ipinfo CLI: IP geolocation and CIDR utilities from the IPinfo API, token required for bulk use

Without a token, data output is limited and bulk lookups are unavailable; free tokens come from ipinfo.io

ipinfo CLI connects to the IPinfo.io API to return geolocation, ASN and carrier data for any IP address. Running without a token is documented as producing limited data output and blocking bulk lookups. Free tokens are available at https://ipinfo.io/signup.

No documentation in the README spells out exactly which fields are withheld in token-free mode. What is clear is that bulk operations, meaning piping a list of addresses through the tool, require a token. Summarize, which processes up to 1000 IPs at once, also falls in that category.

For someone who needs only occasional single-IP lookups on a public address, the CLI functions without registration. For any workflow that processes more than one address at a time or needs every available field, the token registration step comes first.

Eleven installation methods in the README: brew, apt PPA, Docker, go install, ports and more

Eleven separate installation sections appear in the README. For macOS, brew is the primary path:

brew install ipinfo-cli

For Ubuntu with automatic updates, the PPA method installs the full binary suite and keeps it current:

echo "deb [trusted=yes] https://ppa.ipinfo.net/ /" | sudo tee  "/etc/apt/sources.list.d/ipinfo.ppa.list"
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ipinfo

For Docker:

docker run --rm -it ipinfo/ipinfo:3.3.2

For Go developers building from source:

go install github.com/ipinfo/cli/ipinfo@latest

Additional methods cover a Debian one-time installer script, FreeBSD ports, Arch Linux AUR, Scoop for Windows, a Windows PowerShell script, and manual binary downloads via curl or wget. Binary downloads span 24 OS and architecture combinations, covering darwin, linux, freebsd, netbsd, openbsd, dragonfly and solaris across amd64, arm, arm64 and 386 variants. Building from source requires Go 1.20 per go.mod.

ipinfo init stores the token once; myip and direct IP arguments are the two basic queries

After installation, storing the API token takes one command:

ipinfo init

With the token stored, looking up your own machine's IP runs:

ipinfo myip

For any specific address, pass it as an argument:

ipinfo 8.8.8.8

Config is stored at `/root/.config/ipinfo` inside a Docker container. Running the tool in Docker without a volume mount means the token set by `ipinfo init` is discarded when the container exits. Persisting the config requires mounting a local directory to that path:

docker run --rm -it -v "$PWD/ipinfo:/root/.config/ipinfo" ipinfo/ipinfo:3.3.2

For any Docker-based workflow that runs the CLI repeatedly, that volume flag is the piece to add.

Piping a file to stdin feeds bulk lookups; -f extracts one field and the summarize cap is 1000 IPs

Bulk mode takes one IP per line from any stdin source and returns results for each. Passing a file goes like this:

cat ips.txt | ipinfo | less

CSV output uses the -c flag:

cat ips.txt | ipinfo -c | less

Extracting a single field from each result uses -f:

cat ips.txt | ipinfo -f hostname

Summarize is a distinct operation from the bulk pipe. Its cap of 1000 IPs appears only in the introduction's feature bullet list and is not repeated in the detailed usage sections, making it the kind of limit that surfaces only after a user tries to process a larger set.

Both the bulk pipe and the summarize operation require a token.

Eleven subcommands also ship as standalone binaries with independent version numbers

grepip, grepdomain, matchip, prips, cidr2range, cidr2ip, range2cidr, range2ip, randip, splitcidr and mmdb are distributed as standalone binaries alongside the main CLI. Each carries its own version number: grepip is at 1.2.3, cidr2range at 1.2.0, range2cidr at 1.3.0, and the others at 1.0.0 or 1.1.0.

mmdb is versioned separately as mmdbctl-1.4.2 and operates on MaxMind MMDB format files locally, without calling the IPinfo API.

Installing each standalone binary uses the same methods as the main CLI, with just the binary name substituted in the install command. A Homebrew or Scoop install, a Docker image pull, or a manual binary download all work the same way for each subcommand. Version numbers for each are listed in the README's subcommand table and each links to its own GitHub release tag.

go install needs $GOPATH/bin in $PATH; the Docker image name differs from the GitHub repository path

go install places the binary in `$GOPATH/bin`. Making that path available requires `$GOPATH/bin` to be in `$PATH`, a prerequisite the README states explicitly before presenting the install command. On a default Go toolchain setup, this is often not configured.

For Docker users, an important distinction sits between the GitHub repository name and the Docker Hub image name. This repository is at `ipinfo/cli` on GitHub, but the Docker image is `ipinfo/ipinfo`. Anyone who constructs a Docker pull command from the GitHub path will get a failure; the README's own examples use `ipinfo/ipinfo:3.3.2` throughout, which is the correct form.

Windows PowerShell installation requires the shell to run as administrator. That requirement appears as a note in the README before the install command and affects any automated deployment script that does not handle privilege escalation.

Direct API calls via curl are the stateless alternative; the CLI adds bulk, CIDR tools and auth persistence

Calling the IPinfo API directly with curl is the stateless alternative to ipinfo CLI. A single request to the appropriate endpoint returns the same JSON data with no binary installation, no token file on disk, and no version to manage.

What the CLI adds over raw API calls is a set of operations that curl does not provide out of the box. Bulk piping over large address lists, field extraction with -f, CSV formatting with -c, CIDR expansion through the standalone cidr2ip and cidr2range binaries, and IP grepping with grepip are all operations that would otherwise require scripting. Auth persistence is also part of the picture: `ipinfo init` stores the token once so it does not need to appear on every command.

For teams that automate curl calls with shell scripts today, switching to the CLI gives a more consistent command interface. For single lookups or situations where adding a binary is unwanted, direct API calls remain adequate.

Editorial conclusion

ipinfo CLI is worth it for engineers who already rely on IPinfo.io data and want bulk lookups, CIDR expansion and field filtering without writing API wrappers. Register for a free token at ipinfo.io/signup before running bulk operations, since that is the only credential path the documentation covers. It is wrong for one-off lookups where a direct API call costs less setup, and wrong for environments that cannot add extra binaries. Before deploying via Docker, note that the image is published as ipinfo/ipinfo:3.3.2 on Docker Hub, not under the ipinfo/cli path that the GitHub repository uses.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. ipinfo/cli on GitHub
2. License: Apache-2.0
3. Project website
4. README
5. Releases