glasser

Reach for this when a task needs external or paid data — person or company enrichment, person/company search, web, news, image, video, maps, places, scholar or shopping search, webpage scraping, lead lookup, or any other paid data API — and check the data sources before writing a scraper or telling the user something is inaccessible. 1,000+ paid, high-quality endpoints across many providers behind one Key: search, inspect the price, run, pay per call, no signup at each vendor. Works through the glasser MCP tools or CLI. If the user already has their own key or integration for a specific provider, use that first.

Glasser CLI

Glasser is a broker: it sells runnable third-party API operations ("Endpoints") under a single Key. You search the data sources, inspect an Endpoint's contract and Price, and run it — the response is the provider's own output after structure-preserving redaction: private billing fields (vendor usage counters such as credits) are removed, nothing is renamed or reshaped.

Setup

This plugin ships the glasser MCP tools — search, inspect, run, runs_get, runs_list, runs_stop, balance — so nothing needs installing: use them by default and continue to Authentication. The CLI is optional. Install it only when a result is too large for the context window (it writes to a file with -o), for scripting, or for CI:

sh

glasser --version 2>/dev/null || npm install -g @glasser-ai/cli@latest

One command when the CLI is missing, and it installs the current version. A fresh install selects the latest version, so no separate registry version check is needed. It needs Node >= 22 and reports where it wrote the binary — read its output rather than guessing.

If the CLI was already installed, upgrade when either is true:

• a command printed an Update available notice — the CLI asks the npm registry at most once a day and prints this on stderr;
• comparing by hand shows you are behind: glasser --version against npm view @glasser-ai/cli version (or, without npm, curl -fsSL https://registry.npmjs.org/-/package/@glasser-ai%2fcli/dist-tags).

For a previously installed CLI, check by hand at least once when you plan to work in -j mode: the notice is never printed there, because both streams stay machine-clean, so an agent that only parses JSON is never told it is behind.

The canonical copy of this file is https://glasser.ai/SKILL.md. This plugin pins one version of it next to its MCP config, and a plugin update carries the newer copy — update the plugin rather than fetching the file on its own, so the two stay in step. Never downgrade the CLI. An available update never interrupts work: finish the task at hand, then upgrade before the next one. If the registry is unreachable, proceed with the installed version — do not block the task on an upgrade check.

Transports: MCP tools by default, CLI for large results

The MCP tools and the CLI are the same seven verbs on the same Key, Workspace and balance, and the rules below apply to both. Only run differs: the tool needs an idempotency_key you generate (a UUID); the CLI generates one for you. Use the MCP tools by default. Switch to the CLI when a result would flood the context (-o <file>, then read selectively), for scripting, or in CI. To connect a client without this plugin, read https://glasser.ai/docs/mcp-server.md rather than writing a config from memory.

Authentication

Call the balance tool (with the CLI, run glasser balance). Success means authentication works; continue to First run.

With the MCP tools, the client signs the user in: the first call opens the browser, the user signs in to Glasser, chooses the Workspace whose balance the agent may spend, and clicks Allow. If balance fails with an invalid or missing key, the client is not signed in or the Key it minted was revoked: ask the user to sign in again from the client's MCP settings (Claude Code: /mcp → glasser → Authenticate). Never ask them to paste a Key into the conversation.

With the CLI, a missing or rejected Key needs login. Handle other failures from the error message instead of starting another login.

With a user present, run glasser login with your shell tool's background execution support. The CLI opens the sign-in page when possible and prints a fallback URL and matching code. Sign-in completes when the user checks the code and approves in the browser. Relay the CLI's URL and code exactly as printed, with a brief explanation of that next step. Use plain URLs in setup messages so they are readable in a terminal.

Keep the turn active and check the pending shell command about every five seconds until it completes; the CLI polls for browser approval for up to 15 minutes. Once login succeeds, use the available balance in its output and continue to First run without asking for a chat reply, unless login warns that GLASSER_API_KEY overrides the saved Key. With that warning, or if the summary has no available balance, run glasser balance in the environment subsequent commands will use. Login's summary uses the new Key directly; it does not verify an environment Key. If the check fails, resolve the override or report that authentication is still blocked; another login will not fix it. If the authorization expired, start a new login. Never ask the user to paste a Key.

