feat: add quick answer command

README.md

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 
 ---
 
-`kagi` is a terminal CLI for Kagi that gives you command-line access to search, lenses, ask-page, assistant, translate, summarization, feeds, and paid API commands. it is built for people who want one command surface for interactive use, shell workflows, and structured JSON output.
+`kagi` is a terminal CLI for Kagi that gives you command-line access to search, quick answers, lenses, ask-page, assistant, translate, summarization, feeds, and paid API commands. it is built for people who want one command surface for interactive use, shell workflows, and structured JSON output.
 
 the main setup path is your existing Kagi session-link URL. paste it into `kagi auth set --session-token` and the CLI extracts the token for you. if you also use Kagi's paid API, add `KAGI_API_TOKEN` and the public API commands are available too.
 
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ if you already use Kagi and want to access it from scripts, shell workflows, or
 
 - use your existing session-link URL for subscriber features
 - get structured JSON for scripts, agents, and other tooling
-- use one CLI for search, assistant, translate, summarization, and feeds
+- use one CLI for search, quick answers, assistant, translate, summarization, and feeds
 - add `KAGI_API_TOKEN` only when you want the paid public API commands
 
 ## quickstart
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ export KAGI_API_TOKEN='...'
 
 | credential | what it unlocks |
 | --- | --- |
-| `KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN` | base search fallback, `search --lens`, filtered search, `ask-page`, `assistant`, `translate`, `summarize --subscriber` |
+| `KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN` | base search fallback, `search --lens`, filtered search, `quick`, `ask-page`, `assistant`, `translate`, `summarize --subscriber` |
 | `KAGI_API_TOKEN` | public `summarize`, `fastgpt`, `enrich web`, `enrich news` |
 | none | `news`, `smallweb`, `auth status`, `--help` |
 
@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@ for the full command-to-token matrix, use the [`auth-matrix`](https://kagi.micr.
 | `kagi auth` | inspect, validate, and save credentials |
 | `kagi summarize` | use the paid public summarizer API or the subscriber summarizer with `--subscriber` |
 | `kagi news` | read Kagi News from public JSON endpoints |
+| `kagi quick` | get a Quick Answer with references from the subscriber web product |
 | `kagi assistant` | prompt Kagi Assistant, continue threads, and manage thread list/export/delete with a subscriber session token |
 | `kagi ask-page` | ask Kagi Assistant about a specific web page |
 | `kagi translate` | translate text through Kagi Translate with a subscriber session token |
@@ -221,6 +222,12 @@ kagi assistant thread list
 kagi assistant thread export <THREAD_ID>
 ```
 
+get a quick answer with references:
+
+```bash
+kagi quick --format pretty "what is rust"
+```
+
 translate text and keep all text-mode extras:
 
 ```bash
@@ -268,7 +275,9 @@ kagi enrich news "browser privacy"
 
 ## what it looks like
 
-if you want a quick feel for the cli before installing it, this is the kind of output you get from translate, ask-page, the subscriber summarizer, assistant, and the public news feed:
+if you want a quick feel for the cli before installing it, this is the kind of output you get from quick answer, translate, ask-page, the subscriber summarizer, assistant, and the public news feed:
+
+![quick demo](images/demos/quick.gif)
 
 ![translate demo](images/demos/translate.gif)
 

docs/api-coverage.md

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 - **Small Web RSS feed** - implemented and live-verified
 - **Subscriber web Summarizer** - implemented on the session-token web-product path via `kagi summarize --subscriber ...`
 - **Kagi News public product endpoints** - implemented via `kagi news ...`
+- **Subscriber web Quick Answer flow** - implemented on Kagi's authenticated Quick Answer stream via `kagi quick ...`
 - **Subscriber web Assistant prompt flow** - implemented on Kagi Assistant's authenticated tagged stream via `kagi assistant ...`
 - **Subscriber web Assistant thread list/open/delete/export flows** - implemented on the authenticated Assistant thread endpoints via `kagi assistant thread ...`
 - **Kagi Translate text mode** - implemented via `kagi translate ...` with runtime bootstrap from `KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN`
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ According to Kagi's public API docs, the documented API families are:
 
