Getting Started with ListerAI
This guide walks you through everything from installing the app to publishing your first eBay listing. The whole setup takes about 10-15 minutes, mostly waiting for eBay to approve your developer credentials.
Before you start: You'll need an eBay seller account and an AI API key. eBay developer credentials are free. AI providers have free tiers that cover hundreds of listings.
Installation
ListerAI ships as an AppImage for Linux, an installer for Windows, and a DMG for macOS. Download the one for your platform from the download page.
Linux (AppImage)
Download the AppImage, make it executable, and run it. No package manager needed.
./ListerAI-*.AppImage
If you get a sandbox error
Some Linux systems block Electron's sandbox by default. If you see an error about credentials.cc: Permission denied, run this first:
Or run the AppImage with --no-sandbox flag.
Windows
Run the installer and follow the setup wizard. ListerAI will be added to your Start menu.
macOS
Open the DMG and drag ListerAI to Applications. Right-click > Open on first launch to bypass Gatekeeper (not notarized yet).
Create eBay Developer Credentials
eBay's developer program is free. You need it to use the API that ListerAI connects to. Here's exactly how to get it done.
This takes about 5-10 minutes. eBay's developer portal is clunky but it works.
Register as an eBay developer
Go to developer.ebay.com and sign in with your eBay account. Register for a developer account — it's free and instant.
Create an application
In the developer dashboard, go to "My Account" → "Application Keys". Create a new application. Name it anything — "ListerAI" works fine.
You'll get an App ID, Dev ID, and Cert ID. Copy all three — you'll need them.
Get an OAuth token
In ListerAI Settings, paste your App ID, Dev ID, and Cert ID, then click "Authorize with eBay". This opens an eBay login page. Log in with your seller account and approve the permissions. ListerAI saves the token automatically.
You need to authorize for the Production environment, not Sandbox. Sandbox listings don't show up on real eBay.
Configure AI API Key
ListerAI supports 4 AI providers. Choose one and get an API key. All have free tiers that cover hundreds of listings.
Choose your provider
Z.AI GLM (default, best value), Gemini 3 Flash (Google, strong OCR), GPT-4o-mini (OpenAI, fast), or Grok 4.1 Fast (xAI, affordable).
Get your API key
Sign up for the provider of your choice and create an API key in their dashboard. Free tiers are generous.
Add it to ListerAI
Open Settings in ListerAI, find the "AI Configuration" section, select your provider, paste your API key, and save.
Cost: Each 5-pass AI analysis costs fractions of a cent. A typical listing with 4-6 photos costs under $0.01 total. You'd need to create thousands of listings to spend $1 in AI fees.
Create Your First Listing
You're set up. Here's how to create a listing.
→ Click "New Listing"
From the dashboard or the listings page, click the "New Listing" button.
→ Drop your photos
Drag photos into the drop zone, or click to browse. Add as many angles as you have. More photos = better AI analysis. JPEG and PNG both work.
→ Click "Analyze with AI"
AI runs five passes on your photos. Give it 10-20 seconds. When it's done, you'll see the item identified, condition graded, and the listing fields filled in.
→ Review and set your price
Check the generated title, description, and item specifics. Tweak anything that needs adjusting. The AI is usually accurate but not perfect — a 10-second review is worth it. Set your price using the AI suggestions or your own judgment.
→ Hit Publish
ListerAI uploads your photos to eBay and publishes the listing. You'll see it go active in the listings grid. That's it.
Managing Listings
The listings grid shows all your listings with status badges. Filter by Active, Sold, Ended, or Draft. Click any listing to edit it. Ended listings can be relisted with one click — the AI data is already there, just update the price and publish again.
ListerAI stores everything locally in SQLite at ~/.config/listerai/ (Linux/macOS) or %APPDATA%\listerai\ (Windows). Your listing history doesn't disappear when a listing ends on eBay.
Orders
Orders sync from eBay automatically. The orders table shows buyer info, sale price, and shipping status. When you ship something, add the tracking number in ListerAI and it sends it to eBay — the buyer gets the tracking notification automatically.
Orders refresh on a schedule. You can also pull them manually with the refresh button.
Messages
The message inbox has two panes: your conversations on the left, the full thread on the right. Click a conversation to read it, type your reply at the bottom, and send. Replies go to eBay's message system immediately.
Messages sync from eBay when you open the inbox. Unread messages are marked.
Need help?
Open an issue on GitHub. ListerAI is an open source project — community support is how it works.
Open an Issue on GitHub