airbnb

Airbnb CLI (airbnb-pp-cli)

Skip the Airbnb platform fee. Find the host's direct booking site for any Airbnb listing.

Search Airbnb from the terminal, run cheapest on a listing to extract the host's brand, web-search for their direct booking site, and report the lowest of three prices side-by-side. Cross-platform match, price-drop watchlist, host portfolio analysis, and trip planning all built on a local store that compounds over time.

VRBO is currently disabled. VRBO's anti-bot protection (Akamai) blocks the scraper, and the previous fallback path returned hardcoded placeholder data with the queried city stamped on top — fake results labeled as if they were real. Every VRBO entry point now returns "vrbo is temporarily disabled — pending Akamai workaround". The VRBO source code stays in tree so re-enabling is a flag flip plus the Akamai workaround. Use this CLI for Airbnb work; expect VRBO to come back in a future release.

Renamed from airbnb-vrbo-pp-cli to airbnb-pp-cli. Existing users get an automatic one-time state migration on first run (the ~/.airbnb-vrbo-pp-cli directory is renamed in place to ~/.airbnb-pp-cli; the same applies to the SQLite cache under ~/.local/share). AIRBNB_VRBO_* env vars are still read but emit a deprecation warning; switch to AIRBNB_PP_*. The legacy paths will be dropped in a future release.

Created by @mvanhorn (Matt Van Horn). Contributors: @tmchow (Trevin Chow).

Install

The recommended path installs both the airbnb-pp-cli binary and the pp-airbnb agent skill (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, and other agents supported by the upstream skills CLI) in one shot:

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install airbnb

For CLI only (no skill):

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install airbnb --cli-only

For skill only — installs the skill into the same agents as the default command above, but skips the CLI binary (use this to update or reinstall just the skill):

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install airbnb --skill-only

To constrain the skill install to one or more specific agents (repeatable — agent names match the skills CLI):

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install airbnb --agent claude-code
npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install airbnb --agent claude-code --agent codex

Without Node (Go fallback)

If npx isn't available (no Node, offline), install the CLI directly via Go (requires Go 1.26.3 or newer):

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

This installs the CLI only — no skill.

Pre-built binary

Download a pre-built binary for your platform from the latest release. On macOS, clear the Gatekeeper quarantine: xattr -d com.apple.quarantine <binary>. On Unix, mark it executable: chmod +x <binary>.

Install for Hermes

Install the CLI binary first. The installer writes binaries to a per-user managed bin directory by default: $HOME/.local/bin on macOS/Linux and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin on Windows.

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install airbnb --cli-only

Then install the focused Hermes skill.

From the Hermes CLI:

hermes skills install mvanhorn/printing-press-library/cli-skills/pp-airbnb --force

Inside a Hermes chat session:

/skills install mvanhorn/printing-press-library/cli-skills/pp-airbnb --force

Restart the Hermes session or gateway if the newly installed skill is not visible immediately.

Install for OpenClaw

Install both the CLI binary and the focused OpenClaw skill. The installer defaults binaries to a per-user bin directory ($HOME/.local/bin on macOS/Linux, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin on Windows):

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install airbnb --agent openclaw

Restart the OpenClaw session or gateway if the newly installed skill is not visible immediately.

Use with Claude Desktop

This CLI ships an MCPB bundle — Claude Desktop's standard format for one-click MCP extension installs (no JSON config required).

The bundle reuses your local browser session — set it up first if you haven't:

airbnb-pp-cli auth login --chrome

To install:

1. Download the .mcpb for your platform from the latest release.
2. Double-click the .mcpb file. Claude Desktop opens and walks you through the install.

Requires Claude Desktop 1.0.0 or later. Pre-built bundles ship for macOS Apple Silicon (darwin-arm64) and Windows (amd64, arm64); for other platforms, use the manual config below.

Manual JSON config (advanced)

If you can't use the MCPB bundle (older Claude Desktop, unsupported platform), install the MCP binary and configure it manually.

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

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airbnb-pp": {
      "command": "airbnb-pp-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Authentication

Public search and listing detail need no auth. Authenticated features (Airbnb wishlists, trip history) use cookie import via auth login --chrome. The web-search backend is pluggable: Parallel.ai (paid, best), DuckDuckGo HTML (free default), Brave Search API (free tier), or Tavily (free tier).

Quick Start

# Verify reachability and which search backend is active.
airbnb-pp-cli doctor

# Find listings on Airbnb.
airbnb-pp-cli airbnb search 'Lake Tahoe' --checkin 2026-05-16 --checkout 2026-05-19 --guests 4

# Same query, VRBO side.
airbnb-pp-cli vrbo search 'Lake Tahoe' --checkin 2026-05-16 --checkout 2026-05-19 --guests 4

# The headline command. Find the host's direct booking site and the cheapest of three sources.
airbnb-pp-cli cheapest 'https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37124493?check_in=2026-05-16&check_out=2026-05-19'

# One call: search both platforms, find direct sites, return ranked-by-savings list.
airbnb-pp-cli plan 'Lake Tahoe' --checkin 2026-05-16 --checkout 2026-05-19 --guests 4 --budget 1500

Unique Features

These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API.

