Migrate from the CLI

The webref CLI is retired. Existing CLI research commands no longer work with the current service. Use the remote MCP integration in your agent, or the HTTP API in your own application.

Connect your agent

Open your dashboard and copy the install snippet for your agent.
Apply that snippet, or keep an existing working remote MCP connection to https://webref.ai/mcp.
Restart your agent or open a new session, then verify that it discovers the five WebRef MCP tools.
Ask it to use the webref MCP research tool for your next question.

No local webref binary or CLI installer is needed.

Remove old instructions

Older installations added a webref-search skill that tells agents to run shell commands such as webref "your question", webref login, or webref setup-skills. Those instructions do not update automatically when the website changes.

Replace that skill's CLI instructions with the remote MCP workflow, or disable the old skill. Check both user-level and project-level skill directories. For Codex, these can include ~/.agents/skills, ~/.config/agents/skills, ~/.codex/skills, and the project's .agents/skills or .codex/skills. Also check project instructions for old webref commands. Change only the WebRef guidance.

Keep credentials during migration

Old CLI credentials may still contain a valid API key. A supported MCP credential helper can reuse it. Keep ~/.webref/credentials.json if your helper reads it, and do not paste its contents into an agent conversation.

The old webref uninstall command removes that credentials directory as well as the binary and installed skills. Do not run it while your MCP connection depends on the stored key. Remove obsolete skills separately, then verify the new connection before cleaning up any remaining CLI files.

Why status succeeds but research fails

The old CLI's status check can still authenticate against the account API. Its research command calls the removed /api/research/stream endpoint. That can produce a misleading "research stream disconnected" error even though the key is valid. Reinstalling the retired CLI or retrying its research command does not repair that endpoint.

Use the MCP connection check and troubleshooting guide to test the supported integration.