AgentKit CLI

AgentKit bootstraps repositories for AI-assisted development. It installs agent instructions, workflow guides, quality checklists, and tool adapters for Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and similar coding agents.

AgentKit is not an AI agent. It is a small scaffolding CLI that copies bundled templates or installs a bundled Agent Skill into your project.

Package: thomas-agentkit · Command: agentkit · Requires: Node.js 18+

Quick start

Install the standard template set into the current directory:

npx thomas-agentkit init --yes

That creates AGENTS.md and a few companion files. Existing files are skipped unless you pass --force.

Preview without writing files:

npx thomas-agentkit init --yes --dry-run

Install as a dev dependency and use the local binary:

npm install -D thomas-agentkit
npx agentkit init --yes

Choose a setup path

AgentKit has two first-time setup paths. Pick one — they work differently and are not interchangeable.

| | Template path | Skill path | | --- | --- | --- | | Run in terminal | agentkit init | agentkit skill install | | Best for | Offline setup; you want files immediately | Agent-guided setup tailored to your repo | | What you get | Bundled .md templates copied into the project | Bundled skill in .agents/skills/agentkit/; no guidance files yet | | Ongoing maintenance | agentkit update (managed-block merge) | Agent commands: /agentkit update, /agentkit doctor, etc. | | Recorded in config | installMode: "template" | installMode: "skill" |

Interactive agentkit init asks which path to take, then runs it in the same session.

Template path

Copy bundled guidance files into your project.

npx thomas-agentkit init
npx thomas-agentkit init ./my-project
npx thomas-agentkit init --yes
npx thomas-agentkit init --preset next
npx thomas-agentkit init --force

Sync managed sections after upgrading AgentKit:

npx thomas-agentkit update
npx thomas-agentkit update --dry-run

Skill path

Install the bundled AgentKit skill. This does not create AGENTS.md or other guidance files.

npx thomas-agentkit skill install
npx thomas-agentkit skill install --dry-run
npx thomas-agentkit skill install --force

Then, in your agent session, run /agentkit init to create guidance from your repository context.

| Agent command | What it does | | --- | --- | | /agentkit init | Create missing guidance files from repo context | | /agentkit update | Sync guidance after code changes | | /agentkit doctor | Audit guidance quality (read-only by default) | | /agentkit repair | Fix malformed managed blocks or thick adapters | | /agentkit learn | Teach recent changes and check understanding | | /agentkit design | Create or refresh DESIGN.md from a bundled baseline |

On skill-path repos, CLI agentkit update does not modify guidance files. Use /agentkit update in your agent instead.

Important naming distinction

agentkit init means different things in the terminal vs in an agent:

| Command | Where | Action | | --- | --- | --- | | agentkit init | Terminal | Install templates | | agentkit skill install | Terminal | Install the bundled skill | | /agentkit init | Agent | Create guidance files (skill path only) |

Do not use CLI agentkit init for skill installation.

What gets installed

Template sets

| Set | Files | | --- | --- | | minimal | AGENTS.md | | standard | AGENTS.md, CHANGE-EXPLANATION.md, CODE-QUALITY.md, DESIGN.md, .github/pull_request_template.md | | full | All bundled templates, including AI tool adapters and planning/testing/security guides |

Default with --yes is standard. The full set also includes:

• CLAUDE.md, WORKFLOWS.md, TESTING.md, SECURITY-CHECKLIST.md
• IMPLEMENTATION-BRIEF-TEMPLATE.md, PRD-TEMPLATE.md
• .cursor/rules/agentkit.md, .github/copilot-instructions.md

AI tool adapters

Thin compatibility files that point back to AGENTS.md as the source of truth:

| Tool | File | | --- | --- | | Codex | AGENTS.md | | Cursor | .cursor/rules/agentkit.md | | Claude | CLAUDE.md | | Copilot | .github/copilot-instructions.md |

Select tools during interactive init, or install all adapters with the full template set.

Stack presets

Presets add stack-specific STACK.md guidance and a note in AGENTS.md. They do not scaffold framework app files.

• next — Next.js
• sveltekit — SvelteKit
• express — Express
• convex — Convex
• fullstack — Next.js + Convex

npx thomas-agentkit init --preset next
npx thomas-agentkit --list-presets

Design baselines

Choose a bundled baseline for DESIGN.md:

linear · apple · cursor · framer · notion · warp

npx thomas-agentkit init --design-system linear
npx thomas-agentkit --list-design-systems

How updates work

New installs wrap generated content in managed block markers:

<!-- agentkit:start agents -->
Generated content
<!-- agentkit:end agents -->

agentkit update:

• Creates missing managed files
• Replaces only content inside matching managed blocks
• Preserves user edits outside those blocks
• Skips legacy files without managed blocks (reports them as unmanaged)
• Skips files with malformed block markers

Personalization from interactive init applies only when files are created or overwritten during init. update does not reapply personalized values.

Configuration

agentkit.config.json in the target directory stores install defaults. AgentKit reads it from the target first; if the target has no config, it falls back to the current working directory. CLI flags override config values.

npx thomas-agentkit init --write-config

Use --force to overwrite an existing config intentionally.

Example:

{
  "installMode": "template",
  "agentkitVersion": "0.9.0",
  "preset": "next",
  "templateSet": "standard",
  "designSystem": "linear",
  "aiTools": ["codex", "cursor", "claude"],
  "personalization": {
    "projectName": "Acme CRM",
    "projectDescription": "a customer operations dashboard",
    "issueTracker": "Linear",
    "designSystemPath": "docs/design-system.md",
    "briefsPath": "docs/briefs",
    "testCommand": "pnpm test",
    "lintCommand": "pnpm lint",
    "buildCommand": "pnpm build",
    "stackSummary": "Next.js, TypeScript, PostgreSQL"
  }
}

Configs without installMode are treated as template-path installs. Invalid keys or values exit with an error.

CLI reference

agentkit init [target] [options]
agentkit skill install [target] [options]
agentkit update [target] [options]
agentkit --list
agentkit --list-presets
agentkit --list-design-systems
agentkit --help
agentkit --version

| Flag | Description | | --- | --- | | --force | Overwrite existing files | | --dry-run | Show planned changes without writing | | -y, --yes | Accept defaults (no prompts) | | -i, --interactive | Explicitly run the interactive flow | | --write-config | Write resolved defaults to agentkit.config.json | | --preset <name> | Stack preset (next, sveltekit, express, convex, fullstack) | | --design-system <name> | Design baseline for DESIGN.md | | --list | List bundled template files | | --list-presets | List available presets | | --list-design-systems | List design baselines |

For agentkit update, --preset refreshes preset-specific managed content (including STACK.md). --design-system refreshes the managed DESIGN.md body.

Philosophy

Installed guidance is AGENTS-first: AGENTS.md is enough for daily coding. Companion files load on explicit triggers — UI work, review, security, stack changes, planning — not on every task.

AgentKit should stay simple, practical, easy to inspect, safe by default, and useful immediately.

Local development

npm install
npm run dev -- init ./tmp-demo --yes --dry-run
npm run build
npm test

Source: src/cli.ts · Built CLI: dist/cli.js · Bundled templates: templates/

Release

Before publishing:

1. Bump the version in package.json.
2. Run npm test.
3. Run npm run prepack.
4. Inspect contents with npm pack --dry-run.
5. Publish with npm publish.

Published package contents: dist/, templates/, README.md.