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name pp-metacritic
description Printing Press CLI for Metacritic. Undocumented internal JSON API powering metacritic.com (a Fandom property).
author Ryan Cooper
license Apache-2.0
argument-hint <command> [args] | install cli|mcp
allowed-tools Read Bash
metadata
openclaw
requires install
bins
metacritic-pp-cli
kind bins module
go
metacritic-pp-cli
github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/media-and-entertainment/metacritic/cmd/metacritic-pp-cli

Metacritic — Printing Press CLI

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the metacritic-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:

  1. Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to $HOME/.local/bin on macOS/Linux and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin on Windows: 
    npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install metacritic --cli-only
  2. Verify: metacritic-pp-cli --version
  3. Ensure the reported install directory is on $PATH for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.4 or newer). This installs into $GOPATH/bin (default $HOME/go/bin), so add that directory to $PATH instead:

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/media-and-entertainment/metacritic/cmd/metacritic-pp-cli@latest

If --version reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

Undocumented internal JSON API powering metacritic.com (a Fandom property). Reverse-engineered from the site's public web client. Every request carries a shared public apiKey that the site embeds in its own JavaScript bundle, so no user credentials are required for read access.

One backend (backend.metacritic.com) serves every media type. The mcoTypeId query parameter selects the medium on the browse endpoint: 1 = TV shows, 2 = movies, 13 = games. The {mediaType} path segment (games, movies, shows) selects the medium on the title-detail, filters, and review endpoints.

The non-obvious insight: Metacritic is not just a review aggregator, it is a cross-media taste graph. Every gap between a title's Metascore (critics) and user score is a signal about critic-audience divergence.

Scope: this spec covers games, movies, and TV shows plus search, filters, title detail, and critic/user reviews. Music (albums) is served through a separate query shape and is intentionally left as a follow-up.

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

composer — Manage composer

  • metacritic-pp-cli composer <slug> — Returns the full composed detail payload for a title, including Metascore, user score, summary, release data

finder — Manage finder

  • metacritic-pp-cli finder browse-titles — Paginated, sortable list of titles for one medium.
  • metacritic-pp-cli finder list-filters — Returns the filter facets (genres, platforms, streaming networks, product types) valid for the given medium.
  • metacritic-pp-cli finder search-titles — Full-text search spanning games, movies, TV, and people.

reviews — Critic and user reviews for a title

  • metacritic-pp-cli reviews list-critic — List critic reviews for a title
  • metacritic-pp-cli reviews list-user — List user reviews for a title

Finding the right command

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

metacritic-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 0 means at least one match; exit code 2 means no confident match — fall back to --help or use a narrower query.

Auth Setup

Run metacritic-pp-cli auth setup to print the URL and steps for getting a key (add --launch to open the URL). Then set:

export METACRITIC_API_KEY="<your-key>"

Or persist it in ~/.config/metacritic-pp-cli/config.toml.

Run metacritic-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:

    metacritic-pp-cli composer mock-value --media-type games --api-key your-token-here --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:

{
  "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 AND no machine-format flag (--json, --csv, --compact, --quiet, --plain, --select) is set — piped/agent consumers and explicit-format runs get pure JSON on stdout.

Agent Feedback

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

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

Entries are stored locally at ~/.local/share/metacritic-pp-cli/feedback.jsonl. They are never POSTed unless METACRITIC_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT is set AND either --send is passed or METACRITIC_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.

metacritic-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
metacritic-pp-cli --profile briefing composer mock-value --media-type games --api-key your-token-here
metacritic-pp-cli profile list --json
metacritic-pp-cli profile show briefing
metacritic-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:

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

MCP Server Installation

  1. Install the MCP server: 
    go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/media-and-entertainment/metacritic/cmd/metacritic-pp-mcp@latest
  2. Register with Claude Code: 
    claude mcp add metacritic-pp-mcp -- metacritic-pp-mcp
  3. Verify: claude mcp list

Direct Use

  1. Check if installed: which metacritic-pp-cli If not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill).
  2. Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.
  3. Execute with the --agent flag: 
    metacritic-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent
  4. If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help: metacritic-pp-cli <command> --help.