Meta Ads CLI Skill#

You have access to meta-ads-open-cli, a read-only CLI for the Meta Marketing API (Graph API v24.0). Use it to query ad accounts, pull performance insights, inspect creatives, analyze audiences, and retrieve lead form submissions across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network.

Quick start#

bash

# Check if the CLI is available
meta-ads-open-cli --help

# Get authenticated user info
meta-ads-open-cli me

# List accessible ad accounts
meta-ads-open-cli ad-accounts

If the CLI is not installed, install it:

bash

npm install -g meta-ads-open-cli

Authentication#

The CLI requires a Meta OAuth access token. Credentials are resolved in this order:

1. --credentials <path> flag (per-command)
2. Environment variable: META_ADS_ACCESS_TOKEN
3. Auto-detected file: ~/.config/meta-ads-open-cli/credentials.json

Required permissions depend on the commands used:

• ads_read -- read ad accounts and campaigns
• ads_management -- required for some read endpoints (e.g., ad-specific fields on leads)
• pages_read_engagement -- read Pages data
• leads_retrieval -- read lead gen form submissions
• business_management -- read business accounts

Before running any command, verify credentials are configured by running meta-ads-open-cli me. If it fails with a credentials error, ask the user to set up authentication.

Entity hierarchy#

text

Business Manager
 +-- Ad Account (act_XXXXX)
      +-- Campaign
      |    +-- Ad Set
      |         +-- Ad -> Creative
      +-- Custom Audience
      +-- Meta Pixel
      +-- Custom Conversion

Ad account IDs use the act_ prefix (e.g., act_123456789). The CLI accepts both act_XXXXX and plain numeric IDs.

Monetary values#

Insights API ( spend field): returned as a decimal string in the major currency unit (e.g., "12.34" means $12.34). No conversion needed.

Management API ( daily_budget, lifetime_budget, bid_amount): returned as integers in the smallest currency unit (cents). Divide by 100 for the actual amount.

Output format#

All commands output pretty-printed JSON by default. Use --format compact for single-line JSON (useful for piping).

Pagination uses cursor-based --after values from paging.cursors.after in the response.

Commands reference#

Account discovery#

bash

# Authenticated user info
meta-ads-open-cli me

# List ad accounts
meta-ads-open-cli ad-accounts
meta-ads-open-cli ad-accounts --limit 50

# Get a specific ad account
meta-ads-open-cli ad-account act_123456789
meta-ads-open-cli ad-account 123456789

# List users with access to an ad account (--business is required)
meta-ads-open-cli account-users 123456789 --business 9876543210

# List businesses
meta-ads-open-cli businesses

Campaign hierarchy#

bash

# Campaigns (filter by status: ACTIVE, PAUSED, ARCHIVED, DELETED)
meta-ads-open-cli campaigns 123456789
meta-ads-open-cli campaigns 123456789 --status ACTIVE

# Get a specific campaign
meta-ads-open-cli campaign 23851234567890

# Ad sets (filter by campaign, status)
meta-ads-open-cli adsets 123456789
meta-ads-open-cli adsets 123456789 --campaign 23851234567890 --status ACTIVE

# Get a specific ad set
meta-ads-open-cli adset 23851234567891

# Ads (filter by ad set, status)
meta-ads-open-cli ads 123456789
meta-ads-open-cli ads 123456789 --adset 23851234567891

# Get a specific ad
meta-ads-open-cli ad 23851234567892

All listing commands support --limit <n> (default 100). Most also support --after <cursor> for cursor-based pagination, except: account-users, businesses, pixels, custom-conversions, pages, and lead-forms.