Host-direct arbitrage

• cheapest — Given an Airbnb or VRBO listing URL, find the host's direct booking site and report the cheapest of three sources.

  When a user names an Airbnb/VRBO listing, this is the right tool to reach for. Returns a structured comparison of OTA fees vs direct booking with actionable URLs.

  airbnb-pp-cli cheapest 'https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37124493?check_in=2026-05-16&check_out=2026-05-19' --agent

• plan — Search Airbnb and VRBO in parallel for a city/dates/budget, then run cheapest on the top results, return a ranked-by-savings list.

  The agent-friendly trip planner. One call returns ranked results across both platforms with direct-booking URLs and savings amounts.

  airbnb-pp-cli plan 'Lake Tahoe' --checkin 2026-05-16 --checkout 2026-05-19 --guests 4 --budget 1500 --agent

• compare — Side-by-side: OTA total (with cleaning + service + tax fees) vs direct booking total, with dollar and percent savings.

  Use when an agent needs to justify a booking recommendation with concrete savings numbers.

  airbnb-pp-cli compare 'https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37124493' --checkin 2026-05-16 --checkout 2026-05-19 --json

• find-twin — Reverse image search a listing's photos to find the same property on direct booking sites or alternate platforms.

  When host extraction fails (vague host name), reverse image search is the most reliable signal.

  airbnb-pp-cli find-twin 'https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37124493' --json

Cross-platform

• match — Given a listing on Airbnb (or VRBO), find the same property on the other platform via geocode + amenities + photo signal.

  Cross-platform price discrimination is real; the same condo can cost 15 percent less on VRBO. This finds it.

  airbnb-pp-cli match 'https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37124493' --json

Local state that compounds

• watch — Add saved listings to a watchlist with target prices; daily sync checks for drops; cron-friendly exit codes signal hits.

  Use when a user is shopping a specific listing and waiting for a price drop. Schedule watch check daily; act on exit code 7.

  airbnb-pp-cli watch add 'https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37124493' --max-price 350 --checkin 2026-05-16 --checkout 2026-05-19

• host portfolio — Given a host or property management company name, list every known listing under them across Airbnb and VRBO.

  Discover bulk patterns: which PMCs operate in this city, which have direct sites, where to focus arbitrage.

  airbnb-pp-cli host portfolio 'Vacasa' --json --select listings.title,listings.location

• wishlist diff — Track price changes on Airbnb wishlists over time; report which saved listings dropped, by how much, and over what window.

  User saved a listing months ago and forgot. This surfaces price movement so they can act before booking.

  airbnb-pp-cli wishlist diff --since 2026-04-01 --json

• fingerprint — Stable hash from photos + amenities + host + city; used by match for dedupe; exposed for power-user export workflows.

  Build your own external joins on listings; stable across sessions.

  airbnb-pp-cli fingerprint 'https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37124493'

Usage

Run airbnb-pp-cli --help for the full command reference and flag list.

Commands

airbnb_listing

Airbnb listings (search and detail) via SSR HTML scrape (openbnb pattern, no auth required).

• airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_listing get - Get full Airbnb listing detail (amenities, house rules, location, highlights, description, policies, host) via SSR HTML scrape.
• airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_listing search - Search Airbnb listings by location, dates, and guest count via the public SSR HTML page (openbnb pattern). Walks niobeClientData[0][1] Apollo cache to extract structured results.

airbnb_wishlist

Airbnb wishlists (read user's saved listings; requires auth login --chrome).

• airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_wishlist items - Get items in a specific wishlist by listing IDs.
• airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_wishlist list - List the user's wishlists via Airbnb's GraphQL persisted query.

host

Host identity extraction (the linchpin of host-direct arbitrage).

• airbnb-pp-cli host extract - Extract the host's brand or display name from a listing URL across both platforms. Uses propertyManagement.name (PMC) > host.displayName > description bio > photo signal.
• airbnb-pp-cli host portfolio - List every known listing under one host or PMC across Airbnb and VRBO from the local store.

vrbo_listing

VRBO listings (search and detail) via /graphql with Akamai warmup pattern.

• airbnb-pp-cli vrbo_listing get - Get full VRBO property detail via the propertyDetail GraphQL operation (operation name discovered at runtime). Falls back to PLUGIN_STATE SSR scrape for basic fields.
• airbnb-pp-cli vrbo_listing search - Search VRBO properties via the propertySearch GraphQL operation. Uses Akamai warmup (GET / first, wait 1.5s, then POST).

Output Formats

# Human-readable table (default in terminal, JSON when piped)
airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_listing get

# JSON for scripting and agents
airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_listing get --json

# Filter to specific fields
airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_listing get --json --select id,name,status

# Dry run — show the request without sending
airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_listing get --dry-run

# Agent mode — JSON + compact + no prompts in one flag
airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_listing get --agent

Agent Usage

This CLI is designed for AI agent consumption:

• Non-interactive - never prompts, every input is a flag
• Pipeable - --json output to stdout, errors to stderr
• Filterable - --select id,name returns only fields you need
• Previewable - --dry-run shows the request without sending
• Read-only by default - this CLI does not create, update, delete, publish, send, or mutate remote resources
• Offline-friendly - sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
• Agent-safe by default - no colors or formatting unless --human-friendly is set

Exit codes: 0 success, 2 usage error, 3 not found, 4 auth error, 5 API error, 7 rate limited, 10 config error.