 This CLI also implements non-public or product-only seams:
 - subscriber web Summarizer via Kagi session-token auth
+- subscriber web Quick Answer via Kagi session-token auth
 - subscriber web Assistant prompt flow via Kagi session-token auth
 - subscriber web Assistant thread management via Kagi session-token auth
 - Kagi News product endpoints
@@ -41,4 +43,5 @@ This CLI also implements non-public or product-only seams:
 - Live verification on March 18, 2026 showed that direct HTTP bootstrap can mint `translate_session` from the same `KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN` by reading the `Set-Cookie` header from `https://translate.kagi.com/`.
 - After bootstrap, the CLI uses normal Rust HTTP requests for `/api/detect`, `/api/translate`, `/api/alternative-translations`, `/api/text-alignments`, `/api/translation-suggestions`, and `/api/word-insights`.
 - Assistant requires `KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN` and currently targets `/assistant/prompt`, `/assistant/thread_list`, `/assistant/thread_open`, `/assistant/thread_delete`, and `/assistant/<thread_id>/download`.
+- Quick Answer requires `KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN` and currently targets `POST /mother/context?q=...` with `Accept: application/vnd.kagi.stream`.
 - News uses `https://news.kagi.com/api/...` JSON endpoints and does not require auth.

docs/commands/quick.mdx

@@ -0,0 +1,201 @@
+---
+title: "quick"
+description: "Complete reference for *kagi* quick command - get Kagi Quick Answer responses from the terminal."
+---
+
+# `kagi quick`
+
+Generate a Kagi Quick Answer from the authenticated web product and return the full answer envelope, references, and follow-up questions.
+
+![Quick Answer demo](/images/demos/quick.gif)
+
+## Synopsis
+
+```bash
+kagi quick [OPTIONS] <QUERY>
+```
+
+## Description
+
+`kagi quick` targets Kagi's Quick Answer web-product flow, not FastGPT and not the public Search API. It is useful when you want a fast answer plus references without opening a browser tab.
+
+This command is ideal for:
+- factual questions with references
+- shell workflows that want a single answer envelope
+- quick terminal lookups with `pretty` or `markdown` output
+- automations that want the Quick Answer thread id for later inspection
+
+## Authentication
+
+**Required:** `KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN`
+
+Quick Answer uses subscriber session-token auth. The CLI accepts either:
+- the raw session token
+- the full Session Link URL such as `https://kagi.com/search?token=...`
+
+## Arguments
+
+### `<QUERY>` (Required)
+
+The text to send to Quick Answer.
+
+The CLI sends the query verbatim. It does not auto-append a trailing question mark, so both of these are valid:
+
+```bash
+kagi quick "what is rust"
+kagi quick "what is rust?"
+```
+
+## Options
+
+### `--format <FORMAT>`
+
+Output format for the response.
+
+**Supported values:** `json`, `compact`, `pretty`, `markdown`
+
+**Default:** `json`
+
+```bash
+kagi quick --format pretty "what is rust"
+kagi quick --format markdown "what is rust"
+```
+
+### `--no-color`
+
+Disable ANSI colors in `--format pretty`.
+
+```bash
+kagi quick --format pretty --no-color "what is rust"
+```
+
+### `--lens <INDEX>`
+
