Set up your agent

Three commands, any agent.

Your agent talks to the data through a small tool called tl, published on PyPI as thoughtleaders-cli. Install it the way you would install any other tool, log in once, and your agent has the database.

Start with step 1 What your agent can do

Rather not touch a terminal? Add the Chrome extension instead →

Install

Put the tool on your PATH

Pick one installer. uv is the shortest path and needs nothing already on your machine.

uv tool install thoughtleaders-cli

Installs tl and puts it on your PATH.

Or use the installer you already have

uv: Recommended. Downloads its own Python, installs the tool in an isolated environment, and works on macOS, Linux and Windows with no system Python.

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

uv tool install thoughtleaders-cli
pipx: The classic alternative if you already have pipx. Auto-updates, tokens in your OS keychain, no system Python touched.

brew install pipx

pipx install thoughtleaders-cli
pip: For a virtualenv, a CI runner, a Dockerfile or an Airflow image. TL_API_KEY works as a fallback for unattended runs.

pip install thoughtleaders-cli

On Debian or Ubuntu, apt install pipx replaces the brew line. Windows works on all three installers; if Smart App Control blocks the launcher, tl setup windows fixes it.

Authenticate

Log in once

Logging in opens a browser, you click once, and you are done. It uses PKCE OAuth via Auth0 and CloudFlare, so no client secrets sit on your machine, and tokens live in your OS keychain through the keyring package — the same place your browser keeps its auto-fill credentials.

There is a device-code flow for headless machines, and you can paste a pre-issued API key instead. For CI, scripts or Docker images where an interactive login is not practical, the TL_API_KEY environment variable works as a fallback.

tl auth login

One login, and the same balance as the extension and the web app.

Verify

Confirm it works

tl doctor checks the version, your auth, the API and your balance in one pass. tl describe prints the resources, fields and filters — it is also what an agent reads first to learn the surface.

Every account gets a weekly allowance. See pricing →

tl doctor

tl describe

What your agent reads first.

Connect

Hand it to your agent

One command per agent drops the ready-made skills where that agent reads them: vet a channel, research a niche, size a views guarantee. In Claude Code they arrive as a plugin and show up as slash commands.

Browse the skills →

Claude Code

tl setup claude

Codex, Gemini CLI and OpenCode have their own one-liners, below.

Works where you work

It is a command, so it runs wherever your agent runs, including Grok or anything else that can run one.

Claude Code: tl setup claude
Codex: tl setup codex
Gemini CLI: tl setup gemini
OpenCode: tl setup opencode
Claude Cowork: Runs in its terminal
Cursor: Runs in its terminal

There is also an MCP server for agents that only speak MCP.

No setup required

Or add the Chrome extension.

The same eight years of sponsorship history, in your browser. Open any YouTube channel or video and the side panel shows deal history, projected views, audience and fair-price benchmarks — same login, same balance, same data your agent reads.

Add to Chrome — free What the extension does

Set up. Now ask it something.

Browse the skills Query cheatsheet See pricing

Every account gets a weekly allowance. No card to start.