SKILL.md plus a reference doc per surface — so it works in any compatible agent (Claude Code, Cursor, and more).
The skill does not document the MCP server. MCP is still a first-class Octolens surface with its own docs — it is simply self-documenting: an agent that can call the tools can already read their schemas, so a skill teaching them adds nothing. The skill earns its keep on the two surfaces an agent cannot introspect: the CLI’s command surface and the REST v2 endpoint surface.
Install
What it does
With the skill installed, you can ask your agent things like:- “Pull the last week of negative Reddit mentions and summarize the top complaints.”
- “Add ‘next.js deployment’ as a keyword and route buy-intent mentions to my #leads Slack channel.”
- “Export all competitor mentions from this quarter to CSV.”
- “Chart share of voice for my brand vs. its two top competitors.”
- Choose the right surface — the CLI for shells, scripts, cron jobs, CI and bulk export; REST v2 for application code, non-Node runtimes, and anything the CLI doesn’t cover.
- Script against the CLI contract —
--jsonpurity, the frozen exit-code map, the error envelope, andRESPONSE_LOST(verify, don’t retry). - Filter mentions correctly — the simple and advanced filter grammar, valid platforms/sentiment/tag values, and ID-based keyword filtering.
- Manage your workspace — create and update keywords and feeds, wire up Slack / email / webhook destinations, and run analytics.
- Avoid common mistakes — stale v1 filter fields, timestamp formats, scope errors, paginated lists that quietly return one page, and more.
Which surface, when
The CLI is a client of the same REST v2 API, but it adds guarantees the raw endpoints don’t: a frozen exit-code map you can branch on instead of parsing message text, exactly one JSON document on stdout under
--json, automatic rate-limit retry, a per-request --timeout that guarantees termination, and name→id resolution (--keyword 'acme corp' rather than a lookup call first).
How it works
Agent Skills use progressive disclosure: the agent loads only a short description at startup, then pulls in the full instructions when a task matches. Your context window stays lean until Octolens is actually relevant.CLI
The preferred surface for shells, scripts, CI and bulk export. Browser login or an API key.
REST API
For application code, backend jobs and non-Node runtimes. Bearer auth with an API key.
Requirements
- An Octolens plan with API access (Pro, Scale, or Enterprise).
- For the CLI path: a shell you can run
octolensin — sign in withoctolens login, or setOCTOLENS_API_KEYon headless boxes. - For the REST path: an API key from Settings → API.
