Paperzilla CLI (pz) 🦖

Use pz to read canonical papers, browse project recommendations, inspect projects, leave recommendation feedback, and automate Paperzilla workflows from the terminal.

Prefer --json whenever an agent needs structured output.

Install

macOS

brew install paperzilla-ai/tap/pz

Windows (Scoop)

scoop bucket add paperzilla-ai https://github.com/paperzilla-ai/scoop-bucket
scoop install pz

Linux

curl -sL https://github.com/paperzilla-ai/pz/releases/latest/download/pz_linux_amd64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv pz /usr/local/bin/

Build from source (Go 1.23+)

git clone https://github.com/paperzilla-ai/pz.git
cd pz
go build -o pz .
mv pz /usr/local/bin/

Update

First check the currently installed version:

pz --version

Then ask pz how it should be upgraded:

pz update

pz update detects common install methods and prints the right upgrade instructions for:

• Homebrew
• Scoop
• GitHub release binaries
• source builds

If detection is ambiguous, override it explicitly:

pz update --install-method homebrew
pz update --install-method scoop
pz update --install-method release
pz update --install-method source

Common upgrade paths:

macOS

brew update
brew upgrade pz

Windows

scoop update pz

Linux / Releases

curl -sL https://github.com/paperzilla-ai/pz/releases/latest/download/pz_linux_amd64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv pz /usr/local/bin/

Source install

git pull
go build -o pz .
sudo mv pz /usr/local/bin/

Authentication

pz login

You need login for project-oriented commands like project, feed, rec, and feedback.

Core model: canonical papers vs project recommendations

This distinction matters:

• pz paper <paper-ref> works with a canonical Paperzilla paper
• pz rec <project-paper-ref> works with a recommendation inside one project

A canonical paper is shared globally. A recommendation is that paper as it appears in one specific project, with project-specific relevance and feedback.

Core commands

Check for updates

pz update

List projects

pz project list

Show one project

pz project <project-id>

Browse project feed

pz feed <project-id>

Useful flags:

• --must-read
• --since YYYY-MM-DD
• --limit N
• --json
• --atom

Examples:

pz feed <project-id> --must-read --since 2026-03-01 --limit 5
pz feed <project-id> --json
pz feed <project-id> --atom

Inspect a canonical paper

pz paper <paper-id-or-short-id>
pz paper <paper-id-or-short-id> --json
pz paper <paper-id-or-short-id> --markdown

Use pz paper --project <project-id> when you want to resolve that canonical paper inside one of your projects and see recommendation context.

Example:

pz paper <paper-id> --project <project-id>

Inspect a project recommendation

pz rec <project-paper-id-or-short-id>
pz rec <project-paper-id-or-short-id> --json
pz rec <project-paper-id-or-short-id> --markdown

Use pz rec when the identifier came from pz feed --json.

Leave recommendation feedback

pz feedback <project-paper-id> upvote
pz feedback <project-paper-id> star
pz feedback <project-paper-id> downvote --reason not_relevant
pz feedback <project-paper-id> downvote --reason low_quality
pz feedback clear <project-paper-id>

Feedback is project-specific. The same canonical paper can have different feedback in different projects.

Output and automation

• Prefer --json for machine parsing.
• Use recommendation IDs from pz feed --json with pz rec and pz feedback.
• Use canonical paper IDs with pz paper.
• --atom returns a personal feed URL for feed readers.
• pz rec --markdown may queue markdown generation if needed.
• Anonymous pz paper --markdown only prints markdown when it is already available.

Agent usage guidance

• If the user asks to inspect a paper from a project feed, prefer pz rec first.
• If the user asks about the paper as a global/canonical object, use pz paper.
• For scripting, fetch feeds with --json and then pass IDs into pz rec, pz feedback, or pz paper as appropriate.

Configuration

export PZ_API_URL="https://paperzilla.ai"

References

• Docs: https://docs.paperzilla.ai/guides/cli
• Quickstart: https://docs.paperzilla.ai/guides/cli-getting-started
• Repo: https://github.com/paperzilla-ai/pz