Tomba CLI: Find and Verify Emails From Your Terminal

The Tomba CLI puts email finding and verification in your terminal. You type a command, and you get back a result you can read, pipe into another tool or save to a file. It is built for people who live in a shell: developers, growth engineers and anyone who wants lead data inside a script instead of a browser tab.

This guide covers how to install the Tomba CLI, how to sign in, which commands matter most, and how to run a whole CSV file through it. Everything here comes from the Tomba CLI page and the open-source project behind it.

What is the Tomba CLI?#

The Tomba CLI is a command-line tool for finding, verifying and enriching email addresses. It runs on macOS, Linux and Windows. Each command maps to a feature you already know from the Tomba platform, so there is little new to learn.

You can use it to:

• Search a domain for the email addresses linked to it.
• Find a person's email from their name and company domain.
• Check whether an email address is deliverable.
• Enrich an email address with details about the person behind it.
• Run a CSV file through any of these steps in one go.

If you prefer an interface with buttons, the Tomba Email Finder does the same work in the browser. The command line wins when you want repeatable runs, cron jobs or a quick check without leaving your editor.

How do you install the Tomba CLI?#

Pick the method that matches your system. These are the install options listed on the Tomba site:

• macOS and Linux: a one-line install script, listed on the Tomba CLI page
• Homebrew: brew install --cask tomba-io/tap/tomba
• Windows PowerShell: an install script, also listed on the CLI page
• Scoop: run scoop bucket add tomba https://github.com/tomba-io/scoop-bucket.git, then scoop install tomba
• Snap: sudo snap install tomba
• Go: go install github.com/tomba-io/tomba@latest

The source lives in the tomba-io GitHub organization. If you use an install script, read it before you run it. That is good practice for any installer.

How do you sign in?#

You have two ways to authenticate, and you can pick by use case.

1. Device login. Run tomba login. It uses the OAuth 2.0 device flow, so you approve the request in a browser. This also works over SSH, because the terminal never needs to open a window.
2. API key. Run tomba login --api-key to sign in with a key and secret. This suits scripts and servers.

You can also pass credentials to a single command with the --key and --secret flags. The CLI saves your session in ~/.tomba.json, so protect that file the way you protect any credential.

Create your keys from your Tomba account. You can start on the free plan, and the details are on the pricing page.

Which Tomba CLI commands should you know?#

The command list is long. These are the ones most people reach for first.

Search a domain#

tomba search returns the email addresses found for a domain. It is the command line twin of Domain Search. Use it to see who at a company is reachable and what pattern their addresses follow.

Find one person's email#

tomba finder takes a person's name and a company domain, then returns the most likely address. Use it when you already know who you want to contact.

Verify an address#

tomba verify checks whether an email is deliverable. Run it before you send, so bounces do not hurt your sender reputation. The browser version is the Tomba Email Verifier.

Enrich an address#

tomba enrich goes the other way. Give it an email and it returns the person behind it. There is also tomba enrichment with person, company and combined subcommands for profile data.

Other commands#

The same tool covers more ground:

• tomba author, tomba linkedin and tomba sources for finding emails from articles, profiles and the pages where an address was seen.
• tomba phone-finder and tomba phone-validator for phone data.
• tomba technology, tomba similar and tomba reveal for company research.
• tomba count, tomba status and tomba format for quick lookups about a domain.
• tomba whoami, tomba usage and tomba logs for account checks.

Run any command with --help to see its flags.

How do you get output you can use in scripts?#

Add a format flag to get machine-readable output:

• --json for JSON
• --yaml for YAML
• --csv for CSV

Use --output to write the result to a file. This makes the Tomba CLI easy to chain with other tools. For example, you can send JSON output to jq to pull out a single field, or save CSV output and open it in a spreadsheet.

How do you process a CSV file with tomba bulk?#

tomba bulk reads a CSV file and sends one API request for each row. That detail matters for planning, because each row can use credits just like a single lookup. Start with a small sample file to confirm the columns and the output before you run a large list.

A simple routine looks like this:

1. Export your list to CSV with one lead per row.
2. Run a short test file of five or ten rows.
3. Check the output file for gaps or odd results.
4. Run the full file and keep the output with the date in its name.
5. Verify the found addresses before they reach your outreach tool.

If you would rather upload a file and let the platform do the work, the bulk tasks page covers that route.

When should you use the CLI instead of the API?#

The CLI wraps the same data you can reach through the Tomba API. Choose the CLI for quick jobs, shell scripts and manual runs. Choose the API when you are building a product feature or need to handle responses inside your own code.

Tips for working safely#

• Keep credentials out of shell history. Use the device login on your own machine and the API key flow only on servers.
• Check usage often. tomba usage shows what you have used, so a loop does not drain your credits unexpectedly.
• Verify before you send. Finding an address is not the same as knowing it works.
• Respect the rules. Collect and use contact data in line with the privacy laws that apply to you and your recipients.

Frequently asked questions#

Is the Tomba CLI free?#

You sign in with a Tomba account, and the free plan lets you try the tool. Lookups use the same credits as the web app, so check the pricing page for current limits.

Does the Tomba CLI work on Windows?#

Yes. It supports Windows through a PowerShell installer and Scoop, as well as macOS and Linux.

Can I use the Tomba CLI over SSH?#

Yes. The device login flow is designed to work over SSH because you approve the sign-in in a browser on another device.

What formats can the CLI output?#

JSON, YAML and CSV, and you can write any of them to a file with --output.

Try the Tomba CLI#

Install it with the command for your system, run tomba login, and try tomba finder on a lead you already know. When you are ready to scale, create a free Tomba account and keep the Tomba CLI page open for the latest install options.