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@ctxr/kit

npm License: MIT Agent Skills

Universal CLI for Agent Skills artifacts: install, validate, update, and scaffold skills, agents, commands, rules, output-styles, and bundles for Claude Code, OpenAI Codex CLI, and any other harness that follows the open Agent Skills standard. The canonical install location is .agents/<type>/<name>/ (project) and ~/.agents/<type>/<name>/ (user); kit auto-creates discovery-mirror symlinks at .claude/<type>/<name> and ~/.codex/<type>/<name> so harnesses that don't read .agents/ natively still find the artefact. The package.json files field is the single source of truth for what each package ships, and the manifest filename .ctxr-manifest.json is written per install root. Run the CLI via npx @ctxr/kit@latest; no global install required.

Quick start

npx @ctxr/kit@latest install @ctxr/skill-code-review     # add the code-review skill
npx @ctxr/kit@latest list                                # see what's installed

That's the whole loop. Run npx @ctxr/kit@latest --help for the full command set.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js ≥ 18.0.0 (uses ESM, node:test, and the modern node:fs API)
  • A project directory where you want artifacts installed. Project-scope installs land canonically under .agents/<type>/; user-scope installs (--user) land canonically under ~/.agents/<type>/. Discovery-mirror symlinks at .claude/<type>/ (and ~/.codex/<type>/ at user scope) are created automatically so Claude Code and Codex CLI both find every installed artefact without extra configuration.

Install

Kit is run exclusively via npx — no global install required.

npx @ctxr/kit@latest <command>

Every example below uses the npx @ctxr/kit@latest form. If you prefer a short alias, add one to your shell (alias kit='npx @ctxr/kit@latest') — kit itself never asks you to install it globally.

Interactive mode (default)

kit is interactive by default. In a terminal, every command that has a choice to make prompts you with an arrow-key menu or a short question:

  • install shows a destination menu with the canonical candidate locations (.agents/<type>/, ~/.agents/<type>/, or a custom path you type) and pre-highlights the one kit would auto-pick.
  • For any artifact you're installing that's already installed at a different location than you just picked, install asks per-item whether to keep it there (update in place) or move it to the chosen destination.
  • update pre-flights the list — if any identifier you named isn't installed yet, it prints the missing list and exits so you don't silently update "everything except those".
  • remove that finds an artifact in multiple locations asks which one to remove. Missing identifiers are soft-skipped with a one-line note.
  • init runs a 9-question wizard (type, name, author, description, license, target, overwrite confirmation, git init, npm install) with smart defaults drawn from git config and the current directory name.

Non-interactive / scripted use

Non-interactive mode kicks in automatically in three cases, no flag required:

  1. CI=true environment variable is set (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, CircleCI, Travis, Buildkite, and most other CI runners set this).
  2. stdin is not a TTY (e.g. kit install X < /dev/null, or kit running under spawn() with piped stdio).
  3. Explicit --yes / -y flag on the command line.

In non-interactive mode every prompt resolves to its declared default, and install never destructively moves an existing install — it updates in place at whatever location the artifact is currently at. This keeps automation stable: pipelines that run npx @ctxr/kit@latest install X will always land the artifact in a predictable place.

# All equivalent — all three trigger silent, no-prompt behavior:
npx @ctxr/kit@latest install @ctxr/skill-code-review --yes
CI=true npx @ctxr/kit@latest install @ctxr/skill-code-review
npx @ctxr/kit@latest install @ctxr/skill-code-review < /dev/null

Forcing interactive mode in CI

If you need prompts even under CI=true (rare, but useful in dev containers), pass -i / --interactive. That flag overrides all three auto-detection triggers.

Artifact types

kit understands every artifact type the Agent Skills standard recognises, plus a bundle meta-type that groups several of them into a single installable package.

Type Canonical install path ctxr.target Typical payload
skill .agents/skills/<name>/ folder SKILL.md + assets
agent .agents/agents/<name>.md file or folder Single .md (or wrapper)
command .agents/commands/<name>.md file Single .md
rule .agents/rules/<name>.md file Single .md
output-style .agents/output-styles/<name>.md file Single .md
bundle (cascades to ctxr.includes) n/a No payload

BREAKING (@ctxr/kit 2.0.0): the team meta-type was renamed to bundle. Both ctxr.type: "team" and ctxr.target: "team" are rejected at install and validate time with a pointing error. No alias, no shim: no consumer was on team at cutover. Update your package.json: replace "type": "team" with "type": "bundle" AND remove any "target" field on bundle meta-packages (bundles do not use ctxr.target; for ordinary artifacts it must be "folder" or "file").

Each canonical install also gets a discovery-mirror symlink at .claude/<type>/<name> (project) and ~/.codex/<type>/<name> (user scope) so Claude Code and Codex CLI both auto-discover the artefact; see Install locations below.

Per-package schema

Every artifact package declares a ctxr block in its package.json. Only type and target (or includes for bundles) are required: kit reads nothing else. The npm-native files field is the single source of truth for what ships in the package.

