pp-flipp

Flipp — Printing Press CLI

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the flipp-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:

Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to $HOME/.local/bin on macOS/Linux and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin on Windows:
```
npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install flipp --cli-only
```
Verify: flipp-pp-cli --version
Ensure the reported install directory is on $PATH for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.4 or newer). This installs into $GOPATH/bin (default $HOME/go/bin), so add that directory to $PATH instead:

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/food-and-dining/flipp/cmd/flipp-pp-cli@latest

If --version reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

Search local weekly flyers, coupons, merchants, and item clippings from Flipp's unauthenticated web endpoints. The CLI adds agent-native JSON, local SQLite, basket comparison, expiring-deal views, and unit-price helpers for grocery planning.

When to Use This CLI

Use this CLI when a user asks for local grocery flyer deals, coupons, merchant coverage, price comparison, or ZIP-code savings from Flipp. It is strongest for read-only shopping research and agent workflows that need structured output.

Anti-triggers

Do not use this CLI for:

Do not use this CLI to place grocery orders or reserve pickup slots.
Do not use this CLI for loyalty-account-only coupons that require a retailer login.
Do not treat Flipp's reverse-engineered endpoints as a guaranteed official API.

Unique Capabilities

These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API.

Local savings workflows

basket price — Compare a grocery list across nearby merchants and see the cheapest practical basket.

Use this when an agent needs to choose where to shop for a list rather than find one item.
```
flipp-pp-cli basket price --items milk,eggs,bread --zip 85001 --agent
```
deals scan — Scan curated staple categories and rank local deals by discount, urgency, and merchant.

Use this when the user asks for the best grocery savings nearby without naming exact products.
```
flipp-pp-cli deals scan --category groceries --zip 85001 --min-discount 25 --agent
```

Local snapshots

expiring — Find local flyer and coupon savings that expire within a chosen window.

Use this when timing matters and the agent needs to prioritize deals before they disappear.
```
flipp-pp-cli expiring --days 3 --zip 85001 --agent
```
coverage — Show which nearby merchants have active food flyers, searchable items, and coupon coverage.

Use this before shopping-plan work to understand which stores have enough data to compare.
```
flipp-pp-cli coverage --zip 85001 --agent
```
watchlist add — Persist target prices for recurring staples and compare them against future synced snapshots.

Use this when the user wants recurring savings alerts rather than a one-time search.
```
flipp-pp-cli watchlist add milk --target-price 3.50 --zip 85001 --agent
```

Deal quality

unit-price — Normalize item prices by package size when Flipp listings include parseable quantities.

Use this when raw prices are misleading because package sizes differ.
```
flipp-pp-cli unit-price milk --zip 85001 --agent
```

HTTP Transport

This CLI uses Chrome-compatible HTTP transport for browser-facing endpoints. It does not require a resident browser process for normal API calls.

Command Reference

flyers — Browse active local flyers and flyer items

flipp-pp-cli flyers data — Fetch the combined local flyer and coupon data payload
flipp-pp-cli flyers items — List item clippings from a specific flyer
flipp-pp-cli flyers list — List active flyers for a ZIP or postal code

items — Search Flipp flyer and ecommerce deal items

flipp-pp-cli items <q> — Search local flyer and ecommerce deals by keyword

location — Resolve a default Flipp location

flipp-pp-cli location — Detect the current public IP location as a Flipp postal code

merchants — List merchants Flipp tracks

flipp-pp-cli merchants — List Flipp merchants available for a ZIP or postal code

Freshness Contract

This printed CLI owns bounded freshness only for registered store-backed read command paths. In --data-source auto mode, those paths check sync_state and may run a bounded refresh before reading local data. --data-source local never refreshes. --data-source live reads the API and does not mutate the local store. Set FLIPP_NO_AUTO_REFRESH=1 to skip the freshness hook without changing source selection.

Covered paths:

flipp-pp-cli flyers
flipp-pp-cli flyers get
flipp-pp-cli flyers list
flipp-pp-cli flyers search
flipp-pp-cli merchants
flipp-pp-cli merchants get
flipp-pp-cli merchants list
flipp-pp-cli merchants search

When JSON output uses the generated provenance envelope, freshness metadata appears at meta.freshness. Treat it as current-cache freshness for the covered command path, not a guarantee of complete historical backfill or API-specific enrichment.

Finding the right command

When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:

flipp-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"

which resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code 0 means at least one match; exit code 2 means no confident match — fall back to --help or use a narrower query.

Recipes

Compare a short grocery basket

flipp-pp-cli basket price --items milk,eggs,bread --zip 85001 --agent --select merchant,total,items.name,items.price

Groups matching deals by merchant so an agent can pick the cheapest local trip.

