Forward Nexus

Forward Nexus is the CLI for the open agent ecosystem.

Supports OpenCode, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and 41 more.

Forward Nexus installs and manages reusable AI agent customizations without forcing you to manually copy files into each agent's folder.

What It Installs

| Item | What it is | Typical destination | | --- | --- | --- | | Skills | Reusable task-specific instructions packaged as SKILL.md directories | Agent skill folders such as .claude/skills/ or .github/skills/ | | Instruction files | Repository-wide guidance such as .instructions.md files | .github/instructions/ | | Custom agents | Repository-provided agent/chatmode definitions | .github/agents/ |

If you are new to the ecosystem, start with a skill install. That gives you the quickest end-to-end confirmation that your agent is picking up installed customizations.

Install

Forward Nexus requires Node.js 18 or newer.

# Try it without a global install
npx forward-nexus --help

# Or install it once and use the command directly
npm install -g forward-nexus
forward-nexus --help

Quick Start

# 1. Preview what a source repo offers
npx forward-nexus add vercel-labs/agent-skills --list

# 2. Install one skill
npx forward-nexus add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill frontend-design

# 3. Confirm what is installed in the current project
npx forward-nexus list

To install repository instruction files or custom agents instead of skills:

npx forward-nexus add ./repo-with-customizations --instruction project-standards
npx forward-nexus add ./repo-with-customizations --custom-agent reviewer

Instruction files and custom agents are always project-scoped. They can also pull in linked skills, instructions, or custom agents declared in frontmatter. In non-interactive runs, any linked skills default to the universal project target unless you pass --agent.

When you need a non-default GitHub branch, pin it directly in the source string:

npx forward-nexus add Forward-Services-NV/forward-nexus-projects#Nexus-Tests --skill real-branch-github-testing -y

Common Workflows

| Goal | Command | More detail | | --- | --- | --- | | Browse installable items in a repo | npx forward-nexus add <source> --list | Getting started | | Install one or more skills | npx forward-nexus add <source> --skill <name> | Command reference | | Install repo instructions or custom agents | npx forward-nexus add <source> --instruction <name> | Customizations guide | | See what is installed | npx forward-nexus list | Command reference | | Update tracked items | npx forward-nexus update | Command reference | | Check project drift before changing files | npx forward-nexus sync | Sync guide | | Diagnose environment or auth issues | npx forward-nexus doctor | Troubleshooting | | Install shell completions | npx forward-nexus completion zsh | Full command reference | | Remove something you installed | npx forward-nexus remove <item> | Command reference |

Common add Options

| Option | Use it when | | --- | --- | | --skill <skills...> | You want specific skills instead of an interactive selection | | --instruction <files...> | You want standalone repository instruction files | | --custom-agent <files...> | You want standalone repository custom agent files | | -a, --agent <agents...> | Target specific agents (e.g., claude-code, codex). See Available Agents | | -g, --global | You want skills available across projects instead of only in the current repo | | -y, --yes | You are running non-interactively or already know what should happen |

--instruction and --custom-agent can install linked dependencies alongside the item you selected. See the Customizations guide when you want the exact frontmatter rules.

Automation and Planning

Forward Nexus now supports machine-readable output and plan mode across the main mutating workflows.

Use --json together with -y for add, remove, update, experimental_install, and experimental_sync when you run them from an interactive shell.

# Preview an install without writing files
npx forward-nexus add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill commit -y --dry-run

# Get JSON output for automation-friendly installs
npx forward-nexus add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill commit -y --json

# Preview tracked updates before applying them
npx forward-nexus update -p -y --dry-run

# Preview project sync pulls and pushes before mutating files or GitHub
npx forward-nexus sync --both --dry-run

Current automation-facing commands with --json and --dry-run or --plan support:

• add
• remove
• update
• sync
• experimental_install
• experimental_sync

sync --json, list --json, and doctor --json do not require -y.

