Read-only access to D&D Beyond's public SRD and rules pages, plus local
normalization of user-supplied character-sheet snapshots and exported PDFs.
Learn more at Dndbeyond.
Created by @wirelesstkd (Matthew Martin).
Quick Start
1. Install
See Install above.
2. Verify Setup
dndbeyond-pp-cli doctor
This checks your configuration.
3. Try Your First Command
dndbeyond-pp-cli pages search
Unique Features
These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API.
Local character sharing
-
characters inspect — Normalize a user-supplied D&D Beyond or Beyond20 character snapshot or exported PDF.
Agents can read a user's authorized character artifact while keeping account access and mutations out of the CLI.
dndbeyond-pp-cli characters inspect --file character.pdf --agent
Usage
Run dndbeyond-pp-cli --help for the full command reference and flag list.
Paths & environment variables
This CLI separates local files into four path kinds:
| Kind | Contents |
|---|
config | User-editable settings such as config.toml and saved profiles |
data | Durable local data such as data.db |
state | Runtime state such as persisted queries, jobs, and teach.log |
cache | Regenerable HTTP/cache files |
Each kind resolves independently. The ladder is:
- Per-kind env var:
DNDBEYOND_CONFIG_DIR, DNDBEYOND_DATA_DIR, DNDBEYOND_STATE_DIR, or DNDBEYOND_CACHE_DIR
--home <dir> for this invocationDNDBEYOND_HOME for a flat relocated root- XDG env vars:
XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_STATE_HOME, XDG_CACHE_HOME
- Platform defaults matching existing installs
For containers and agent sandboxes, prefer a single relocated root:
export DNDBEYOND_HOME=/srv/dndbeyond
dndbeyond-pp-cli doctor
Under DNDBEYOND_HOME=/srv/dndbeyond, the four dirs resolve to /srv/dndbeyond/config, /srv/dndbeyond/data, /srv/dndbeyond/state, and /srv/dndbeyond/cache.
MCP servers do not receive CLI flags from the host. Put relocation in the host env block:
{
"mcpServers": {
"dndbeyond": {
"command": "dndbeyond-pp-mcp",
"env": {
"DNDBEYOND_HOME": "/srv/dndbeyond"
}
}
}
}
Precedence matters in fleets: an ambient per-kind variable such as DNDBEYOND_DATA_DIR overrides an explicit --home for that kind. Use DNDBEYOND_HOME or the per-kind variables for durable fleet relocation; treat --home as the weaker per-invocation lever.
Relocation is one-way. Unsetting DNDBEYOND_HOME does not move files back to platform defaults, and doctor cannot find files left under a former root. Move the files manually before unsetting relocation variables.
Existing installs keep working because the platform-default rung matches the legacy layout. Run dndbeyond-pp-cli doctor --fail-on warn to check path warnings in automation.
Commands
pages
Public D&D Beyond rules and reference pages.
dndbeyond-pp-cli pages basic-rules - Read the public D&D Beyond Basic Rules landing page.dndbeyond-pp-cli pages rules-glossary - Read the public 2024 rules glossary page.dndbeyond-pp-cli pages search - Search D&D Beyond's public site search page.dndbeyond-pp-cli pages section - Read a public Basic Rules section by its documented URL slug.dndbeyond-pp-cli pages srd - Read the public System Reference Document landing page.
characters
The character command is deliberately local-only. It accepts a JSON snapshot
that the user already has (including the documented Beyond20 character object)
or an exported, fillable D&D Beyond PDF. It returns a bounded, shareable sheet
summary and omits account identity, narrative notes, and secrets. It does not
log in, fetch private D&D Beyond data, roll dice, or mutate a character.
dndbeyond-pp-cli characters inspect --file <path> --agent - Normalize a
local character JSON snapshot or PDF for an agent or MCP caller. .pdf files
are detected automatically; use --format json or --format pdf to be explicit.cat character.json | dndbeyond-pp-cli characters inspect --stdin --agent
- Read a JSON snapshot from stdin without putting it in command-line history.
Get-Content character.pdf -AsByteStream | dndbeyond-pp-cli characters inspect --stdin --format pdf --agent
- Read an exported PDF from stdin without writing a parsed copy to disk.
The CLI does not claim a D&D Beyond character-data API. Public/session-backed
web discovery is intentionally a separate, user-consented follow-up because
the site may change its sheet DOM and its terms restrict unauthorized
extraction or automation. The PDF reader supports both ordinary AcroForm
fields and D&D Beyond's page-level widget export; image-only PDFs that require
OCR are not currently supported.
Self-learning loop
This CLI caches per-question discovery so repeat queries skip the walk and structurally similar queries get answered via entity substitution. The loop also self-captures: every invocation is journaled locally, and failed-flag corrections plus fresh teaches surface as candidates on the next recall for confirm/reject judgment. Agents call recall before discovery and fire teach & after answering. See the ## Automatic learning section in SKILL.md for the full protocol.
dndbeyond-pp-cli recall <query> - Look up cached resources for a query before running discoverydndbeyond-pp-cli teach - Record a query -> resource mapping (silent on success, safe to background with &)dndbeyond-pp-cli learnings list - Inspect taught rowsdndbeyond-pp-cli learnings forget <query> - Undo a teachdndbeyond-pp-cli learnings candidates - List auto-captured candidates awaiting confirm/rejectdndbeyond-pp-cli learnings stats - Local loop metrics: recall hit rate, teach-to-reuse, playbook resolution, candidate countsdndbeyond-pp-cli teach-pattern - Install a query/resource template up frontdndbeyond-pp-cli teach-lookup - Add an entity mapping (e.g. country code, team alias) for pattern substitution
Pass --no-learn or set DNDBEYOND_NO_LEARN=true to disable the loop for deterministic flows.
The local store's schema version stamp is one-way: once this version of dndbeyond-pp-cli opens the database, older binaries refuse it with a version error — upgrade the binary rather than downgrading.
Output Formats
# Human-readable table (default in terminal, JSON when piped)
dndbeyond-pp-cli pages search
# JSON for scripting and agents
dndbeyond-pp-cli pages search --json
# Filter to specific fields
dndbeyond-pp-cli pages search --json --select id,name,status
# Dry run — show the request without sending
dndbeyond-pp-cli pages search --dry-run
# Agent mode — JSON + compact + no prompts in one flag
dndbeyond-pp-cli pages search --agent
Agent Usage
This CLI is designed for AI agent consumption:
- Non-interactive - never prompts, every input is a flag
- Pipeable -
--json output to stdout, errors to stderr
- Filterable -
--select id,name returns only fields you need
- Previewable -
--dry-run shows the request without sending
- Read-only by default - this CLI does not create, update, delete, publish, send, or mutate remote resources
- Offline-friendly - sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
- Agent-safe by default - no colors or formatting unless
--human-friendly is set
Exit codes: 0 success, 2 usage error, 3 not found, 5 API error, 7 rate limited, 10 config error.
Health Check
dndbeyond-pp-cli doctor
Verifies configuration and connectivity to the API.
Configuration
Run dndbeyond-pp-cli doctor to see the resolved config, data, state, and cache directories. The platform-default config path is ~/.config/dndbeyond/config.toml; --home, DNDBEYOND_HOME, and per-kind env vars can relocate it.
Static request headers can be configured under headers; per-command header overrides take precedence.
Troubleshooting
Not found errors (exit code 3)
- Check the resource ID is correct
- Run the
list command to see available items
HTTP Transport
This CLI uses standard HTTP transport with HTTP/2 disabled for browser-facing endpoints. It does not require a resident browser process for normal API calls.
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