parallel-cli-setup

Parallel CLI Setup

Set up or maintain parallel-cli with minimal friction. set up parallel-cli for the user so that they can execute searches, run extracts, deep research, etc.

Step 1: Install or upgrade the CLI

Check whether the CLI exists:

command -v parallel-cli

If missing, install with any of these methods:

1. macOS only: brew install parallel-web/tap/parallel-cli
2. Linux/macOS/Windows (uv): uv tool install "parallel-web-tools[cli]"
3. Linux/macOS/Windows (npm): npm install -g parallel-web-cli

When parallel-cli is present, require version >=0.9.2. If older, identify the install method before advising an update. Use command -v parallel-cli, then inspect readlink "$(command -v parallel-cli)" if it is a symlink. Paths under ~/.local/share/uv/ tools/ indicate uv tool install; paths under ~/.local/share/parallel-cli/ indicate the standalone installer.

Upgrade commands (choose based on how it was installed):

• standalone: parallel-cli update
• uv: uv tool upgrade parallel-web-tools[cli]
• pipx: pipx upgrade parallel-web-tools[cli]
• npm: npm update -g parallel-web-cli
• homebrew: brew upgrade parallel-web/tap/parallel-cli

Step 2: Authenticate

Check auth status:

parallel-cli auth --json

You will get a response like:

{
  "authenticated": true,
  "method": "oauth",
  "env_var_set": false,
  "has_stored_credentials": true,
  "stored_overridden_by_env": false,
  "token_file": "xxx",
  "version": 1,
  "selected_org_id": "legacy",
  "selected_org_name": null,
  "has_control_api_tokens": false
}

If authenticated is false or selected_org_id is legacy, prompt the user to log in:

parallel-cli login --json

If this is a headless session, append --no-browser.

This triggers device OAuth. The user will be prompted to go to a web browser and input the code the CLI outputs.

When invoking from an agent harness, prefer streaming stdout via a Monitor-style tool over blocking on completion.

The output will look like:

{"event": "auth_start"}
{"event": "device_code", "verification_uri": "http://localhost:3000/getServiceKeys/device", "verification_uri_complete": "http://localhost:3000/getServiceKeys/device?user_code=CHQX-NQKP&onboard_variant=agent", "user_code": "CHQX-NQKP", "expires_in": 600, "browser_open_attempted": true, "browser_opened": true}
{"event": "auth_waiting"}
{"event": "auth_success"}

{"event": "auth_success"} is emitted only after the user has successfully authorized the CLI. Otherwise it blocks at {"event": "auth_waiting"}.

Step 3: Check balance

After authentication, check the current balance:

parallel-cli balance get

If zero, prompt the user to add balance:

Make it clear that a payment method should have been added to the organization. If not, the user can go to https://platform.parallel.ai/settings to add one.

Step 4: Install the Parallel skills

Install the skills for the user:

parallel-cli skills install

The user may need to restart their agent if it doesn't support hot reloading.

Step 5: Suggest a first run

Prompt the user to use the newly installed skills to run a search or extract right away. Suggest one of (use $ instead of / for Codex):

• /parallel-web-search <query> — fast web search
• /parallel-web-extract <url> — extract content from a URL
• /parallel-deep-research <topic> — comprehensive research
• /parallel-data-enrichment <list> — enrich a list of entities