Introducing Ads CLI: A Command-Line Interface for Meta Ads and Commerce

Today we're introducing the Meta ads CLI, a command-line tool for developers to manage Meta ad campaigns. Developers and AI agents working with the Meta Marketing API can now create, edit, and analyze campaigns directly from the command line, without writing custom code.

Why we built the ads CLI

Developers tell us the Meta Marketing API is powerful, but using it programmatically means writing the same code many times: authentication, pagination, output formatting, and error handling. These repetitive tasks slow down development and make it harder to integrate ad management into automated workflows.

The ads CLI solves this by packaging the Meta Marketing API into one tool with predictable commands that both developers and AI agents can use reliably:

 meta ads campaign list 
 meta ads insights get --campaign_id COMPAIGN_ID --date-preset last_7d —-fields conversions,impressions

The CLI supports multiple output formats — including JSON and plain tab-separated values — allowing it to integrate seamlessly into existing workflows, whether debugging interactively or automating tasks via CI/CD pipelines.

What's in the ads CLI

Ad Creation and Management

Create, list, update, and delete campaigns, ad sets, ads, and creatives without leaving the terminal. Resources are created in PAUSED status by default, so nothing goes live until you are ready.

# Create a campaign with 50.00 budget (currency specified on ad account)

 meta ads campaign create --name "Summer Sale" --objective OUTCOME_SALES --daily-budget 5000 

# Create a corresponding adset

 meta ads adset create CAMPAIGN_ID --name "My Ad Set"
 --optimization-goal LINK_CLICKS --billing-event IMPRESSIONS 
 --bid-amount 500 --targeting-countries US 

# Create a creative with an image and CTA

 meta ads creative create --name "Hero Banner"
 --page-id 111222333 --image ./banner.jpg 
 --body "50% off everything!" --title "Shop Now"
 --link-url https://example.com/sale --call-to-action SHOP_NOW 

# Connect campaigns and creative together

 meta ads ad create ADSET_ID --name "Hero Banner Ad" --creative-id CREATIVE_ID 

# Go live

 meta ads campaign update CAMPAIGN_ID --status ACTIVE 
 meta ads adset update ADSET_ID --status ACTIVE 
 meta ads ad update AD_ID --status ACTIVE

Performance Insights

Query spend, impressions, CTR, ROAS, and more with flexible date ranges, breakdowns by age/gender/platform, and multiple aggregation levels:

# Campaign-level detail

 meta ads insights get --campaign_id COMPAIGN_ID --fields=impressions,conversions --date-preset last_7d

Catalog Creation and Management

Create and manage catalogs, products, and product sets.

# Create a catalog

 meta ads catalog create --name "My Catalog"

# Add products to the catalog

 meta ads product-item create --catalog-id 123456 
 --retailer-id sku_a --name "Blue Shirt"
 --url https://example.com/blue_shirt --price "999" --currency "USD"
 --image-url https://example.com/blue_shirt.jpg

# List product sets

 meta ads product-set list --catalog-id 123456

Datasets

Create conversion pixels, connect them to ad accounts and product catalogs, and set up end-to-end conversion tracking.

meta ads dataset create --name "Website Pixel"
meta ads dataset connect 111222 --ad-account-id 333444 --catalog-id 555666

Built for Automation

meta ads is designed to run unattended in CI/CD pipelines, interactively in shell, and scripts:

• Three output formats -- table (human-readable), json (pipe to jq), plain (tab-separated for sort, awk, cut)

• --no-input and --force suppress all interactive prompts

• Standard exit codes (0 success, 3 auth error, 4 API error, etc.) make error handling straightforward

• Environment variables for tokens, secrets, and account IDs, keeping sensitive values out of command history and version control.

Get started today

Ads CLI requires Python 3.12+ and pip/uv. Please review the developer documentation for more details on how to get started.

We can't wait to see what you build.

Resources

• Developer Documentation
• Meta Marketing API Documentation