Creatives#

bash

# List ad creatives for an account
meta-ads-open-cli creatives 123456789

# Get a specific creative (includes asset_feed_spec)
meta-ads-open-cli creative 23851234567893

Performance insights#

The insights command is the primary tool for performance analysis. It works on any entity: account, campaign, ad set, or ad.

bash

# Account-level insights (last 30 days)
meta-ads-open-cli insights act_123456789 --date-preset last_30d

# Campaign-level breakdown
meta-ads-open-cli insights act_123456789 --date-preset last_30d --level campaign

# Daily trend for a campaign
meta-ads-open-cli insights 23851234567890 --date-preset last_7d --time-increment 1

# Breakdowns by age and gender
meta-ads-open-cli insights act_123456789 --date-preset last_30d --level campaign --breakdowns age,gender

# Custom date range
meta-ads-open-cli insights-date act_123456789 --start 2026-01-01 --end 2026-01-31

# Custom fields
meta-ads-open-cli insights act_123456789 --date-preset last_30d --fields impressions,clicks,spend,ctr,cpc

date-preset values

today, yesterday, last_3d, last_7d, last_14d, last_28d, last_30d, last_90d, this_week_mon_today, this_week_sun_today, last_week_mon_sun, last_week_sun_sat, this_month, last_month, this_quarter, last_quarter, this_year, last_year, maximum, data_maximum

Breakdown dimensions

age, gender, country, region, platform_position, publisher_platform, device_platform, impression_device

Note: platform_position should typically be combined with publisher_platform for meaningful results.

time-increment values

Any integer from 1 to 90 (number of days per row), or monthly, or all_days (default). Common values: 1 (daily), 7 (weekly), 14 (bi-weekly).

Default metrics

When --fields is not specified, these metrics are returned: impressions, reach, clicks, cpc, cpm, ctr, spend, actions, cost_per_action_type, conversions, conversion_values, frequency

Common --fields combinations by analysis type

ROAS / revenue analysis:

bash

meta-ads-open-cli insights act_123456789 --date-preset last_30d --level campaign --fields spend,purchase_roas,actions,action_values,conversion_values,cost_per_action_type

Cost efficiency:

bash

meta-ads-open-cli insights act_123456789 --date-preset last_30d --level campaign --fields spend,impressions,clicks,cost_per_action_type,cost_per_inline_link_click,cost_per_unique_click,cost_per_outbound_click

Video performance:

bash

meta-ads-open-cli insights act_123456789 --date-preset last_30d --level ad --fields impressions,spend,video_avg_time_watched_actions,video_30_sec_watched_actions,video_p25_watched_actions,video_p50_watched_actions,video_p75_watched_actions,video_p100_watched_actions,cost_per_thruplay

Reach & frequency:

bash

meta-ads-open-cli insights act_123456789 --date-preset last_30d --level campaign --fields reach,frequency,impressions,spend,cpp

Engagement:

bash

meta-ads-open-cli insights act_123456789 --date-preset last_30d --level ad --fields impressions,clicks,actions,inline_link_clicks,inline_link_click_ctr,social_spend

Valid breakdown combinations

Not all breakdowns can be combined. Common valid combinations:

• age,gender -- demographic segmentation (the most popular breakdown)
• publisher_platform,platform_position -- placement optimization (where ads perform best)
• publisher_platform -- platform comparison (Facebook vs Instagram vs Audience Network)
• publisher_platform,impression_device -- platform by device type
• country -- geographic performance for international campaigns

Note: device_platform exists as a dimension name but is not listed in any valid combination in official docs. Use publisher_platform,impression_device for device analysis instead. impression_device cannot be used alone.

Invalid combinations will return an API error. When in doubt, use breakdowns one at a time. The official API only supports a specific whitelist of breakdown permutations.