+Scope the query to one of your Kagi lenses by numeric index.
+
+```bash
+kagi quick --lens 0 "best rust tutorials"
+```
+
+Lens indices are user-specific. Use the same `l=` numeric value you would use with `kagi search --lens`.
+
+## Output Format
+
+Default JSON output:
+
+```json
+{
+  "meta": {
+    "version": "202603171911.stage.707e740",
+    "trace": "trace-123"
+  },
+  "query": "what is rust",
+  "lens": null,
+  "message": {
+    "id": "msg-1",
+    "thread_id": "thread-1",
+    "created_at": "2026-03-19T00:00:00Z",
+    "state": "done",
+    "prompt": "what is rust",
+    "html": "<p>Rust is a systems programming language.</p>",
+    "markdown": "Rust is a systems programming language."
+  },
+  "references": {
+    "markdown": "[^1]: [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/) (26%)",
+    "items": [
+      {
+        "index": 1,
+        "title": "Rust",
+        "domain": "www.rust-lang.org",
+        "url": "https://www.rust-lang.org/",
+        "contribution_pct": 26
+      }
+    ]
+  },
+  "followup_questions": [
+    "Why is Rust memory-safe?"
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+### Fields
+
+| Field | Type | Description |
+|-------|------|-------------|
+| `meta` | object | Stream metadata such as version and trace id |
+| `query` | string | The original query text sent to Quick Answer |
+| `lens` | string or null | The requested lens index, if one was supplied |
+| `message` | object | Final Quick Answer message payload |
+| `references` | object | Reference markdown plus parsed reference items |
+| `followup_questions` | array | Follow-up suggestions returned by Kagi |
+
+## Examples
+
+### Basic Queries
+
+```bash
+kagi quick "what is rust"
+kagi quick "best way to clean cast iron"
+```
+
+### Pretty Terminal Output
+
+```bash
+kagi quick --format pretty "what is rust"
+```
+
+### Markdown for Notes
+
+```bash
+kagi quick --format markdown "what is rust?" > quick-answer.md
+```
+
+### Lens-Scoped Quick Answers
+
+```bash
+kagi quick --lens 0 "best rust tutorials"
+```
+
+### JSON Processing
+
+```bash
+# Extract the answer body
+kagi quick "what is rust" | jq -r '.message.markdown'
+
+# Extract reference URLs
+kagi quick "what is rust" | jq -r '.references.items[].url'
+
+# Save the Quick Answer thread id
+kagi quick "what is rust" | jq -r '.message.thread_id'
+```
+
+## Output Modes
+
+### `json`
+
+Pretty-printed JSON envelope for scripts and inspection.
+
+### `compact`
+
+Minified JSON envelope for pipelines or storage-sensitive paths.
+
+### `pretty`
+
+Terminal-friendly answer text followed by a references section and any follow-up questions.
+
+### `markdown`
+
+The answer markdown, then the references markdown, then a follow-up section if present.
+
+## Limitations
+
+- Requires an active Kagi subscription and session token
+- This command is single-turn only
+- The returned `message.thread_id` is informational today; there is no `--thread-id` follow-up mode yet
+- Output quality and references depend on the live Quick Answer product
+
+## See Also
+
+- [assistant](/commands/assistant) - Conversational multi-turn AI via Kagi Assistant
+- [search](/commands/search) - Full search results instead of a single synthesized answer
+- [Authentication](/guides/authentication) - Session-token setup