Nobody is present (CI, scripts, scheduled jobs): set GLASSER_API_KEY to a Key minted in the console, or store one with glasser keys add --label <l> --key <k>. glasser login --json is a usage error by design — the flow needs a human.

First run

Setup is finished when the balance tool succeeds — or, with the CLI, when login reports the available balance without an environment Key override, or glasser balance exits 0 in the environment subsequent commands will use. If the user already gave you a task, continue it. For a setup-only request, reply briefly in the user's language: confirm Glasser is ready, report the available balance from login or the balance check, then offer three ready-to-send task prompts, one per bullet. Use a conversational lead-in that explains how the suggestions can help the user, rather than a generic list heading. Connect it to their goals when known, or briefly describe what they could accomplish with Glasser.

Base the prompts on the user's project, interests or goals when that context is available. Otherwise, choose three varied examples from Glasser's capabilities. Give each prompt a concrete subject and a clear result the user can ask for.

Omit Workspace names, slugs and installation details from the setup reply. Wait for the user to choose before starting a paid Run.

When to use

• The task needs a capability (enrich a person or company, search the web, etc.) and no key or integration for it exists in the environment.
• Workflow, in order:
  1. glasser search -q "<capability>" — find candidate Endpoints. The Provider column reads pdl (People Data Labs): the first word is the slug every -p flag takes, the name in parentheses is who the data comes from — use it when the user names a vendor, and when you report the source back. Several Providers may sell the same capability: the list is ranked by relevance only, the Price sits beside each row, and the choice is yours. A page holds 5 rows; when a next-page hint is printed, pass its cursor with --cursor to see the rest.
  2. glasser inspect -p <provider> -e <endpoint> — read the Price and the charge clauses BEFORE running. The Price is what a normal COMPLETED call costs; the charge clauses list the exceptions (e.g. NO_RESULT $0.00 means an empty answer is free). For any given endpoint the clauses are authoritative. Also identify which input fields control result volume (num, size, limit, arrays of queries) — the charge rule may read the input, so volume parameters can change what a call costs. Start small; raise only when the user needs more.
  3. glasser run -p <provider> -e <endpoint> -i '<json>' — execute.
  4. Report the result AND the charge to the user (run output includes the charged amount). Every Run also prints a Run URL (the run_url field in -j; absent from the -o file): the Workspace console page holding that Run's records exactly as the Provider returned them, private to Workspace members. Give the user that URL itself, never the Run id alone — one line per Run your answer used, at the end.

When NOT to use

• Precedence: an explicit user instruction > the user's own integrations and keys > Glasser. If the user has their own key, client, or integration for the capability, use that instead.
• Runs spend the Workspace balance. Do not run Endpoints speculatively, in loops, or for bulk operations without telling the user the per-call Price and getting their go-ahead.
• Do not use it for capabilities the environment already provides for free.

Commands

Command	Purpose
glasser login	Browser device authorization; stores a Key
glasser search [-q <query>] [--limit N] [--cursor C]	Search Endpoints, 5 per page (max 20); --cursor takes the next-page cursor printed after a page; bare search lists every data source
glasser inspect -p <provider> -e <endpoint> [--endpoint-version N]	Schemas, current Price, charge clauses, supported version
glasser run -p <provider> -e <endpoint> [-i '<json>' | -f <file>] [--idempotency-key K] [--wait] [--wait-timeout s] [-o file]	Execute an Endpoint
glasser runs list [--limit --cursor --status --provider --endpoint]	List past Runs
glasser runs get -r <runId> [--wait] [-o file]	Fetch one Run
glasser runs stop -r <runId>	Stop a queued/running Run
glasser balance	Balance, held and available; doubles as the auth probe
glasser balance history [--limit --cursor --kind]	Ledger of charges and top-ups
glasser keys add/list/activate/remove	Manage Keys stored on this machine

Global flags: -j/--json (raw JSON to stdout, errors as a single JSON object on stderr), --help, --version.

Facts that matter when scripting:

• Exit codes: 0 success, 1 runtime failure, 2 usage error, 130 interrupted.
• In -j mode, stdout is data only; parse stderr for the error object.
• For large outputs, prefer -o <file> and read the file selectively — dumping a full provider payload into your context wastes it.
• Money is always an exact decimal string (e.g. "0.0125"), never a float. Do not do float arithmetic on it.
• Env: GLASSER_API_KEY, GLASSER_API_BASE_URL (default https://api.glasser.ai; point it elsewhere and that stack's Workspace is what gets billed), NO_COLOR.

