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Kickbacks CLI

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Real-time earnings and ad history in your terminal

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Tracked since2026
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The Bottom Line

Entry price

Free, no paid tier

Biggest pro

Privacy-focused: never reads code, never sends data to third parties, no telemetry

Biggest con

Requires Kickbacks.ai account and extension to function

TL;DR - Kickbacks CLI

  • View Kickbacks.ai earnings, ad history, and daily charts directly from the terminal or macOS menu bar
  • Read-only by default with no code access, no telemetry, and no third-party data sharing
  • Configurable features like background sampling, notifications, and token refresh, all editable in a local config file
Pricing: Free forever
Best for: Individuals & startups

What is Kickbacks CLI?

Editorial review
Kickbacks CLI is a command-line tool and macOS menu bar app that provides real-time access to your Kickbacks.ai earnings, ad history, and daily charts without leaving the terminal. It reads local extension files and your editor's database to display your lifetime and today's earnings, ad rotations, and status, all while respecting your privacy by never reading your code or sending data to third parties. The tool installs via a one-line script, Homebrew, or a direct download, and requires Python 3 and OpenSSL. It offers configurable features like background sampling for ad rotation logging, daily notifications, and token refresh when the editor is closed. All settings are editable in a local config file, and the tool degrades gracefully if the extension changes or the backend is unavailable.
how we evaluateSourcegabeperez.github.io ↗

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Privacy-focused: never reads code, never sends data to third parties, no telemetry
  • Graceful degradation if the extension or backend changes
  • Configurable features with safe defaults (all write features off until enabled)

Cons

  • Requires Kickbacks.ai account and extension to function
  • Earnings accuracy is approximate as they are derived from aggregate backend data

Key Features

Displays live today and lifetime earnings from Kickbacks.aiShows ad rotation history and daily earnings chartsMenu bar app (Kickbacks Bar) for quick access to earnings and CLI commandsConfigurable background sampling for logging ad rotations and earningsDaily macOS notifications with earnings summaryToken refresh support when the editor is closed (off by default)Doctor command to check extension compatibility, backend connectivity, and keychain accessAll settings editable in ~/.config/kickback/config.json

Pricing Plans

Pricing checked Aug 21, 2026

Free

  • Menu bar app (Kickbacks Bar)
  • CLI (kickback)
  • Read-only earnings status
  • Daily chart
  • Ad history
  • macOS 13+ support
  • Signed & notarized by Apple
  • Homebrew install available
Calculate your costView full pricing

Is Kickbacks CLI worth the price?

95/100

This is a completely free tool with no paid tiers, which is extremely generous for a niche utility.

The only cost is the time to install it via Homebrew or a one-liner script. It's best for active Kickbacks users who want quick terminal access to their earnings data without a web dashboard.

Hidden Costs & Gotchas

Requires macOS 13+ (hardware upgrade cost)

No paid tiers, but service itself may have fees

No support for Windows or Linux

Must have a Kickbacks account to use

How Kickbacks CLI Compares to Competitors

Most ad revenue tracking tools like AdMob or Google Analytics don't offer a dedicated CLI or menu bar app; they are web-only or mobile SDKs. This free CLI tool is unique in its niche, offering zero-cost convenience that even paid alternatives (e.g., $5-10/month for analytics dashboards) don't match.

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Kickbacks CLI FAQ

What data does Kickbacks CLI read from my machine?

It reads only local files: the extension's ad and status files, your editor's settings to confirm the spinner is wired up, your editor's local database for the Kickbacks access token, and your macOS Keychain for the decryption key. It never reads your code, prompts, or completions.

Does Kickbacks CLI send any data over the network?

It sends only your own token and the Claude Code version to Kickbacks' own backend, the same server the official extension already talks to. Nothing is ever sent to the tool's author or any third party, and there is no analytics or telemetry.

How do I install Kickbacks CLI without Homebrew?

You can install it with a one-line curl command: curl -fsSL https://gabeperez.github.io/kickback-cli/install.sh | bash. This installs one script and writes a config with safe defaults. You can inspect the script first before running it.

Can I use Kickbacks CLI fully offline?

Yes. By default the network feature is on, but you can turn it off with 'kickback config disable network'. This gives you fully offline status based on local extension files, though earnings will show as unavailable without backend connectivity.

What happens if the Kickbacks extension updates and changes its format?

The tool degrades gracefully, earnings will show as 'unavailable', on-disk status keeps working, and it never crashes. You can run 'kickback doctor' to check for compatibility issues and adjust the config if needed.

How does Kickbacks CLI calculate per-ad earnings?

The backend exposes only aggregate lifetime and today earnings, not per-ad CPM or advertiser cost. Per-ad dollars and effective rates are derived by attributing earnings changes to whichever ad was showing, so they are approximate and represent your share, not advertiser spend.

Does the menu bar app require a separate installation?

The menu bar app (Kickbacks Bar) can be installed via Homebrew with 'brew install --cask gabeperez/kickback/kickbacks-bar' or by downloading the .zip directly. Both methods include the kickback CLI as a dependency or bundled with it.

Can I customize the backend URL or keychain names?

Yes. Everything is editable by hand in ~/.config/kickback/config.json, including the backend URL and keychain names. Nothing is hardcoded, so you can point it to a different backend or adjust keychain access as needed.

Source: gabeperez.github.io

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