Which platforms does catbus support?

It currently supports 10 platforms: Xiaohongshu, Douyin, TikTok, Bilibili, Kuaishou, Weibo, Xianyu, Taobao, JD.com, and X. Support for Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Zhihu, WeChat Official Accounts, Toutiao, Dewu, Pinduoduo, Meituan, and Dianping is coming soon.

What environment is required to run catbus?

Only Node.js (versions 22, 24, 26) is required—no Python, compilers, or system dependencies. All native dependencies come with prebuilt binaries covering x64 and arm64 (including musl) on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

How do I install catbus?

Install globally via npm: npm i -g catbus-cli. Docker and building from source are also supported.

Where are login credentials stored, and are they secure?

Credentials are stored isolated by "platform × client × account" under ~/.catbus/, with directory permissions set to 0700 and file permissions to 0600. The project collects and uploads no data, and has no telemetry.

How can AI Agents use catbus?

Run npx skills add cv-cat/catbus to load skills into agents like Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex. Skills are loaded on demand and include built-in safety guardrails, such as confirming write operations and defaulting posts to private.

What is the output format of catbus?

stdout outputs only JSON. Both successes and failures use the same envelope structure { ok, data, page, error }. All output objects include id and url, making it easy to pipe the result of one command directly into the next.

What happens when a platform triggers risk control?

When risk control is triggered, catbus explicitly reports a RISK_CONTROL error instead of silently retrying.

October 8, 2026

catbus

Development & Engineering CLI and Terminals5

Install

A CLI tool to operate 10 platforms like Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and Bilibili with unified commands, delivering consistent JSON output for humans and AI Agents.

MIT

多平台统一接口

安装命令（说明）bash

npm i -g catbus-cli

最小用法bash

catbus doctor
catbus bilibili auth login
catbus bilibili item search 猫 --limit 20

Product facts

Type: CLI / Terminal
Category: Development & Engineering › CLI and Terminals
Pricing: Open source
License: MIT
Launched: Oct 8, 2026
Listed: Oct 8, 2026
Website: github.com

Overview

GitHub GitHub

catbus is a TypeScript and Node.js CLI tool that provides a unified syntax to access the web capabilities of major Chinese and international platforms. It currently supports 10 platforms: Xiaohongshu, Douyin, TikTok, Bilibili, Kuaishou, Weibo, Xianyu, Taobao, JD.com, and X. ### What problem it solves Each platform has its own APIs, signature mechanisms, login methods, and data formats. catbus abstracts these differences away, offering a single set of commands, one JSON output format, and a shared login state directory. Switching between platforms only requires changing the platform identifier in the command. ### Key capabilities - **Unified command system**: Operations such as search, details, comments, users, recommendation feeds, downloads, publishing, direct messages, and live chat use the same verbs and argument structures across all platforms. For example, notes, videos, drafts, and tweets are uniformly called `item`, and searching is always `search`. - **Designed for AI Agents**: stdout outputs only JSON, exit codes are stable, and error messages include suggested next commands. It ships with Agent skill files and `llms.txt`, allowing you to install skills into agents like Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex with a single command. - **Local login state management**: Supports QR code, SMS, and Cookie import logins. Credentials are stored isolated by "platform × client × account" under `~/.catbus/` with 0700 / 0600 permissions. No data is collected or uploaded. - **Browser-grade network stack**: Uses TLS / HTTP2 fingerprints identical to real Chrome, runs upstream signature JS exactly as-is in a sandbox, and automatically solves slider and click CAPTCHAs locally via ONNX and OpenCV. - **Byte-level request verification**: The URL, Header order, Cookie, Body, and signature of every request are verified byte-by-byte against upstream implementations. The project includes 560+ verification datasets and 940+ offline tests. ### Who it's for Ideal for developers and crawler engineers who need to collect or manipulate data across platforms, as well as AI Agent workflows that automate social platform operations via CLI. It only requires Node.js (versions 22, 24, 26 supported)—no Python or compilers needed—and covers x64 and arm64 architectures on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Key features

Unified multi-platform commands: 10 platforms share the same verbs, arguments, and JSON output structure. Switch platforms by changing just one word.
Pure Node.js dependencies: No Python or compilers required. Native dependencies ship with prebuilt binaries covering 8 target systems.
AI Agent friendly: stdout outputs only JSON, exit codes are stable, and error messages include suggested next commands.
Isolated local login state: Credentials are stored by platform, client, and account in ~/.catbus/ with 0700/0600 permissions. No telemetry.
Multiple login methods: Log in via QR code, SMS, or Cookie import, and switch between multiple accounts at any time.
Browser-grade network stack: TLS/HTTP2 fingerprints match real Chrome, and signature JS runs inside a sandbox.
Local CAPTCHA solving: Slider and click CAPTCHAs are solved automatically using local ONNX and OpenCV.
Byte-level request verification: URLs, Headers, Cookies, Bodies, and signatures are verified against upstream implementations, with 560+ verification datasets.
Self-describing capability list: Run catbus platforms to check login requirements and implementation status for each platform's commands.
Safe operation confirmation: Dangerous actions require an explicit -y flag; posts can default to private; risk control triggers RISK_CONTROL without retries.
Agent skill installation: Run npx skills add cv-cat/catbus to load skills into agents like Claude Code.

Releases

Notify me

Initial · catbus

October 8, 2026

Q&A

Which platforms does catbus support?AI-generated: It currently supports 10 platforms: Xiaohongshu, Douyin, TikTok, Bilibili, Kuaishou, Weibo, Xianyu, Taobao, JD.com, and X. Support for Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Zhihu, WeChat Official Accounts, Toutiao, Dewu, Pinduoduo, Meituan, and Dianping is coming soon.
What environment is required to run catbus?AI-generated: Only Node.js (versions 22, 24, 26) is required—no Python, compilers, or system dependencies. All native dependencies come with prebuilt binaries covering x64 and arm64 (including musl) on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
How do I install catbus?AI-generated: Install globally via npm: npm i -g catbus-cli. Docker and building from source are also supported.
Where are login credentials stored, and are they secure?AI-generated: Credentials are stored isolated by "platform × client × account" under ~/.catbus/, with directory permissions set to 0700 and file permissions to 0600. The project collects and uploads no data, and has no telemetry.
How can AI Agents use catbus?AI-generated: Run npx skills add cv-cat/catbus to load skills into agents like Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex. Skills are loaded on demand and include built-in safety guardrails, such as confirming write operations and defaulting posts to private.
What is the output format of catbus?AI-generated: stdout outputs only JSON. Both successes and failures use the same envelope structure { ok, data, page, error }. All output objects include id and url, making it easy to pipe the result of one command directly into the next.
What happens when a platform triggers risk control?AI-generated: When risk control is triggered, catbus explicitly reports a RISK_CONTROL error instead of silently retrying.