Search Anime

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:

--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