flights 0.7.0
A Python wrapper for Google Flights API
License: MIT
Requires Python: >=3.10
Keywords: api, flight-search, flights, google-flights, travel

# 🛫 Fli - Flight Search MCP Server and Library

A powerful Python library that provides programmatic access to Google Flights data with an elegant CLI interface. Search
flights, find the best deals, and filter results with ease.

> 🚀 **What makes `fli` special?**
> Unlike other flight search libraries that rely on web scraping, Fli directly interacts with Google Flights' API
> through reverse engineering.
> This means:
>
> * **Fast**: Direct API access means faster, more reliable results
> * **Zero Scraping**: No HTML parsing, no browser automation, just pure API interaction
> * **Reliable**: Less prone to breaking from UI changes
> * **Modular**: Extensible architecture for easy customization and integration

## MCP Server

```bash
pipx install flights

# Run the MCP server on STDIO
fli-mcp

# Run the MCP server over HTTP (streamable)
fli-mcp-http  # serves at http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp/
```

![MCP Demo](https://github.com/punitarani/fli/blob/main/data/mcp-demo.gif)

### Connecting to Claude Desktop

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fli": {
      "command": "/Users/<user>/.local/bin/fli-mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

> **Note**: Replace `<user>` with your actual username.
> You can also find the path to the MCP server by running `which fli-mcp` in your terminal.

### MCP Tools Available

The MCP server provides two main tools:

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| **`search_flights`** | Search for flights on a specific date with detailed filters |
| **`search_dates`** | Find the cheapest travel dates across a flexible date range |

#### `search_flights` Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Description |
|-----------|------|-------------|
| `origin` | string | Departure airport IATA code (e.g., 'JFK') |
| `destination` | string | Arrival airport IATA code (e.g., 'LHR') |
| `departure_date` | string | Travel date in YYYY-MM-DD format |
| `return_date` | string | Return date for round trips (optional) |
| `cabin_class` | string | ECONOMY, PREMIUM_ECONOMY, BUSINESS, or FIRST |
| `max_stops` | string | ANY, NON_STOP, ONE_STOP, or TWO_PLUS_STOPS |
| `departure_window` | string | Time window in 'HH-HH' format (e.g., '6-20') |
| `airlines` | list | Filter by airline codes (e.g., ['BA', 'AA']) |
| `sort_by` | string | CHEAPEST, DURATION, DEPARTURE_TIME, or ARRIVAL_TIME |
| `passengers` | int | Number of adult passengers |

#### `search_dates` Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Description |
|-----------|------|-------------|
| `origin` | string | Departure airport IATA code (e.g., 'JFK') |
| `destination` | string | Arrival airport IATA code (e.g., 'LHR') |
| `start_date` | string | Start of date range in YYYY-MM-DD format |
| `end_date` | string | End of date range in YYYY-MM-DD format |
| `trip_duration` | int | Trip duration in days (for round-trips) |
| `is_round_trip` | bool | Whether to search for round-trip flights |
| `cabin_class` | string | ECONOMY, PREMIUM_ECONOMY, BUSINESS, or FIRST |
| `max_stops` | string | ANY, NON_STOP, ONE_STOP, or TWO_PLUS_STOPS |
| `departure_window` | string | Time window in 'HH-HH' format (e.g., '6-20') |
| `airlines` | list | Filter by airline codes (e.g., ['BA', 'AA']) |
| `sort_by_price` | bool | Sort results by price (lowest first) |
| `passengers` | int | Number of adult passengers |

## Quick Start

```bash
pip install flights
```

```bash
# Install using pipx (recommended for CLI)
pipx install flights

# Get started with CLI
fli --help
```

![CLI Demo](https://github.com/punitarani/fli/blob/main/data/cli-demo.png)

## Features

* 🔍 **Powerful Search**
  * One-way flight searches
  * Flexible departure times
  * Multi-airline support
  * Cabin class selection
  * Stop preferences
  * Custom result sorting

* 💺 **Cabin Classes**
  * Economy
  * Premium Economy
  * Business
  * First

* 🎯 **Smart Sorting**
  * Price
  * Duration
  * Departure Time
  * Arrival Time

* 🛡️ **Built-in Protection**
  * Rate limiting
  * Automatic retries
  * Comprehensive error handling
  * Input validation

## CLI Usage

### Search for Flights

```bash
# Basic flight search
fli flights JFK LHR 2025-10-25

# Advanced search with filters
fli flights JFK LHR 2025-10-25 \
    --time 6-20 \             # Departure time window (6 AM - 8 PM)
    --airlines BA KL \        # Airlines (British Airways, KLM)
    --class BUSINESS \        # Cabin class
    --stops NON_STOP \        # Non-stop flights only
    --sort DURATION           # Sort by duration
```

### Find Cheapest Dates

```bash
# Basic date search
fli dates JFK LHR

# Advanced search with date range
fli dates JFK LHR \
    --from 2025-01-01 \
    --to 2025-02-01 \
    --monday --friday      # Only Mondays and Fridays
```

### CLI Options

#### Flights Command (`fli flights`)

| Option           | Description              | Example                |
|------------------|--------------------------|------------------------|
| `--time, -t`     | Departure time window    | `6-20`                 |
| `--airlines, -a` | Airline IATA codes       | `BA KL`                |
| `--class, -c`    | Cabin class              | `ECONOMY`, `BUSINESS`  |
| `--stops, -s`    | Maximum stops            | `NON_STOP`, `ONE_STOP` |
| `--sort, -o`     | Sort results by          | `CHEAPEST`, `DURATION` |

