PenguinRadar CLI
Run the same six operations from your terminal and scripts.
Install
The CLI is penguinradar on npm. It needs Node.js 20 or later:
npm install --global penguinradar
penguinradar --version
# or, without installing
npx penguinradar tracking listComing from the old instoryview package (0.2.1)? It still works, and INSTORYVIEW_API_KEY and INSTORYVIEW_API_URL are still read. To switch, install penguinradar and run penguinradar auth login once more: a login the old package saved in Keychain is not carried over.
Sign in
Create a Key in Developer settings, then run:
penguinradar auth login
penguinradar auth statusauth login reads the Key without echoing it. On macOS the CLI keeps it in Keychain. On Linux, Windows or CI, provide PENGUINRADAR_API_KEY through your shell or secret manager; no plaintext credential file is written automatically.
Read data
| Command | What it reads |
|---|---|
penguinradar tracking list | Your tracked accounts. |
penguinradar account <username> | An account's existing profile and totals. |
penguinradar followers <username> | An available follower list. |
penguinradar following <username> | An available following list. |
penguinradar changes <username> | Detected changes. |
These commands read existing data.
| Flag | Works with | Description |
|---|---|---|
--limit, --cursor | All except account | Page through results. |
--include-archived | tracking list | Include removed tracking items. |
--list, --from, --to, --timezone | changes | Choose the list and the date range. |
--json | All commands | Print the API's data and meta to stdout. |
Online queries
penguinradar followers bob --live --max-credits 2
penguinradar account bob --live --max-credits 2--live works with account, followers and following, needs a Key with data:fetch, and fetches one bounded page; the CLI never fetches every page automatically. It keeps the idempotency key for retries, and --idempotency-key with the original arguments recovers a query manually.
Scripting
penguinradar followers alice --limit 25 --json
penguinradar changes alice --list following \
--from 2026-10-01 --to 2026-10-07 --timezone UTC --json--json prints the API's data and meta to stdout; errors and recovery instructions go to stderr. Keep source, asOf, coverage, creditsUsed and the cursor in your pipeline.
Exit codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 | Success. |
1 | Service or network error. |
2 | Invalid arguments. |
3 | Authentication or permission problem. |
4 | Data unavailable. |
5 | Budget limit or pending result. |
Update or uninstall
To update, run npm install --global penguinradar@latest. penguinradar auth logout removes your saved login, and npm uninstall --global penguinradar removes the CLI.
Uninstalling does not revoke your Key. Revoke it in Developer settings to stop it working on every machine.
Questions about the API? Email support@penguinradar.com