material-symbols-cli#

CLI for Google Material Symbols — search 3,900+ icons, download SVGs, generate Android Vector Drawable XML, and produce HTML/CSS code snippets.

When To Use This Skill#

Use the material-symbols-cli skill when you need to:

• Search icons by keyword to find the right icon name
• Download SVG icons for Android, iOS, or web projects
• Generate Android Vector Drawable XML (res/drawable/) for Android apps
• Get HTML/CSS code snippets for using Material Symbols on the web
• Browse available icon styles (outlined, rounded, sharp) and weights (100–700)

Capabilities#

• Search icons — Search 3,900+ Material Symbols by name (partial match, case-insensitive)
• Get icon details — View all available URLs for an icon (SVG, Android XML, browse link)
• Download SVGs — Download an icon SVG with custom style, fill state, and weight
• Generate Android XML — Generate Android Vector Drawable XML (20, 24, 40, 48 dp sizes)
• Batch Android download — Download all Android sizes for an icon into a directory
• Generate HTML/CSS — Get ready-to-use HTML link tags, CSS, and complete HTML pages
• Generate CSS — Get CSS with font-variation-settings for fill, weight, grade, and optical size
• Generate @font-face — Get self-hosting CSS and font download URLs
• Browse styles — List available icon styles (outlined, rounded, sharp)
• Browse weights — List available font weights (100–700) with descriptions

Common Use Cases#

• "Find an icon for search functionality in my Android app"
• "Download the settings icon as SVG for my web app"
• "Generate Android XML drawables for the home icon"
• "I need HTML code to show the menu icon on my website"
• "Get the CSS for using Material Symbols with custom weight and fill"
• "Download all sizes of the favorite icon for my Android project"
• "Search for arrow-related icons"

Setup#

If material-symbols-cli is not found, install and build it:

bash

bun --version || curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
npx api2cli bundle material-symbols
npx api2cli link material-symbols

api2cli link adds ~/.local/bin to PATH automatically. The CLI is available in the next command.

Always use --json flag when calling commands programmatically.

Working Rules#

• Always use --json for agent-driven calls so downstream steps can parse the result.
• Start with --help if the exact action or flags are unclear instead of guessing.
• This CLI does not require authentication — it uses public npm/GitHub data.

Authentication#

No authentication required. Material Symbols is open source (Apache 2.0).

Resources#

icons#

Search, get info, and download Material Symbols icons.

CommandDescriptionKey Flagsicons listList all icons, optionally filtered by search--search, --limit, --fields``icons search <query>Search icons by keyword with details--limit``icons get <name>Get detailed info about an icon (all URLs)—icons download <name>Download an icon SVG--style, --fill, --weight, --output``icons stylesList available styles (outlined, rounded, sharp)—icons weightsList available weights (100–700)—

android#

Generate and download Android Vector Drawable XML icons.

CommandDescriptionKey Flagsandroid generate <name>Generate Android XML for an icon--style, --fill, --size, --output``android download <name>Download all Android XML sizes for an icon--style, --fill, --output-dir``android sizesList available Android icon sizes—

compose#

Generate Kotlin/Jetpack Compose code snippets.

CommandDescriptionKey Flagscompose icon <name>Generate a Kotlin composable function using the icon--style, --size, --package, --composable-name``compose preview <name>Generate a @Preview composable--style, --size``compose migration-guideShow migration guide from material-icons-extended to Material Symbols—

code#

Generate code snippets for using Material Symbols in your project.

CommandDescriptionKey Flagscode html <name>Generate HTML/CSS snippet--style, --fill, --weight, --grade, --size, --color``code cssGenerate CSS with font-variation-settings--style, --fill, --weight, --grade, --opsz``code font-faceGenerate @font-face CSS for self-hosting--style, --format

Output Format#

--json returns a standardized envelope:

json

{ "ok": true, "data": { ... }, "meta": { "total": 42 } }

On error: { "ok": false, "error": { "message": "...", "status": 401 } }

Quick Reference#

bash

material-symbols-cli --help                    # List all resources and global flags
material-symbols-cli <resource> --help         # List all actions for a resource
material-symbols-cli <resource> <action> --help # Show flags for a specific action

bash

# Search icons
material-symbols-cli icons list --search home --limit 10
material-symbols-cli icons search arrow --json

# Download an SVG
material-symbols-cli icons download search --style outlined --output icon.svg

# Generate Android XML
material-symbols-cli android generate search --style outlined --size 24 --output res/drawable/ic_search.xml

# Download all Android sizes
material-symbols-cli android download search --style outlined --output-dir app/src/main/res/drawable

# Generate web code
material-symbols-cli code html settings --style rounded --weight 500 --json

Global Flags#

All commands support: --json, --format <text|json|csv|yaml>, --verbose, --no-color, --no-header

Exit codes: 0 = success, 1 = API error, 2 = usage error