YC CLI — YC Startup School, a16z Speedrun, SPC & Startup Discovery

CLI tool for managing your YC Startup School journey, submitting a16z Speedrun and SPC applications, and discovering 24+ accelerators, fellowships, and incubators — all from the terminal.

Prerequisites

• - Node.js 22+
• For YC commands: Logged into startupschool.org in Chrome, macOS
• For Speedrun commands: No auth required (public API)
• For SPC commands: Chrome browser (for form auto-fill via Chrome automation)

Quick Reference

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YC Startup School Commands

yc whoami

Test your connection and display user info (name, track, slug).

yc dashboard

Show your Startup School dashboard:

• - Current streak (consecutive weeks of updates)
• Curriculum progress (completed/required)
• Next curriculum item
• Recent weekly update status (submitted/missing)

yc updates

List all your weekly updates with metric values, morale scores, and highlights.

yc show <id>

Display a single update in full detail including goals and their completion status.

yc new

Submit a new weekly update. Runs in interactive mode by default (prompts for each field).

Interactive mode:
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Flag mode (for automation):
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a16z Speedrun Commands

yc speedrun template

Generate a JSON template for a Speedrun application. Save it, fill in your details, then submit with --from-json.

yc speedrun apply

Submit a Speedrun application. Two modes:

Interactive mode (prompts for all fields):
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From JSON file (for automation / repeat submissions):
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yc speedrun upload-deck <file>

Upload a pitch deck PDF and get the GCS URL to include in your application.

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Speedrun Categories

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Global Options

YC Startup School commands support:

• - --cookie-source <browser> — Browser to read cookies from (chrome, safari, firefox). Default: chrome
• INLINECODE10 — Specific Chrome profile directory name
• INLINECODE11 — Output raw JSON (for scripting)

South Park Commons Commands

SPC uses Airtable Interface forms. The CLI fills and submits via Playwright (headless Chromium).

yc spc info

Show available SPC programs and their Airtable form URLs.

yc spc template

Generate a JSON template for an SPC application.

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yc spc apply

Fill and submit an SPC application via Playwright (headless browser).

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yc spc open

Open the SPC application form in your default browser.

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SPC Programs

Program	Funding	Duration
Founder Fellowship	$400K for 7% + $600K follow-on	Cohort-based (Spring/Fall)
Community Membership

No funding | Up to 6 months |

Discover Commands

Browse 24+ curated accelerators, fellowships, and incubators with deadlines, terms, and application links.

yc discover

Overview of programs with open/upcoming deadlines plus rolling programs. Default command.

yc discover list

Browse all programs in a table format. Filter with options:

• - --type <type> — Filter: accelerator, fellowship, incubator, INLINECODE22
• INLINECODE23 — Filter: pre-idea, pre-seed, INLINECODE26
• INLINECODE27 — Filter by focus area: ai, deep-tech, fintech, etc.
• INLINECODE31 — Filter: 1 (elite), 2 (major), 3 (notable)
• INLINECODE35 — Output as JSON

yc discover deadlines

All upcoming deadlines sorted by closing date.

yc discover show <slug>

Full details for a specific program — investment terms, equity, deadlines, focus areas, application URL.

yc discover search <query>

Search programs by name, focus area, or description.

yc discover open <slug>

Open a program's application page in the default browser.

Workflows

Weekly Update Routine

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Speedrun Application via Claude Code

When the user asks to apply to a16z Speedrun, generate a JSON template, fill it with their info, and submit: CODEBLOCK11

SPC Application via Claude Code

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Program Discovery

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Authentication

• - YC Startup School: Extracts session cookies from Chrome — log in at startupschool.org first.
• a16z Speedrun: No authentication needed. The API is public.
• South Park Commons: No auth needed. Uses Playwright (headless Chromium) to fill Airtable forms.