{
  "name": "@ctxr/skill-code-review",
  "version": "1.0.5",
  "files": [
    "SKILL.md",
    "code-reviewer.md",
    "reviewers",
    "overlays",
    "README.md",
    "LICENSE"
  ],
  "ctxr": {
    "type": "skill",
    "target": "folder"
  }
}
{
  "name": "@ctxr/bundle-full-stack",
  "files": ["README.md"],
  "ctxr": {
    "type": "bundle",
    "includes": [
      "@ctxr/skill-code-review",
      "@ctxr/agent-researcher",
      "@ctxr/rule-typescript-strict"
    ]
  }
}
  • ctxr.type: one of skill | agent | command | rule | output-style | bundle. Picks the destination directory.
  • ctxr.target: "folder" (wrap full payload in a folder) or "file" (copy the single payload file flat). Required for every non-bundle type.
  • ctxr.includes: required only for bundles. Array of package specs to install when this bundle is installed.

kit never introduces a second copy list. There is no ctxr.copy, no ctxr.entry, no prefix-inferred type. If npm pack would ship it, kit installs it; if not, it doesn't.

Commands

npx @ctxr/kit@latest install <source> [<source>...] [options]

Install one or more artifacts in a single command. Sources can be mixed — npm packages, GitHub shorthand, and local paths all work side by side.

# single artifact
npx @ctxr/kit@latest install @ctxr/skill-code-review

# mixed batch — different types, different sources
npx @ctxr/kit@latest install \
  @ctxr/skill-code-review \
  @ctxr/agent-researcher \
  @ctxr/rule-typescript-strict \
  github:ctxr-dev/output-style-teaching

# install any published artifact (a bundle meta-package would cascade to its members)
npx @ctxr/kit@latest install @ctxr/agent-staff-engineer

# user-global instead of project-local
npx @ctxr/kit@latest install @ctxr/skill-code-review --user

# explicit destination
npx @ctxr/kit@latest install @ctxr/skill-code-review --dir .agents/skills

# local path (must start with ./, /, or ~/)
npx @ctxr/kit@latest install ./path/to/local-skill

Batch behavior: if one package in the batch fails (broken ctxr block, target: "file" payload that resolves to ≠1 file, network error on a single fetch), that package is reported and skipped — the rest of the batch proceeds and kit exits non-zero only if anything failed. No all-or-nothing abort.

Install locations

Location Role
.agents/<type>/ Project-scope canonical (real files live here)
.claude/<type>/ Project-scope discovery mirror (symlink, auto)
~/.agents/<type>/ User-global canonical (real files live here)
~/.claude/<type>/ User-global discovery mirror for Claude Code (symlink)
~/.codex/<type>/ User-global discovery mirror for Codex CLI (symlink)
Custom path Via --dir <path> (mirrors are skipped)

For project-scope installs kit also upserts a row in AGENTS.md at the project root, with stable <!-- ctxr:skills:start --> / <!-- ctxr:skills:end --> markers. Anything you author outside the markers is preserved verbatim across re-installs and removes.

To disable kit's AGENTS.md emitter entirely (no creates, no upserts, no removes) set CTXR_NO_AGENTS_MD=1 in the environment. Useful when AGENTS.md is hand-authored, kept in .gitignore, or otherwise managed outside kit.

Migration of legacy .claude/<type>/<name>/ installs

When kit install runs and detects a real (non-symlink) directory at the legacy .claude/<type>/<name>/ path with a recorded manifest row, it moves the directory to .agents/<type>/<name>/, replaces the original with a symlink, and migrates the manifest row. The same applies to user-scope installs at ~/.claude/<type>/. Migration is idempotent and skipped when --dir is set (a deliberate custom layout is left alone). kit update does NOT auto-migrate; it preserves whatever layout you originally chose so a routine update never surprises you with a relocation.

Auto-detect: kit always installs canonically to .agents/<type>/ and creates the discovery mirrors automatically. If a legacy real .claude/<type>/<name>/ install is found, the migration step above moves it to the canonical path before installing.

npx @ctxr/kit@latest update [name]

Re-install one or all artifacts in place using the source recorded in the manifest. Searches every project- and user-scope manifest, so you don't need to remember where each artifact lives.

npx @ctxr/kit@latest update                          # update everything
npx @ctxr/kit@latest update ctxr-skill-code-review   # update one

Team updates cascade to every member.

npx @ctxr/kit@latest remove <name> [--keep-members]

Remove an installed artifact (or bundle). For bundles, every member listed in the manifest is removed too unless --keep-members is passed.

npx @ctxr/kit@latest remove ctxr-skill-code-review
npx @ctxr/kit@latest remove ctxr-bundle-full-stack --keep-members

npx @ctxr/kit@latest list [path]

List installed artifacts from every discovered location, grouped by type.

npx @ctxr/kit@latest list
npx @ctxr/kit@latest list ./other-project

npx @ctxr/kit@latest info <source>

Show details about an installed or remote artifact: type, target layout, source, version, file count, install paths.

npx @ctxr/kit@latest info @ctxr/skill-code-review
npx @ctxr/kit@latest info ctxr-agent-researcher

npx @ctxr/kit@latest validate [path]