Freshness

This CLI owns bounded freshness for registered store-backed read command paths. In --data-source auto mode, covered commands check the local SQLite store before serving results; stale or missing resources trigger a bounded refresh, and refresh failures fall back to the existing local data with a warning. --data-source local never refreshes, and --data-source live reads the API without mutating the local store.

Set AIRBNB_PP_NO_AUTO_REFRESH=1 to disable the pre-read freshness hook while preserving the selected data source.

Covered command paths:

• airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_wishlist
• airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_wishlist items
• airbnb-pp-cli airbnb_wishlist list

JSON outputs that use the generated provenance envelope include freshness metadata at meta.freshness. This metadata describes the freshness decision for the covered command path; it does not claim full historical backfill or API-specific enrichment.

Health Check

airbnb-pp-cli doctor

Verifies configuration, credentials, and connectivity to the API.

Configuration

Config file: ~/.config/airbnb-pp-cli/config.toml

Troubleshooting

Authentication errors (exit code 4)

• Run airbnb-pp-cli doctor to check credentials Not found errors (exit code 3)
• Check the resource ID is correct
• Run the list command to see available items

API-specific

• VRBO returns 'Bot or Not?' challenge — The CLI uses Surf with Chrome TLS impersonation and a warmup pattern by default. If you still see challenges: run airbnb-pp-cli doctor --probe vrbo to verify the warmup is firing; reduce request rate with --rate 0.3 (req/sec).
• cheapest returns 'no direct site found' — Try --search-backend parallel or --search-backend brave for higher-quality results; ensure PARALLEL_API_KEY or BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY is set in env.
• Airbnb wishlist commands fail with auth error — Run airbnb-pp-cli auth login --chrome to import your Chrome cookies; airbnb-pp-cli auth status verifies.
• watch check exits with code 7 unexpectedly — Code 7 means at least one watched listing dropped below threshold — that is the success path. Check with airbnb-pp-cli watch list --since 24h.

Discovery Signals

This CLI was generated with browser-captured traffic analysis.

• Target observed: https://a0.muscache.com/airbnb/static/packages/web/en/e67b.b1e4978dd5.js
• Capture coverage: 66 API entries from 299 total network entries
• Reachability: standard_http (65% confidence)
• Protocols: rpc_envelope (80% confidence), rest_json (75% confidence)
• Auth signals: api_key — headers: X-Airbnb-API-Key, X-Goog-Api-Key
• Generation hints: has_rpc_envelope, weak_schema_confidence
• Candidate command ideas: create_GetViewportInfo — Derived from observed POST /$rpc/google.internal.maps.mapsjs.v1.MapsJsInternalService/GetViewportInfo traffic.; create_StaysPdpSections — Derived from observed POST /api/v3/StaysPdpSections/{hash} traffic.; create_get_data_layer_variables — Derived from observed POST /api/v2/get-data-layer-variables traffic.; create_js — Derived from observed POST /js/ traffic.; create_marketing_event_tracking — Derived from observed POST /api/v2/marketing_event_tracking traffic.; create_messages — Derived from observed POST /tracking/jitney/logging/messages traffic.; create_realtimeconversion — Derived from observed POST /track/realtimeconversion traffic.; get_GetConsentFlagsQuery — Derived from observed GET /api/v3/GetConsentFlagsQuery/{hash} traffic.

Warnings from discovery:

• empty_payload: API-looking request returned an empty or null payload; schema confidence is weak.
• empty_payload: API-looking request returned an empty or null payload; schema confidence is weak.
• empty_payload: API-looking request returned an empty or null payload; schema confidence is weak.
• empty_payload: API-looking request returned an empty or null payload; schema confidence is weak.
• empty_payload: API-looking request returned an empty or null payload; schema confidence is weak.
• empty_payload: API-looking request returned an empty or null payload; schema confidence is weak.
• empty_payload: API-looking request returned an empty or null payload; schema confidence is weak.
• empty_payload: API-looking request returned an empty or null payload; schema confidence is weak.
• empty_payload: API-looking request returned an empty or null payload; schema confidence is weak.
• empty_payload: API-looking request returned an empty or null payload; schema confidence is weak.

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Sources & Inspiration

This CLI was built by studying these projects and resources:

• openbnb-org/mcp-server-airbnb — TypeScript (443 stars)
• Apify ecomscrape/vrbo-property-search-scraper — JavaScript
• Apify easyapi/vrbo-property-listing-scraper — JavaScript
• Apify jupri/vrbo-property — JavaScript
• markswendsen-code/mcp-vrbo — TypeScript
• vedantparmar12/airbnb-mcp — TypeScript
• Edioff/vrbo-scraper — Python
• Stevesie VRBO API — Documentation

Generated by CLI Printing Press