searchaero 0.2.0

United MileagePlus award flight search CLI

Searchaero

Award flight search for Claude Code. Scrapes United MileagePlus award pricing, stores results in a local SQLite database, and exposes a /flights skill that teaches Claude the full workflow — scrape, handle MFA, query, alert, watch.

Scope

• Airline: United MileagePlus only
• Routes: Any origin/destination United serves
• Coverage: Full 337-day booking window, economy/business/first
• Not supported: Partner awards, cash fares

Quick start

Open Claude Code and paste this. Claude does the rest.

Install searchaero: run uv tool install searchaero to install the CLI, then run searchaero setup to configure credentials and verify Playwright. After setup, ask me to find cheap flights.

Requirements: Claude Code, Python 3.13+, uv

That's it. The /flights skill ships with this repo — when you clone it, Claude already knows how to use searchaero.

Manual install (without Claude)

1. Install

uv tool install searchaero

Why uv? One dependency (bezier) doesn't ship Python 3.13 wheels yet. uv handles the source build automatically; regular pip fails without workarounds.

Or install from source:

git clone https://github.com/JadedOut/searchaero.git
cd searchaero
uv tool install .

2. Set up credentials

searchaero setup

Creates the database, checks Playwright, and prompts for your MileagePlus number and password. Just your MP number and password — no API keys needed. If all three checks show green, you're ready.

Heads up: United requires verification on your first login. When you trigger your first scrape, you'll be prompted for a code. This is a one-time step per browser session.

3. Ask Claude

In Claude Code, just ask:

What's the cheapest flight from Toronto to LA next month?

Or invoke the skill directly with /flights.

See it work

You:    What's the cheapest business class from Toronto to London next month?

Claude: Checking cached data... no results for YYZ-LHR.
        Starting a fresh scrape — this takes about 2 minutes.
        [MFA code requested — enter the 6-digit code from your phone]

        ┌──────────┬──────────┬─────────┬──────────┐
        │ Date     │ Cabin    │ Miles   │ Stops    │
        ├──────────┼──────────┼─────────┼──────────┤
        │ Jul 12   │ Business │ 55,000  │ Nonstop  │
        │ Jul 15   │ Business │ 45,000  │ 1 stop   │
        │ Jul 19   │ Business │ 60,000  │ Nonstop  │
        └──────────┴──────────┴─────────┴──────────┘

You:    Show me the price trend as a graph.

Claude: YYZ -> LHR  |  Business  |  Price Trend

         80,000 ┤
         75,000 ┤          ╭╮
         70,000 ┤       ╭──╯│
         65,000 ┤      ╭╯   ╰╮
         60,000 ┼──╮  ╭╯     ╰╮
         55,000 ┤  ╰╮╭╯       │
         50,000 ┤   ╰╯        ╰╮
         45,000 ┤              ╰──
                Jul 01    Jul 15    Jul 29

        Min: 45,000 mi  Avg: 59,167 mi  8 dates

You:    Set up a watch — notify me if business drops under 50K.
Claude: [runs searchaero watch add YYZ LHR --max-miles 50000 --cabin business]
        Done. I'll check every 12 hours and notify you via ntfy.

You ask a question. The agent checks cached data, scrapes if needed, handles MFA, and presents the answer. One skill, end to end.

Example prompts:

• "Scrape fresh data for cheapest business class from New York to London in July"
• "Show me a price chart for YYZ to LAX for the next year"
• "Find deals under 30K miles from any airport I've scraped"
• "Set up a watchlist for paris to sanfran, business class, under 70K miles"

CLI reference

The agent uses these commands under the hood. You can also run them directly:

Action	Command
Check cache	searchaero query ORIG DEST --json
Show table	searchaero query ORIG DEST
Show graph	searchaero query ORIG DEST --graph
Show summary	searchaero query ORIG DEST --summary
Find deals	searchaero deals --json
DB status	searchaero status --json
Scrape fresh	searchaero search ORIG DEST --mfa-file --mfa-method email
Add alert	searchaero alert add ORIG DEST --max-miles N
Check alerts	searchaero alert check --json
Add watch	searchaero watch add ORIG DEST --max-miles N
Check watches	searchaero watch check --json
Diagnostics	searchaero doctor

How scraping works

1. Seataero opens a Chromium browser via Playwright and logs into united.com with your MP number
2. United may send a verification code — the agent handles this automatically (email via Gmail) or asks you (SMS)
3. Once logged in, searchaero scrapes the award calendar API (one request returns ~30 days of pricing)
4. Results are stored in SQLite. Subsequent queries are instant (no scraping needed)
5. The browser session stays warm between scrapes — MFA is typically only needed once per session

Rate limiting: Seataero adds delays between requests to avoid triggering United's bot detection. For recurring scrapes, use a minimum interval of 10 minutes between runs.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
BROWSER CRASH detected	United's Akamai bot detection blocked your IP	Wait 10 minutes and retry, or use --proxy
MFA code times out	The 5-minute code window expired	Re-run the search — United will send a new code
No availability found	No scraped data for this route yet	Ask your agent to scrape it, or run searchaero search ORIGIN DEST
Database errors	Corrupted SQLite file	Delete ~/.searchaero/data.db and run searchaero setup
Repeated Akamai blocks	Your home IP is flagged	Wait 10–15 minutes, or use --proxy. See searchaero help proxy

Run searchaero doctor for a comprehensive diagnostic check.

More documentation

• Getting Started — full walkthrough from install to first query
• CLI Reference — every command and flag
• FAQ — common questions and troubleshooting
• Push Notifications — set up ntfy for phone alerts