Summary
firecrawl search --categories developer exits 1 with Error: Invalid category "developer". Valid categories: github, research, pdf before any request is made, but the API accepts the category and returns results tagged developer.
Version
firecrawl-cli 1.19.26 (npm), Node 24.12.0, Linux.
Where
dist/index.js line 701 in the published package:
const validCategories = ['github', 'research', 'pdf'];
Reproduction
$ firecrawl search "foundationdb queue worker shutdown" --categories developer --limit 2 --json
Error: Invalid category "developer". Valid categories: github, research, pdf
The same request against the API succeeds (2026-09-13):
POST https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/search
{"query": "foundationdb queue worker shutdown", "categories": ["developer"], "limit": 2}
-> HTTP 200, success: true, creditsUsed present, results with "category": "developer"
(forums.foundationdb.org pages, which the github category does not return)
The hosted MCP server's firecrawl_search tool already lists developer in its categories enum alongside github, research, and pdf.
Suggested fix
Add 'developer' to validCategories, or drop the client-side list and let the API validate so new categories work without a CLI release.
Summary
firecrawl search --categories developerexits 1 withError: Invalid category "developer". Valid categories: github, research, pdfbefore any request is made, but the API accepts the category and returns results taggeddeveloper.Version
firecrawl-cli1.19.26 (npm), Node 24.12.0, Linux.Where
dist/index.jsline 701 in the published package:Reproduction
The same request against the API succeeds (2026-09-13):
The hosted MCP server's
firecrawl_searchtool already listsdeveloperin itscategoriesenum alongsidegithub,research, andpdf.Suggested fix
Add
'developer'tovalidCategories, or drop the client-side list and let the API validate so new categories work without a CLI release.