generated: '2026-08-14'
method: searched
source: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/ads-commerce/ads-ai-connectors/ads-cli/ads-cli-overview
docs: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/ads-commerce/ads-ai-connectors/ads-cli/setup/get-started
command_reference: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/ads-commerce/ads-ai-connectors/ads-cli/command-reference
scope_note: >-
  Ads CLI is Meta's first-party command-line client for the Marketing API — a sibling of the
  Ads MCP server in the "Meta ads AI connectors" family. Facebook Lead Ads is an endpoint
  family of that same Marketing API. Meta publishes no lead-ads-specific CLI, and no
  documented command group covers leadgen forms or lead retrieval, so this is recorded as
  the provider's CLI surface with that limitation stated rather than as a lead-ads tool.
name: Ads CLI
binary: meta
description: '"Ads CLI is a command-line tool for managing Meta advertising from your terminal."'
install:
  - method: pip
    command: pip install meta-ads
    registry: pypi
    package: meta-ads
    url: https://pypi.org/project/meta-ads/
    version: 1.1.0
    published: '2026-06-17'
    note: >-
      Install command taken verbatim from Meta's own get-started page. The PyPI record
      itself carries no author, homepage or project URL, so the package page alone does not
      establish first-party provenance — the developers.facebook.com documentation does.
authentication:
  model: system-user access token
  statement: >-
    "Ads CLI authenticates with a Meta system user access token and calls the Marketing API
    on your behalf."
  setup:
    - Create a system user with the Admin role in Meta Business Suite.
    - Assign assets (ad accounts, pages, pixels, catalogs) to that system user.
    - Add the system user as an App Admin in the Meta for Developers app.
    - Generate an access token with the scopes below.
  scopes:
    - business_management
    - ads_management
    - pages_show_list
    - pages_read_engagement
    - pages_manage_ads
    - catalog_management
    - read_insights
  config:
    file: .env
    variables:
      - ACCESS_TOKEN
      - AD_ACCOUNT_ID
command_form: meta ads <resource> <action>
command_groups:
  - group: auth
    example: meta auth status
    description: Inspect the authenticated identity and token state.
  - group: campaign
    example: meta ads campaign list
    description: Create, list, update and delete ad campaigns.
  - group: adset
    description: Manage ad sets — targeting and conversion tracking.
  - group: ad
    description: Manage individual ads.
  - group: creative
    description: Manage ad creative assets.
  - group: insights
    example: meta ads insights get --fields spend,impressions,ctr,cpc
    description: Query performance data with custom metrics, date ranges and breakdowns.
  - group: catalog
    description: Manage product catalogs and items for catalog ads.
  - group: dataset
    description: Manage conversion tracking pixels/datasets.
  - group: page
    example: meta ads page list
    description: Page and ad-account management.
lead_ads_coverage:
  covered: false
  finding: >-
    No documented command group addresses leadgen forms, lead retrieval or bulk lead
    export. The nine operations in this repo's openapi/ have no CLI equivalent.
automation:
  exit_codes: 0-5
  env_file: .env
  note: Consistent exit codes and .env support are documented as the automation contract.
related:
  mcp: mcp/facebook-lead-ads-mcp.yml
  packages: packages/facebook-lead-ads-packages.yml