Validate an artifact package's structure ahead of publishing. Dispatches to a per-type validator: skill validation (frontmatter, broken-link checker, file budget) is the heaviest; the rest are thin frontmatter sanity checks plus the universal target: "file" ⇒ exactly-one-.md-file rule that the installer enforces.

npx @ctxr/kit@latest validate                  # validate package in current dir
npx @ctxr/kit@latest validate ./my-skill       # validate at a path

npx @ctxr/kit@latest init [--type <type>] [name]

Scaffold a new artifact package from a template. Defaults to --type skill because that's the most common authoring case.

npx @ctxr/kit@latest init my-skill                       # default --type skill
npx @ctxr/kit@latest init --type agent my-agent          # scaffold an agent
npx @ctxr/kit@latest init -t command deploy              # short-form flag
npx @ctxr/kit@latest init --type bundle bundle-full-stack  # scaffold a bundle meta-package

Each template ships a package.json with the right ctxr block already filled in, plus README.md, LICENSE, and .gitignore (the skill template additionally ships .markdownlint.jsonc and a starter SKILL.md; file-target templates ship a pre-named ctxr-{{name}}.md). The scaffolded result passes npx @ctxr/kit@latest validate immediately — edit the contents, then publish.

Global options

Flag Effect
--dir <path> Operate against a specific directory
--user Use ~/.claude/<type>/ (user-global) instead of project
-i, --interactive Prompt for choices where applicable
--help, -h Show help (top-level or per-command)
--version, -v Print the installed version of @ctxr/kit

Run npx @ctxr/kit@latest <command> --help for command-specific options.

Releasing

Releases are PR-gated. Version bumps land on main through a review gate like any other change; only the tag push is automated.

One-time setup

Enable these on the repo before your first release:

  • Repository secret NPM_TOKEN set to an npm access token with publish rights on the @ctxr scope (npm token create, then Settings → Secrets → Actions → add NPM_TOKEN).
  • Settings → Actions → General → Workflow permissions: enable Allow GitHub Actions to create and approve pull requests so release.yml can open its version-bump PR with GITHUB_TOKEN. If the checkbox is greyed out, an organization-level Actions policy is restricting it; ask an org admin to unlock the setting first.
  • (Optional, recommended) GitHub-managed CodeQL default setup: Security → Code security → enable default setup for javascript-typescript and actions.
  • (Optional) A branch ruleset on main requiring PR review + code scanning. The release flow works without it; gates are strictly stricter when enabled.

Cutting a release

  1. Actions → Release → Run workflow.
    • Branch selector: main (the workflow refuses any other ref).
    • Version bump: patch / minor / major.
    • Click Run workflow.
  2. The workflow bumps package.json on a fresh release/v<version> branch and opens a PR to main titled release: v<version>.
  3. Review the PR (diff is just version fields). Approve + merge.
  4. On merge, tag-on-main.yml fires automatically:
    • Detects the version change.
    • Creates and pushes the annotated v<version> tag via GITHUB_TOKEN.
  5. Actions → Publish to npm → Run workflow on the v<version> tag. The workflow re-runs lint / validate / test:unit / test:integration / test:e2e, verifies the tag matches package.json, and publishes @ctxr/kit to npm.

Why a manual dispatch for step 5? GitHub's built-in GITHUB_TOKEN cannot trigger further workflows (on: push: tags won't fire when a workflow pushed the tag). So the tag auto-creation stops at the tag. Publishing is one extra click. To make it fully automatic, swap the push credential in tag-on-main.yml for a GitHub App token or fine-grained PAT stored as a repo secret (actions/create-github-app-token or a secrets.TAG_PUSH_PAT), then the push: tags trigger on publish.yml will fire and step 5 happens by itself.

From Run workflow on Release to published on npm is one dispatch + one PR merge + one dispatch (or one dispatch + one PR merge, once a PAT/App-token is wired in).

Troubleshooting

  • Release workflow fails with "dispatched from non-main ref" — you selected a feature branch in the Actions UI. Re-dispatch with main.

  • tag-on-main fails with "Tag vX.Y.Z exists but points at …" — a stale/orphan tag from a prior failed release. Delete and re-run:

    git push origin --delete vX.Y.Z

    Then merge a trivial no-op PR to main (or revert-and-re-merge the release PR) to retrigger tag-on-main. Direct pushes to main may be blocked by branch protection, so the PR path is the reliable retrigger.

  • publish.yml fails on "Verify version matches tag" — tag and package.json disagree. Investigate the merge commit; this should not happen under the PR-based flow.

  • GitHub Actions is not permitted to create pull requests — org or enterprise policy blocks the GITHUB_TOKEN from opening PRs. Enable Allow GitHub Actions to create and approve pull requests at the org level (Settings → Actions → General → Workflow permissions), or ask the enterprise admin to unlock the setting.

Development

npm install
npm test                  # unit + integration
npm run test:unit         # unit only
npm run test:integration  # integration only
npm run test:e2e          # multi-location + multi-type

License

MIT

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