# no (network-output)

> A fast, structured networking CLI for HTTP, WebSocket, TCP, UDP, MQTT, SSE, DNS, Ping, and WHOIS.

`no` is a Rust-based CLI tool that provides consistent structured JSON output across nine networking protocols. Output is newline-delimited JSON when piped and pretty-printed when interactive. It includes a built-in jq filter, IPv6 support, and automatic URL scheme inference.

- Docs: [network-output.com](https://network-output.com)
- Source: [github.com/network-output/no](https://github.com/network-output/no)
- Full reference: [llms-full.txt](https://network-output.com/llms-full.txt)

## Installation

```sh
cargo install network-output       # Cargo
brew install network-output/tap/network-output  # Homebrew
npx @network-output/no             # npm (one-off)
npm install -g @network-output/no  # npm (global)
```

Windows (Scoop): `scoop bucket add network-output https://github.com/network-output/scoop-bucket && scoop install no`

## Protocols

### HTTP

```sh
no http GET https://httpbin.org/get
no http POST https://api.example.com/data -b '{"key":"value"}' -H "Content-Type:application/json"
no http GET https://api.example.com --bearer $TOKEN
no http GET https://api.example.com --basic user:pass
no http GET https://example.com/file.tar.gz -o file.tar.gz
no http POST https://api.example.com/upload --stdin
```

Methods: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, HEAD, OPTIONS.

### WebSocket

```sh
no ws listen ws://localhost:8080
no ws send ws://localhost:8080 -m "hello"
```

### TCP

```sh
no tcp connect localhost:9090 -m "hello"
no tcp connect [::1]:9090 -m "hello"     # IPv6
no tcp connect localhost:9090 --stdin
no tcp listen :9090
no tcp listen [::]:9090                   # IPv6 listen
```

### UDP

```sh
no udp send 127.0.0.1:9090 -m "hello"
no udp send [::1]:9090 -m "hello"          # IPv6
no udp send 127.0.0.1:9090 -m "ping" --wait 3s
no udp listen :9090
```

### MQTT

Broker address is positional.

```sh
no mqtt sub localhost:1883 -t "sensor/temp"
no mqtt pub localhost:1883 -t "sensor/temp" -m '{"value":22.5}'
```

### SSE (Server-Sent Events)

```sh
no sse https://example.com/events
no sse https://example.com/events --bearer $TOKEN
no sse https://example.com/events -H "X-Custom:value"
```

### DNS

```sh
no dns example.com
no dns example.com AAAA
no dns google.com MX
no dns 8.8.8.8                    # auto-detects reverse (PTR) lookup
no dns example.com --server 1.1.1.1
```

Record types: A (default), AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, NS, SOA, SRV, PTR.

### Ping

```sh
no ping 127.0.0.1
no ping ::1                                  # IPv6
no ping example.com -n 2
no ping 127.0.0.1 --interval 500ms
```

### WHOIS

```sh
no whois example.com
no whois 8.8.8.8
no whois example.com --server whois.verisign-grs.com
```

### jq (Standalone)

```sh
echo '{"a":1,"b":2}' | no jq '.a'
no http GET https://httpbin.org/get | no jq '.data.body'
```

## Global Flags

| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| `--json` | Force JSON output |
| `--pretty` | Force pretty output |
| `--timeout <DURATION>` | Request timeout (e.g. `5s`, `300ms`, `1m`) |
| `--no-color` | Disable colors |
| `-v, --verbose` | Verbose output with metadata |
| `-n, --count <N>` | Stop after N data messages (streaming protocols) |
| `--jq <EXPR>` | Filter output with a jq expression |

The `--jq` flag applies a jq filter to each response envelope. Error responses bypass the filter. String results print raw (no quotes).

```sh
no --jq '.data.status' http GET https://httpbin.org/get
no --jq '.data.payload' mqtt sub localhost:1883 -t "sensor/temp"
```

## Output Format

JSON envelope structure:

```json
{"type":"response","protocol":"http","timestamp":"2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","data":{...}}
```

| Field | Values |
|---|---|
| `type` | `response`, `message`, `connection`, `error` |
| `protocol` | `http`, `ws`, `tcp`, `udp`, `mqtt`, `sse`, `dns`, `ping`, `whois` |
| `timestamp` | ISO 8601 UTC with millisecond precision |
| `data` | Protocol-specific payload |
| `metadata` | Optional; present with `--verbose` |

Output mode: JSON when piped, pretty when interactive. Override with `--json` or `--pretty`.

## Exit Codes

| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Success |
| 1 | Connection / DNS / I/O error |
| 2 | Protocol / TLS error |
| 3 | Timeout |
| 4 | Invalid input |

## Environment Variables

| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| `NO_AUTH_TOKEN` | Fallback bearer token for HTTP and SSE requests |
| `NO_BASIC_AUTH` | Fallback basic auth credentials as `user:pass` |

## URL Normalization

HTTP, WebSocket, and SSE auto-infer scheme when omitted:
- Local addresses (`localhost`, `127.x.x.x`, `::1`, private ranges) default to `http://` or `ws://`
- All other hosts default to `https://` or `wss://`

## IPv6

- Protocols with ports (TCP, UDP, MQTT): brackets required -- `[::1]:9090`
- Portless protocols (Ping, DNS, WHOIS): brackets optional -- `::1` or `[::1]`

## AI Skills

AI skills that teach agents how to use `no` for networking tasks. Compatible with any agent that supports the [Agent Skills](https://agentskills.io) open standard.

| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| `http-requests` | HTTP API testing (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, auth, headers, body, downloads) |
| `websocket-debugging` | WebSocket connection debugging (listen, send, lifecycle monitoring) |
| `network-diagnostics` | DNS lookups, ICMP ping, WHOIS queries |
| `mqtt-messaging` | MQTT publish/subscribe messaging |
| `tcp-udp-testing` | Raw TCP connect/listen, UDP send/listen |
| `sse-monitoring` | Server-Sent Events stream monitoring |
| `output-filtering` | jq filtering (`--jq` flag and standalone `no jq`) |

Install: `claude --plugin network-output/no-skills` or `no skills install`