Find expiring food savings

flipp-pp-cli expiring --days 3 --zip 85001 --agent

Prioritizes local deals whose flyer validity window is closing.

Inspect one flyer clipping list

flipp-pp-cli flyers items 8005907 --sid 1234567890123456 --json --select name,price,cutout_image_url

Returns flyer item text plus image URLs for ambiguous listings.

Scan grocery category deals

flipp-pp-cli deals scan --category groceries --zip 85001 --min-discount 25 --agent

Fans out staple searches and ranks the best local discounts.

Auth Setup

No authentication required.

Run flipp-pp-cli doctor to verify setup.

Agent Mode

Add --agent to any command. Expands to: --json --compact --no-input --no-color --yes.

Pipeable — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr
Filterable — --select keeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:
```
flipp-pp-cli flyers list --agent --select id,name,status
```
Previewable — --dry-run shows the request without sending
Offline-friendly — sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
Non-interactive — never prompts, every input is a flag
Read-only — do not use this CLI for create, update, delete, publish, comment, upvote, invite, order, send, or other mutating requests

Response envelope

Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:

{
  "meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
  "results": <data>
}

Parse .results for data and .meta.source to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable N results (live) summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal AND no machine-format flag (--json, --csv, --compact, --quiet, --plain, --select) is set — piped/agent consumers and explicit-format runs get pure JSON on stdout.

Paths and state

Agents should treat the CLI's path resolver as part of the runtime contract:

Use --home <dir> for one invocation, or set FLIPP_HOME=<dir> to relocate all four path kinds under one root.
Use per-kind env vars only when a specific kind must diverge: FLIPP_CONFIG_DIR, FLIPP_DATA_DIR, FLIPP_STATE_DIR, FLIPP_CACHE_DIR.
Resolution order is per-kind env var, --home, FLIPP_HOME, XDG (XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_STATE_HOME, XDG_CACHE_HOME), then platform defaults.
config contains settings like config.toml and profiles. data contains credentials.toml, data.db, cookies, and auth sidecars. state contains persisted queries, jobs, and teach.log. cache contains regenerable HTTP/cache files.
Stored secrets live in credentials.toml under the data dir. Existing legacy config.toml secrets are read for compatibility and leave config.toml on the first auth write.
Run flipp-pp-cli doctor --fail-on warn to surface path and credential-location warnings. agent-context exposes a schema v4 paths block for agents that need the resolved dirs.

For MCP, pass relocation through the MCP host config. The MCP binary does not inherit CLI flags:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flipp": {
      "command": "flipp-pp-mcp",
      "env": {
        "FLIPP_HOME": "/srv/flipp"
      }
    }
  }
}

Fleet precedence: an inherited per-kind env var overrides an explicit --home for that kind. Use FLIPP_HOME or per-kind vars as durable fleet levers, and use --home only for a single invocation. Relocation is not reversible by unsetting env vars; move files manually before clearing FLIPP_HOME, or doctor will not find credentials left under the former root.

Agent Feedback

When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:

flipp-pp-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
flipp-pp-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
flipp-pp-cli feedback list --json --limit 10

Entries are stored locally as feedback.jsonl under the resolved data dir. They are never POSTed unless FLIPP_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT is set AND either --send is passed or FLIPP_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true. Default behavior is local-only.

Write what surprised you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.

Output Delivery

Every command accepts --deliver <sink>. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:

Sink	Effect
`stdout`	Default; write to stdout only
`file:<path>`	Atomically write output to `<path>` (tmp + rename)
`webhook:<url>`	POST the output body to the URL (`application/json` or `application/x-ndjson` when `--compact`)

Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.

Named Profiles

A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled agent calls the same command every run with the same configuration - HeyGen's "Beacon" pattern.

flipp-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
flipp-pp-cli --profile briefing flyers list
flipp-pp-cli profile list --json
flipp-pp-cli profile show briefing
flipp-pp-cli profile delete briefing --yes

Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults. agent-context lists all available profiles under available_profiles so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
2	Usage error (wrong arguments)
3	Resource not found
5	API error (upstream issue)
7	Rate limited (wait and retry)
10	Config error

Argument Parsing

Parse $ARGUMENTS:

Empty, help, or --help → show flipp-pp-cli --help output
Starts with install → ends with mcp → MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above
Anything else → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with --agent)

MCP Server Installation

Install the MCP server:

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/food-and-dining/flipp/cmd/flipp-pp-mcp@latest

claude mcp add flipp-pp-mcp -- flipp-pp-mcp

Verify: claude mcp list

Direct Use

Check if installed: which flipp-pp-cli If not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill).
Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.

Execute with the --agent flag:

flipp-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent

If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help: flipp-pp-cli <command> --help.