Exit codes:

• 0 success
• 1 command failure
• 2 usage error

Learn More

• Docs index
• Getting started
• Full command reference
• Sync guide
• Customizations and skill authoring
• Troubleshooting

Available Agents

| Agent | --agent | Project Path | Global Path | |-------|-----------|--------------|-------------| | Amp, Kimi Code CLI, Replit, Universal | amp, kimi-cli, replit, universal | .agents/skills/ | ~/.config/agents/skills/ | | Antigravity | antigravity | .agents/skills/ | ~/.gemini/antigravity/skills/ | | Augment | augment | .augment/skills/ | ~/.augment/skills/ | | IBM Bob | bob | .bob/skills/ | ~/.bob/skills/ | | Claude Code | claude-code | .claude/skills/ | ~/.claude/skills/ | | OpenClaw | openclaw | skills/ | ~/.openclaw/skills/ | | Cline, Warp | cline, warp | .agents/skills/ | ~/.agents/skills/ | | CodeBuddy | codebuddy | .codebuddy/skills/ | ~/.codebuddy/skills/ | | Codex | codex | .agents/skills/ | ~/.codex/skills/ | | Command Code | command-code | .commandcode/skills/ | ~/.commandcode/skills/ | | Continue | continue | .continue/skills/ | ~/.continue/skills/ | | Cortex Code | cortex | .cortex/skills/ | ~/.snowflake/cortex/skills/ | | Crush | crush | .crush/skills/ | ~/.config/crush/skills/ | | Cursor | cursor | .agents/skills/ | ~/.cursor/skills/ | | Deep Agents | deepagents | .agents/skills/ | ~/.deepagents/agent/skills/ | | Droid | droid | .factory/skills/ | ~/.factory/skills/ | | Firebender | firebender | .agents/skills/ | ~/.firebender/skills/ | | Gemini CLI | gemini-cli | .agents/skills/ | ~/.gemini/skills/ | | GitHub Copilot | github-copilot | .agents/skills/ | ~/.copilot/skills/ | | Goose | goose | .goose/skills/ | ~/.config/goose/skills/ | | Junie | junie | .junie/skills/ | ~/.junie/skills/ | | iFlow CLI | iflow-cli | .iflow/skills/ | ~/.iflow/skills/ | | Kilo Code | kilo | .kilocode/skills/ | ~/.kilocode/skills/ | | Kiro CLI | kiro-cli | .kiro/skills/ | ~/.kiro/skills/ | | Kode | kode | .kode/skills/ | ~/.kode/skills/ | | MCPJam | mcpjam | .mcpjam/skills/ | ~/.mcpjam/skills/ | | Mistral Vibe | mistral-vibe | .vibe/skills/ | ~/.vibe/skills/ | | Mux | mux | .mux/skills/ | ~/.mux/skills/ | | OpenCode | opencode | .agents/skills/ | ~/.config/opencode/skills/ | | OpenHands | openhands | .openhands/skills/ | ~/.openhands/skills/ | | Pi | pi | .pi/skills/ | ~/.pi/agent/skills/ | | Qoder | qoder | .qoder/skills/ | ~/.qoder/skills/ | | Qwen Code | qwen-code | .qwen/skills/ | ~/.qwen/skills/ | | Roo Code | roo | .roo/skills/ | ~/.roo/skills/ | | Trae | trae | .trae/skills/ | ~/.trae/skills/ | | Trae CN | trae-cn | .trae/skills/ | ~/.trae-cn/skills/ | | Windsurf | windsurf | .windsurf/skills/ | ~/.codeium/windsurf/skills/ | | Zencoder | zencoder | .zencoder/skills/ | ~/.zencoder/skills/ | | Neovate | neovate | .neovate/skills/ | ~/.neovate/skills/ | | Pochi | pochi | .pochi/skills/ | ~/.pochi/skills/ | | AdaL | adal | .adal/skills/ | ~/.adal/skills/ |

[!NOTE] Kiro CLI users: After installing skills, manually add them to your custom agent's resources in .kiro/agents/<agent>.json:

{
  "resources": ["skill://.kiro/skills/**/SKILL.md"]
}

Discovery Paths Reference

• Root directory (if it contains SKILL.md)
• skills/
• skills/.curated/
• skills/.experimental/
• skills/.system/
• .agents/skills/
• .augment/skills/
• .bob/skills/
• .claude/skills/
• ./skills/
• .codebuddy/skills/
• .commandcode/skills/
• .continue/skills/
• .cortex/skills/
• .crush/skills/
• .factory/skills/
• .goose/skills/
• .junie/skills/
• .iflow/skills/
• .kilocode/skills/
• .kiro/skills/
• .kode/skills/
• .mcpjam/skills/
• .vibe/skills/
• .mux/skills/
• .openhands/skills/
• .pi/skills/
• .qoder/skills/
• .qwen/skills/
• .roo/skills/
• .trae/skills/
• .windsurf/skills/
• .zencoder/skills/
• .neovate/skills/
• .pochi/skills/
• .adal/skills/

Related Links

• Documentation index
• Agent Skills specification
• Skills directory
• Issue tracker