#### Dates Command (`fli dates`)

| Option        | Description          | Example                |
|---------------|----------------------|------------------------|
| `--from`      | Start date           | `2025-01-01`           |
| `--to`        | End date             | `2025-02-01`           |
| `--class, -c` | Cabin class          | `ECONOMY`, `BUSINESS`  |
| `--stops, -s` | Maximum stops        | `NON_STOP`, `ONE_STOP` |
| `--[day]`     | Day filters          | `--monday`, `--friday` |

## MCP Server Integration

Fli includes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude to search for flights directly. This enables natural language flight search through conversation.

### Running the MCP Server

```bash
# Run the MCP server on STDIO
fli-mcp

# Or with uv (for development)
uv run fli-mcp

# Or with make (for development)
make mcp

# Run the MCP server over HTTP (streamable)
fli-mcp-http  # serves at http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp/
```

### Claude Desktop Configuration

To use the flight search capabilities in Claude Desktop, add this configuration to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:

**Location**: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` (macOS)

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flight-search": {
      "command": "fli-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}
```

After adding this configuration:

1. Restart Claude Desktop
2. You can now ask Claude to search for flights naturally:
   * "Find flights from JFK to LAX on December 25th"
   * "What are the cheapest dates to fly from NYC to London in January?"
   * "Search for business class flights from SFO to NRT with no stops"

## Python API Usage

### Basic Search Example

```python
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from fli.models import (
    Airport,
    PassengerInfo,
    SeatType,
    MaxStops,
    SortBy,
    FlightSearchFilters,
    FlightSegment
)
from fli.search import SearchFlights

# Create search filters
filters = FlightSearchFilters(
    passenger_info=PassengerInfo(adults=1),
    flight_segments=[
        FlightSegment(
            departure_airport=[[Airport.JFK, 0]],
            arrival_airport=[[Airport.LAX, 0]],
            travel_date=(datetime.now() + timedelta(days=30)).strftime("%Y-%m-%d"),
        )
    ],
    seat_type=SeatType.ECONOMY,
    stops=MaxStops.NON_STOP,
    sort_by=SortBy.CHEAPEST,
)

# Search flights
search = SearchFlights()
flights = search.search(filters)

# Process results
for flight in flights:
    print(f"💰 Price: ${flight.price}")
    print(f"⏱️ Duration: {flight.duration} minutes")
    print(f"✈️ Stops: {flight.stops}")

    for leg in flight.legs:
        print(f"\n🛫 Flight: {leg.airline.value} {leg.flight_number}")
        print(f"📍 From: {leg.departure_airport.value} at {leg.departure_datetime}")
        print(f"📍 To: {leg.arrival_airport.value} at {leg.arrival_datetime}")
```

### Running Examples

We provide 11 comprehensive examples in the `examples/` directory that demonstrate various use cases:

```bash
# Run examples with uv (recommended)
uv run python examples/basic_one_way_search.py
uv run python examples/round_trip_search.py
uv run python examples/date_range_search.py

# Or install dependencies first, then run directly
pip install pydantic curl_cffi httpx
python examples/basic_one_way_search.py
```

**Available Examples:**

* `basic_one_way_search.py` - Simple one-way flight search
* `round_trip_search.py` - Round-trip flight booking
* `date_range_search.py` - Find cheapest dates
* `complex_flight_search.py` - Advanced filtering and multi-passenger
* `time_restrictions_search.py` - Time-based filtering
* `date_search_with_preferences.py` - Weekend filtering
* `price_tracking.py` - Price monitoring over time
* `error_handling_with_retries.py` - Robust error handling
* `result_processing.py` - Data analysis with pandas
* `complex_round_trip_validation.py` - Advanced round-trip with validation
* `advanced_date_search_validation.py` - Complex date search with filtering

> 💡 **Tip**: Examples include automatic dependency checking and will show helpful installation instructions if dependencies are missing.

## Examples

For comprehensive examples demonstrating all features, see the [`examples/`](examples/) directory:

```bash
# Quick test - run a simple example
uv run python examples/basic_one_way_search.py

# Run all examples to explore different features
uv run python examples/round_trip_search.py
uv run python examples/complex_flight_search.py
uv run python examples/price_tracking.py
```

**Example Categories:**

* **Basic Usage**: One-way, round-trip, date searches
* **Advanced Filtering**: Time restrictions, airlines, seat classes
* **Data Analysis**: Price tracking, result processing with pandas
* **Error Handling**: Retry logic, robust error management
* **Complex Scenarios**: Multi-passenger, validation, business rules

Each example is self-contained and includes automatic dependency checking with helpful installation instructions.

## Development

```bash
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/punitarani/fli.git
cd fli

# Install dependencies with uv
uv sync --all-extras

# Run tests
uv run pytest

# Run linting
uv run ruff check .
uv run ruff format .

# Build documentation
uv run mkdocs serve

# Or use the Makefile for common tasks
make install-all  # Install all dependencies
make test         # Run tests
make lint         # Check code style
make format       # Format code
```

## Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

## License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.