Install Skillset

Installs Skillset through the native global, Homebrew, GitHub asset, Bun, CI, local dependency, or contributor route with exact runtime requirements.

For everyday use, install the global skillset command once, then invoke it directly in any repository:

npm install --global skillset
skillset init

The npm package installs a small Node launcher plus the native package for the current platform. It does not download code from an install script and does not require Bun.

Choose a distribution

@skillset/cli is the complete Skillset command surface in the slimmer Bun distribution. It is not a reduced CI product. The native and Bun distributions use the same command contract.

npm global native

npm install --global skillset
skillset --version

The installed skillset entry requires Node 18 or newer to select and launch the platform package. The selected compiler executable is native and does not require Bun. Supported packages cover macOS arm64/x64, Linux arm64/x64 glibc, and Windows x64; an unsupported platform fails with an actionable diagnostic instead of downloading a fallback.

Homebrew native

brew install outfitter-dev/tap/skillset
skillset --version

The formula selects the immutable macOS arm64 or x64 release archive and verifies its checksum. The resulting command requires neither Bun nor Node at runtime. Homebrew installation remains separate from Skillset’s repository-output and provider-activation authority.

Direct GitHub native asset

Download the archive for your platform from the Skillset releases page:

• skillset-v<version>-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
• skillset-v<version>-darwin-x64.tar.gz
• skillset-v<version>-linux-arm64-glibc.tar.gz
• skillset-v<version>-linux-x64-glibc.tar.gz
• skillset-v<version>-windows-x64.zip

Replace <version> with the release version. Verify the archive against skillset-v<version>-SHA256SUMS and confirm its GitHub attestation with gh attestation verify <archive> --repo outfitter-dev/skillset. The release’s skillset-v<version>-manifest.json records the complete five-target inventory. Extract the one skillset executable (skillset.exe on Windows) and place it on PATH. Direct native execution requires neither Bun nor Node.

Bun global or one-shot

Install the complete Bun distribution globally:

bun add --global @skillset/cli
skillset --version

Or run it without a persistent install:

bunx @skillset/cli --version
bunx @skillset/cli init

Both routes require Bun 1.4.0 or newer at command runtime.

Repository development dependency

Pin the complete Bun distribution in a repository when that repository should own the CLI version:

bun add --dev @skillset/cli
bunx @skillset/cli init

Use the global native command for the shortest interactive path. Use a development dependency when lockfile-level reproducibility matters more than a system-wide command.

Continuous integration

The smaller CI download is the Bun distribution:

bunx @skillset/cli check --ci

If the runner already uses Node and native startup is preferred, install the native npm route instead:

npm install --global skillset
skillset check --ci

Pin the chosen package version in production CI. See Continuous Integration for the generated workflow and repair boundary.

Develop Skillset itself

From a contributor checkout, use the repository bootstrap. It installs the pinned Bun version when needed, installs dependencies, and runs repository setup:

./scripts/bootstrap.sh repo
bun run check

Contributor bootstrap and repository development require Bun; installing or running a released native compiler does not.

Installation is not activation

Installing the compiler only makes the skillset command available. skillset build --yes writes reviewed provider-native files inside the repository; it still does not enable them in a provider or change user-level configuration.

Skillset renders files. It does not install, trust, activate, symlink, or mutate user-level provider configuration. See Build Versus Activation.