Python news" -o ./results

Long form:

cligle "latest Python news" --output ./results

If -o or --output is used without a directory, the text file is saved in your home folder:

cligle "latest Python news" -o
cligle "latest Python news" --output

The output filename is based on the query, such as latest_Python_news.txt. Existing files are preserved by adding a number to the next filename.

The formatter recognizes common organic_results, results, items, and answer_box response fields. The --json option is available when the API returns a response shape that needs custom handling.