docs/demos.md

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ The demo scripts build the local debug binary, expose it as `kagi` through `/tmp
 ## Assets
 
 - `docs/demo-assets/search.gif`
+- `docs/demo-assets/quick.gif`
 - `docs/demo-assets/summarize.gif`
 - `docs/demo-assets/news.gif`
 - `docs/demo-assets/ask-page.gif`
@@ -20,30 +21,32 @@ Subscriber demos require `KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN` in the environment. API-token demo
 The current demo commands are:
 
 - `kagi search --format pretty --region us --time year --order recency "rust release notes"`
+- `kagi quick --format pretty "what is rust"`
 - `kagi summarize --subscriber --url https://mullvad.net/en/browser | jq -M ...`
 - `kagi news --category tech --limit 1 | jq -M ...`
 - `kagi ask-page https://rust-lang.org/ "What is this page about in one sentence?" | jq -M ...`
 - `kagi assistant "plan a private obsidian workflow for cafe work. give me 3 setup tips and a short checklist." | jq -M ...`
 - `kagi translate "Bonjour tout le monde" --to ja | jq -M ...`
 - `RESPONSE=$(kagi assistant --model gpt-5-mini "..."); THREAD_ID=...; kagi assistant --thread-id "$THREAD_ID" "..."; kagi assistant thread export "$THREAD_ID"`
- - `kagi translate "Bonjour tout le monde" --to ja | jq -M ...`
 
 ```bash
-chmod +x scripts/demo-search.sh scripts/demo-summarize.sh scripts/demo-news.sh scripts/demo-ask-page.sh scripts/demo-assistant.sh scripts/demo-translate.sh
+chmod +x scripts/demo-search.sh scripts/demo-quick.sh scripts/demo-summarize.sh scripts/demo-news.sh scripts/demo-ask-page.sh scripts/demo-assistant.sh scripts/demo-translate.sh
 
 mkdir -p docs/demo-assets /tmp/kagi-demos
 
 agg --version
 # expected: "asciinema gif generator"
 
 KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN='...' asciinema rec -c ./scripts/demo-search.sh -q -i 0.2 --cols 92 --rows 22 /tmp/kagi-demos/search.cast
+KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN='...' asciinema rec -c ./scripts/demo-quick.sh -q -i 0.2 --cols 92 --rows 22 /tmp/kagi-demos/quick.cast
 KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN='...' asciinema rec -c ./scripts/demo-summarize.sh -q -i 0.2 --cols 92 --rows 22 /tmp/kagi-demos/summarize.cast
 asciinema rec -c ./scripts/demo-news.sh -q -i 0.2 --cols 92 --rows 22 /tmp/kagi-demos/news.cast
 KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN='...' asciinema rec -c ./scripts/demo-ask-page.sh -q -i 0.2 --cols 92 --rows 22 /tmp/kagi-demos/ask-page.cast
 KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN='...' asciinema rec -c ./scripts/demo-assistant.sh -q -i 0.2 --cols 92 --rows 22 /tmp/kagi-demos/assistant.cast
 KAGI_SESSION_TOKEN='...' asciinema rec -c ./scripts/demo-translate.sh -q -i 0.2 --cols 92 --rows 22 /tmp/kagi-demos/translate.cast
 
 agg --theme asciinema --font-size 14 --idle-time-limit 2 --last-frame-duration 4 /tmp/kagi-demos/search.cast docs/demo-assets/search.gif
+agg --theme asciinema --font-size 14 --idle-time-limit 2 --last-frame-duration 4 /tmp/kagi-demos/quick.cast docs/demo-assets/quick.gif
 agg --theme asciinema --font-size 14 --idle-time-limit 2 --last-frame-duration 4 /tmp/kagi-demos/summarize.cast docs/demo-assets/summarize.gif
 agg --theme asciinema --font-size 14 --idle-time-limit 2 --last-frame-duration 4 /tmp/kagi-demos/news.cast docs/demo-assets/news.gif
 agg --theme asciinema --font-size 14 --idle-time-limit 2 --last-frame-duration 4 /tmp/kagi-demos/ask-page.cast docs/demo-assets/ask-page.gif

docs/docs.json

@@ -84,8 +84,9 @@
           {
             "group": "AI & Enrichment",
             "pages": [
-              "commands/ask-page",
               "commands/assistant",
+              "commands/quick",
+              "commands/ask-page",
               "commands/translate",
               "commands/fastgpt",
               "commands/enrich"

docs/guides/quickstart.mdx

@@ -174,6 +174,9 @@ kagi search --region us --time month --order recency "rust release notes"
 ![Search command demo](/images/demos/search.gif)
 
 ```bash
+# Test Quick Answer
+kagi quick --format pretty "what is rust"
+
 # Test Assistant
 kagi assistant "What are the key features of Rust?"
 
@@ -190,6 +193,10 @@ kagi assistant thread list
 kagi summarize --subscriber --url https://www.rust-lang.org --summary-type keypoints --length digest
 ```
 
+**Quick Answer Demo:**
+
+![Quick command demo](/images/demos/quick.gif)
+
 **Assistant Demo:**
 
 ![Assistant command demo](/images/demos/assistant.gif)
@@ -440,6 +447,7 @@ kagi search --lens 2 --format pretty "query"    # Combined
 ```bash
 kagi summarize --url https://example.com                    # Public API
 kagi summarize --subscriber --url https://example.com       # Subscriber
+kagi quick "what is rust"                                   # Quick Answer
 kagi fastgpt "question"                                     # Quick answer
 kagi assistant "prompt"                                     # AI assistant
 kagi enrich web "query"                                     # Web enrichment