Understanding the actions array

The actions field returns an array of {action_type, value} objects. Common action types:

On-Meta actions:

• link_click -- link clicks
• landing_page_view -- landing page views (subset of link clicks that loaded)
• post_engagement -- all post interactions
• video_view -- 3-second video views
• lead -- all leads (offsite + on-Facebook)
• like -- page likes
• comment -- post comments

Pixel conversion actions (off-Meta):

• offsite_conversion.fb_pixel_purchase -- website purchases
• offsite_conversion.fb_pixel_add_to_cart -- adds to cart
• offsite_conversion.fb_pixel_initiate_checkout -- initiates checkout
• offsite_conversion.fb_pixel_lead -- leads (pixel-based)
• offsite_conversion.fb_pixel_view_content -- content views
• offsite_conversion.fb_pixel_complete_registration -- registrations

Cross-platform aggregates:

• omni_purchase -- all purchases (web + app + offline)
• omni_add_to_cart -- all add-to-cart events

The cost_per_action_type and action_values arrays use the same action_type keys.

Audiences#

bash

# Custom audiences
meta-ads-open-cli custom-audiences 123456789
meta-ads-open-cli custom-audience 23851234567894

# Saved audiences
meta-ads-open-cli saved-audiences 123456789

# Reach estimate for targeting specs
meta-ads-open-cli reach-estimate 123456789 --targeting '{"geo_locations":{"countries":["US"]},"age_min":25,"age_max":45}'

Pixels & conversions#

bash

# List Meta Pixels
meta-ads-open-cli pixels 123456789

# Pixel events
meta-ads-open-cli pixel-events 123456789012

# Custom conversions
meta-ads-open-cli custom-conversions 123456789

Pages & Instagram#

bash

# List Facebook Pages the user manages
meta-ads-open-cli pages

# Get a specific page
meta-ads-open-cli page 123456789

# Instagram business account linked to a page
meta-ads-open-cli instagram-accounts 123456789

Lead gen#

bash

# List lead forms for a page
meta-ads-open-cli lead-forms 123456789

# List leads (submissions) for a form
meta-ads-open-cli leads 987654321
meta-ads-open-cli leads 987654321 --limit 500

Note: lead fields ad_id and campaign_id require ads_management permission and are only populated for real leads from live ads (not test leads).

Workflow guidance#

When the user asks for a quick overview#

1. Run meta-ads-open-cli ad-accounts to find accessible accounts
2. Use insights with --date-preset last_30d for a performance snapshot
3. Present the data (insights spend is already in major currency units, no conversion needed)

When the user asks for deep analysis#

1. Start with account-level insights to see overall performance
2. Add --level campaign to identify top/bottom campaigns
3. Drill down with --level adset or --level ad for underperforming campaigns
4. Use --breakdowns age,gender or --breakdowns country for audience analysis
5. Use --time-increment 1 for daily trends to spot anomalies
6. Cross-reference with creatives to review ad copy and visuals

When the user asks about creative performance#

1. Run insights with --level ad to get ad-level metrics
2. Use ads to find the creative IDs linked to each ad
3. Use creative to inspect the actual creative content (images, copy, CTAs)

When the user asks about audience reach#

1. Use custom-audiences to see existing audiences and their sizes
2. Use reach-estimate with targeting specs to estimate potential reach
3. Use insights with --breakdowns age,gender or --breakdowns country to see who is being reached

When the user asks about conversion tracking#

1. Run pixels to list active Meta Pixels
2. Use pixel-events to check what events are being tracked
3. Use custom-conversions to see custom conversion rules
4. Check insights with conversions and cost_per_action_type fields

When the user asks about lead gen#

1. Use pages to find the Page ID
2. Use lead-forms with the Page ID to list forms
3. Use leads with a form ID to retrieve submissions

Error handling#

• Authentication errors -- ask the user to verify their access token and permissions
• "param business is required" -- the account-users command requires --business <id>
• Empty insights -- check date range, entity status, and whether the account had active ads in the period
• Missing lead fields -- ad_id/ campaign_id require ads_management permission and only appear on real (non-test) leads
• Permission errors -- different commands require different permissions; check the required permissions list above

API documentation references#

• meta-ads-open-cli documentation
• Meta Marketing API overview
• Ad Insights API
• Custom Audiences API
• Lead Ads API
• Ad Creative reference