| name | search-anime |
| description | Searches anime and manga by natural-language query using the ani CLI and AniList, supporting trending, popular, top, search, info, hidden gems, and binge modes. Use when the user wants to find anime or manga, explore trending titles, or get information about a specific series. |
search-anime skill
Search anime and manga by natural-language query using the ani CLI and AniList.
features
- natural language search — type what you want, it figures out the
ani command
- trending — what's trending in anime or manga right now
- streaming links —
info shows Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, and other links from AniList
- recommendations — what AniList users recommend next to any title
- hidden gems — titles with high scores but low view counts
- season preview — what's airing this season and what's coming up
- similarity search — "like Attack on Titan" searches by that show's genres
- manga — works for manga too, just add
--manga
usage
/search-anime # default: trending digest (anime + manga)
/search-anime trending # currently trending anime
/search-anime trending --manga # currently trending manga
/search-anime popular # popular this season
/search-anime popular --season winter --year 2024
/search-anime upcoming # season preview: upcoming + current popular
/search-anime top # top-rated of all time
/search-anime all-time # most-watched of all time
/search-anime search <natural query> # smart NL search
/search-anime info <title or AniList id> # full detail card with streaming links
/search-anime digest # full weekly briefing
/search-anime gems # hidden gems: high score, lower popularity
/search-anime gems --manga # hidden gem manga
/search-anime binge # completed series worth binging (24+ eps)
natural search examples
/search-anime search action anime from 2023 with score above 85
/search-anime search something like attack on titan
/search-anime search dark psychological thriller finished
/search-anime search slice of life romance with high ratings
/search-anime search isekai comedy
/search-anime search mecha sci-fi from the 90s
workflow
0. prerequisite check
Before any command, verify ani is installed:
which ani
If not found, stop and tell the user:
ani is not installed. Install it from https://github.com/pavelsimo/ani — go install github.com/pavelsimo/ani@latest or grab a release binary.
1. mode detection
Parse the first argument:
| Argument | Mode |
|---|
(none) or digest | digest |
trending | trending |
popular | popular |
upcoming | preview |
top | top |
all-time | all-time |
search <query> | search |
info <name-or-id> | info |
gems | gems |
binge | binge |
--manga flag anywhere → append --type manga to all ani calls for that invocation. --lang english → append --lang english to all calls. Derive the current season from today's month: Jan–Mar = winter, Apr–Jun = spring, Jul–Sep = summer, Oct–Dec = fall.
2. execute selected mode
After detecting the mode, read reference/output-modes.md for the exact ani commands, JSON parsing rules, output templates, and error handling for that mode. Read reference/reference-tables.md when mapping natural-language genres, formats, or score displays.
best practices
- always use
--json — never parse the human-readable table output
- always show interpreted filters after NL search so the user can correct them
- deduplicate by
id in digest and preview modes — never show the same title twice
- cap per-page at 50 — that is the AniList API maximum
- convert seconds to human time —
timeUntilAiring is in seconds; always display as "Xd Yh"
- derive the current season dynamically from today's month; never hardcode it
- null-guard recommendations —
mediaRecommendation can be null if the entry was deleted; skip silently
- streaming links are detail-only —
externalLinks only comes from ani info, not from list commands; surface a tip in list modes to run /search-anime info <title> for streaming links
