Ahrefs — Printing Press CLI

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the

ahrefs-pp-cli

binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:

Install via the Printing Press installer:

bash

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press install ahrefs --cli-only

Verify:
```
ahrefs-pp-cli --version
```
Ensure
```
$GOPATH/bin
```
(or
```
$HOME/go/bin
```
) is on
```
$PATH
```
.

If the

npx

install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.23+):

bash

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/marketing/ahrefs/cmd/ahrefs-pp-cli@latest

--version

reports "command not found" after install, the install step did not put the binary on

$PATH

. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

When Not to Use This CLI

Do not activate this CLI for requests that require creating, updating, deleting, publishing, commenting, upvoting, inviting, ordering, sending messages, booking, purchasing, or changing remote state. This printed CLI exposes read-only commands for inspection, export, sync, and analysis.

Command Reference

keywords-explorer — Keywords Explorer endpoints.

ahrefs-pp-cli keywords-explorer matching-terms

— Matching terms

ahrefs-pp-cli keywords-explorer overview

— Overview

ahrefs-pp-cli keywords-explorer related-terms

— Related terms

ahrefs-pp-cli keywords-explorer search-suggestions

— Search suggestions

ahrefs-pp-cli keywords-explorer volume-by-country

— Volume by country

ahrefs-pp-cli keywords-explorer volume-history

— Time-series. Volume history

public — Public endpoints.

```
ahrefs-pp-cli public crawler-ip-ranges
```
— Crawler IP ranges
```
ahrefs-pp-cli public crawler-ips
```
— Crawler IP addresses

rank-tracker — Rank Tracker endpoints.

ahrefs-pp-cli rank-tracker competitors-overview

— Competitors overview

```
ahrefs-pp-cli rank-tracker overview
```
— Overview

ahrefs-pp-cli rank-tracker serp-overview

— SERP Overview

serp-overview — Serp Overview endpoints.

```
ahrefs-pp-cli serp-overview
```
— SERP Overview

site-audit — Site Audit endpoints.

```
ahrefs-pp-cli site-audit issues
```
— Project Issues
```
ahrefs-pp-cli site-audit page-content
```
— Page content
```
ahrefs-pp-cli site-audit page-explorer
```
— Page explorer
```
ahrefs-pp-cli site-audit projects
```
— Project Health Scores

site-explorer — Site Explorer endpoints.

ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer all-backlinks

— Backlinks

ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer backlinks-stats

— Backlinks stats

ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer broken-backlinks

— Broken Backlinks

ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer domain-rating

— Point-in-time snapshot. Domain rating

ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer domain-rating-history

— Time-series. Domain Rating history

```
ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer metrics
```
— Point-in-time snapshot. Metrics

ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer metrics-by-country

— Metrics by country

ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer organic-competitors

— Organic competitors

ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer organic-keywords

— Organic keywords

ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer pages-by-traffic

— Pages by traffic

ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer refdomains-history

— Time-series. Refdomains history

```
ahrefs-pp-cli site-explorer top-pages
```
— Top pages

subscription-info — Subscription Info endpoints.

```
ahrefs-pp-cli subscription-info
```
— Limits and usage

Finding the right command

When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:

bash

ahrefs-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"

which

resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code

means at least one match; exit code

means no confident match — fall back to

--help

or use a narrower query.

Auth Setup

Set your API key via environment variable:

bash

export AHREFS_API_KEY="<your-key>"

Or persist it in

~/.config/ahrefs-pp-cli/config.toml

Run

ahrefs-pp-cli doctor

to verify setup.

Agent Mode

Add

--agent

to any command. Expands to:

--json --compact --no-input --no-color --yes

Pipeable — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr
Filterable —
```
--select
```
keeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:
bash
```
ahrefs-pp-cli keywords-explorer matching-terms --agent --select id,name,status
```
Previewable —
```
--dry-run
```
shows the request without sending
Offline-friendly — sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
Non-interactive — never prompts, every input is a flag
Read-only — do not use this CLI for create, update, delete, publish, comment, upvote, invite, order, send, or other mutating requests

Response envelope

Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:

json

{
  "meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
  "results": <data>
}

Parse

.results

for data and

.meta.source

to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable

N results (live)

summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal — piped/agent consumers get pure JSON on stdout.

Agent Feedback

When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:

ahrefs-pp-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
ahrefs-pp-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
ahrefs-pp-cli feedback list --json --limit 10

Entries are stored locally at

~/.ahrefs-pp-cli/feedback.jsonl

. They are never POSTed unless

AHREFS_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT

is set AND either

--send

is passed or

AHREFS_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true

. Default behavior is local-only.

Write what surprised you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.

Output Delivery

Every command accepts

--deliver <sink>

. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:

Sink	Effect
`stdout`	Default; write to stdout only
`file:<path>`	Atomically write output to `<path>` (tmp + rename)
`webhook:<url>`	POST the output body to the URL ( `application/json` or `application/x-ndjson` when `--compact` )

Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.

Named Profiles

A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled agent calls the same command every run with the same configuration - HeyGen's "Beacon" pattern.

ahrefs-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
ahrefs-pp-cli --profile briefing keywords-explorer matching-terms
ahrefs-pp-cli profile list --json
ahrefs-pp-cli profile show briefing
ahrefs-pp-cli profile delete briefing --yes

Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults.

agent-context

lists all available profiles under

available_profiles

so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
2	Usage error (wrong arguments)
3	Resource not found
4	Authentication required
5	API error (upstream issue)
7	Rate limited (wait and retry)
10	Config error

Argument Parsing

Parse

$ARGUMENTS

Empty,
help
, or
--help
→ show
```
ahrefs-pp-cli --help
```
output
Starts with
install
→ ends with
```
mcp
```
→ MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above
Anything else → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with
```
--agent
```
)

MCP Server Installation

Install the MCP server:

bash

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/marketing/ahrefs/cmd/ahrefs-pp-mcp@latest

bash

claude mcp add ahrefs-pp-mcp -- ahrefs-pp-mcp

Verify:
```
claude mcp list
```

Direct Use

Check if installed:
```
which ahrefs-pp-cli
```
If not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill).
Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.

Execute with the

--agent

flag:

bash

ahrefs-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent

If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help:
```
ahrefs-pp-cli <command> --help
```
.

pp-ahrefs

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Ahrefs — Printing Press CLI

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

When Not to Use This CLI

Command Reference

Finding the right command

Auth Setup

Agent Mode

Response envelope

Agent Feedback

Output Delivery

Named Profiles

Exit Codes

Argument Parsing

MCP Server Installation

Direct Use