The `nerlo` CLI

The command-line client for the Nerlo registry: search scanned MCP servers, read their scoresheets, install verified skills, and submit new repositories for scanning.

Install

Coming soon. The consumer CLI is being prepared for PyPI. The instructions below apply once nerlo-cli ships — target date TBD.

Install with pipx (recommended) so the CLI lives in its own isolated environment:

sudo apt install pipx     # first time only, Ubuntu/Debian
pipx ensurepath
pipx install nerlo-cli

Prefer a dedicated virtualenv? That works too:

python3 -m venv ~/.local/nerlo
~/.local/nerlo/bin/pip install nerlo-cli
ln -s ~/.local/nerlo/bin/nerlo ~/.local/bin/nerlo

Do not run pip install nerlo-cli against system Python. Modern Debian/Ubuntu block it under PEP 668, and --break-system-packages risks breaking your OS's own Python. If that error brought you here, switch to pipx above.

Then verify:

nerlo --help

Consumer commands

Search the registry

Keyword search across name, description, and author (2–100 characters):

nerlo search "weather"
nerlo search "weather" --json

Inspect a server

Score, badge, and the full per-scanner scoresheets for a skill:

nerlo info weather-mcp

The output mirrors the registry website: every scanner's verdict is shown, and the composite is labelled as one view among many.

Install a skill

Writes an mcpServers config entry for your platform. Runnable directly for npm/PyPI-hosted packages; other sources get a repository reference you finish wiring manually. Requires an API token:

nerlo install weather-mcp --target claude-code

Install respects the composite badge — Verified proceeds, Caution prompts for confirmation, Unsafe is refused.

Publisher commands

Submit a repository

Queue a repository for ingestion and scanning (authenticated):

nerlo submit https://github.com/you/your-mcp-server --token $NERLO_API_TOKEN

Request a re-scan

By server UUID or skill slug (authenticated):

nerlo rescan weather-mcp --token $NERLO_API_TOKEN

Tokens

Authenticated commands read --token or the NERLO_API_TOKEN environment variable. Tokens are issued per account; treat them like passwords.

Configuration

Point the CLI at a different registry with --api-url or NERLO_API_BASE_URL (defaults to https://api.nerlo.ai).

The nerlo CLI