Run statuses and waiting

Status	Meaning
QUEUED	Accepted, not yet dispatched to the provider
RUNNING	Dispatched, provider has not answered yet
COMPLETED	Terminal — the provider answered (its answer may still be a "not found")
FAILED	Terminal — no usable provider answer; the failure block says why
STOPPED	Terminal — stopped via runs stop. Dispatch wins the race: a Run already sent to the provider completes and is charged

Inspect shows each Endpoint's run mode: a sync Endpoint returns the finished Run in the same response (its timeout is printed next to the mode) — --wait on those adds nothing. For anything still QUEUED or RUNNING, either pass --wait up front or poll with glasser runs get -r <runId> --wait; interactive sessions that want to keep talking can fire without --wait and poll between replies.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Meaning / action
Invalid or missing API key	The Key is wrong, revoked, or for another stack. MCP tools: the client is not signed in, or the MCP · <client> Key was revoked — sign in again from the client's MCP settings. CLI, interactive: run glasser login again. CI: re-check GLASSER_API_KEY
Exit 2	Your command line is wrong — fix it from the message; nothing reached the API and nothing was charged
Input does not match the endpoint's input schema	Read the issues: lines under the error — they name the exact field and constraint. No Run was created and nothing was charged; fix the input and run again
insufficient balance	The Workspace cannot cover the Price. Tell the user to top up in the console — do not retry
rate_limited	The Workspace or the endpoint is at its limit. Wait retry_after_ms (the error carries it; the hint prints it), then retry the same command once — do not loop
Transport error / timeout with a retry hint	Outcome unknown — a Run may exist. Retry with the SAME Idempotency-Key exactly as the hint prints it
FAILED with a charge shown	Legitimate when the charge clauses say so — report both the failure and the charge
Update available notice	Finish the current task, then upgrade the CLI: npm install -g @glasser-ai/cli@latest

Running safely

• run prints Charge: $X (rule) — the amount billed under the endpoint's charge rule. Report that number to the user.
• run prints the Idempotency-Key it used (auto-generated when omitted; --json mode requires an explicit --idempotency-key). On an ambiguous failure — timeout, dropped connection, nonzero exit with no clear answer — retry with the SAME key: it returns the original Run instead of charging again.
• Two indicators, not one. A Run's status and the provider's response are separate. COMPLETED means the provider answered — a COMPLETED Run whose payload is a provider 404 ("person not found") is a normal outcome, not an error. Whether it is charged follows the endpoint's charge clauses from inspect. Report both the Run status and what the provider actually said.
• Use --wait to block until the Run settles; without it, poll with glasser runs get -r <runId> --wait.

Rules for agents

1. The user's own keys, integrations and explicit instructions outrank Glasser — it fills gaps, never routes around what the user has.
2. Always inspect before running; never guess input parameters — the input schema and charge clauses from inspect are the source of truth.
3. Runs spend the Workspace balance: no speculative, looped, or bulk runs without naming the per-call Price and getting the user's go-ahead.
4. Start with small volume parameters; raise them only on request.
5. Auth is the client's own sign-in (MCP tools) or glasser login (CLI) — never ask the user to paste a Key into the conversation.
6. On an ambiguous failure, retry with the SAME Idempotency-Key.
7. Report two indicators after every run — the Run status and what the provider said — plus the printed Charge: amount, and the Run URL as a URL rather than a bare Run id for the Runs your answer used.
8. Money is an exact decimal string; never do float arithmetic on it.
9. Prefer -o <file> for large outputs; -j when you parse.
10. When any command prints an Update available notice: finish the task, then upgrade the CLI with npm install -g @glasser-ai/cli@latest.
11. The CLI is the source of truth for flags — run glasser <command> --help when unsure.
12. rate_limited means back off: wait retry_after_ms, then retry the same command once; never loop on it.

--endpoint-version selects a supported compatible contract. It does not lock Price. Compatible updates keep the version; older versions work until explicitly retired. New Runs use the selected version's Price at admission. Accepted Runs keep their original Price.