irail-cli

CLI for Belgian railways (NMBS/SNCB) via iRail API. No authentication required.

Quick Start

bash

# Station departures
irail liveboard Brugge

# Find connections
irail connections Brugge Leuven

# Check disruptions
irail disturbances

Authentication

None required. iRail API is public and free to use.

Core Rules

Always use --json when parsing output programmatically
Station names are flexible - accepts partial matches, quotes for multi-word
Time format - HH:MM (24-hour), date format YYYY-MM-DD
Language options - nl, fr, en, de (default: nl)

Output Formats

Flag	Format	Use case
(default)	Table	User-facing with colors
`--json`	JSON	Agent parsing, scripting

Colors indicate: red = delays, yellow = platform changes.

Workflows

Liveboard (Departures/Arrivals)

bash

# Departures from station
irail liveboard Brugge
irail liveboard "Brussel-Centraal"

# Arrivals instead of departures
irail liveboard Brugge --arrivals

# Specific date/time
irail liveboard Brugge --time 09:00 --date 2025-02-15

# JSON for scripting
irail liveboard Brugge --json

# Different language
irail liveboard Brugge --lang en

Connections (Route Planning)

bash

# Find routes
irail connections Brugge Leuven

# Specific departure time
irail connections Brugge Leuven --time 09:00

# Arrive by time (instead of depart at)
irail connections Brugge Leuven --time 14:00 --arrive-by

# More results
irail connections Brugge Leuven --results 10

# JSON for parsing
irail connections Brugge Leuven --json

Stations

bash

# List all stations
irail stations

# Search stations
irail stations --search bruss
irail stations --search gent

# JSON for scripting
irail stations --json

Vehicle (Train Info)

bash

# Show train information
irail vehicle IC1832

# Include all stops
irail vehicle IC1832 --stops

# JSON output
irail vehicle IC1832 --json

Composition (Train Cars)

bash

# Show train composition (seats, amenities)
irail composition S51507
irail composition IC1832

# JSON for parsing
irail composition S51507 --json

Disturbances

bash

# All current disruptions
irail disturbances

# Only planned works
irail disturbances --type planned

# Only unplanned disruptions
irail disturbances --type disturbance

# JSON for scripting
irail disturbances --json

Scripting Examples

bash

# Get next train to destination
irail connections Brugge Leuven --json | jq -r '.[0].departure'

# Find station ID
irail stations --search "brussel" --json | jq -r '.[0].id'

# Check if delays exist on liveboard
irail liveboard Brugge --json | jq '[.[] | select(.delay > 0)] | length'

# Get platform for next departure
irail liveboard Brugge --json | jq -r '.[0].platform'

# List all disruptions
irail disturbances --json | jq -r '.[].title'

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
`IRAIL_LANG`	Default language (nl, fr, en, de)
`IRAIL_JSON`	Default to JSON output
`NO_COLOR`	Disable colored output

Language Options

Code	Language
`nl`	Dutch (default)
`fr`	French
`en`	English
`de`	German

bash

irail liveboard Brugge --lang fr
irail connections Brugge Leuven --lang en

Command Reference

Command	Description
`liveboard`	Station departures/arrivals
`connections`	Route planning between stations
`stations`	List/search stations
`vehicle`	Train information and stops
`composition`	Train car composition
`disturbances`	Service disruptions
`completion`	Shell completions

Common Patterns

Check if train is delayed

bash

irail vehicle IC1832 --json | jq '.delay // 0'

Get connection with transfers

bash

irail connections Brugge Leuven --json | jq '.[0].vias | length'

Find direct trains only

bash

irail connections Brugge Leuven --json | jq '[.[] | select(.vias == null or (.vias | length) == 0)]'

Guidelines

No authentication needed - API is public
Be mindful of API usage in loops - add delays between requests
Station names are case-insensitive and support partial matching
Delay values are in seconds (divide by 60 for minutes)

Installation

bash

brew install dedene/tap/irail

The IRail API

irail-cli

Quick Start

Authentication

Core Rules

Output Formats

Workflows

Liveboard (Departures/Arrivals)

Connections (Route Planning)

Stations

Vehicle (Train Info)

Composition (Train Cars)

Disturbances

Scripting Examples

Environment Variables

Language Options

Command Reference

Common Patterns

Check if train is delayed

Get connection with transfers

Find direct trains only

Guidelines

Installation

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The IRail API FAQ

How do I install the The IRail API skill?

What does the The IRail API skill do?

Is the The IRail API skill free?

Does The IRail API work with Claude Code and OpenClaw?

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