Remote Skills
CLI reference
Command syntax, options, defaults, and exit codes.
The installed CLI runs from your skill project's root. Options override project configuration; defaults below are the built-in values. For the publishing workflow, see Build and host.
remote-skills validate
Checks configuration, skill frontmatter, references, file safety, and size limits without creating output.
npm exec -- remote-skills validate
npm exec -- remote-skills validate --strict| Option | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
--strict | false | Treats writing-quality warnings as validation errors. Overrides strict in project configuration. |
remote-skills build
Validates the project, then writes a deployable catalog and skill artifacts. A validation failure leaves the previous completed output unchanged.
npm exec -- remote-skills build --format tar.gz --out-dir dist| Option | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
--archive | false | Packages even a single-file skill as an archive. |
--format <format> | tar.gz | Archive format: tar.gz or zip. |
--out-dir <path> | dist | Output directory, relative to the project root. |
--prior-output <path> | None | Reads a previous completed output directory to retain its release history. Path is project-relative. |
--prune SKILL@VERSION | None | Removes a retained release from the new catalog. Repeat for multiple releases. |
History is carried forward only from verified prior output. Versions and history shows the two-build workflow and pruning behavior.
remote-skills dev
Builds and serves the skills, watches source changes, and switches to each successfully completed rebuild.
npm exec -- remote-skills dev
# http://127.0.0.1:8787| Option | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
--host <host> | 127.0.0.1 | Address to listen on. Overrides dev.host. |
--port <port> | 8787 | Listening port, from 1 to 65535. Overrides dev.port. |
--unsafe-host | false | Acknowledges listening on a non-loopback address. Does not add authentication. |
Clients opt in to loopback HTTP for local development. They see rebuilt skills through ordinary catalog refreshes; there is no separate push channel.
remote-skills verify <origin>
Fetches the catalog and every advertised current or retained release, checking network policy, size limits, digests, and file structure.
npm exec -- remote-skills verify https://skills.example.com --timeout-ms 30000 --retries 2Request options
| Argument or option | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
<origin> | Required | HTTPS base URL, such as https://skills.example.com. |
--header NAME=VALUE | None | Sends an HTTP header. Repeat for different header names. |
--header-env NAME=ENV_VAR | None | Reads the header value from an environment variable. Repeat for different header names. |
--scope <name> | None | Requests a scoped catalog and checks the host's confirmation. |
--timeout-ms <integer> | 30000 | Request timeout in milliseconds, from 1 to 300000. |
--retries <integer> | 2 | Retry count, from 0 to 10. |
Header values, response bodies, and credential-bearing URLs are excluded from normal diagnostics. Authentication and authorization covers host setup and scopes.
Size limits
| Option | Default | Maximum allowed content |
|---|---|---|
--catalog-bytes <integer> | 1048576 (1 MiB) | Catalog response, including a reused cached catalog. |
--archive-bytes <integer> | 52428800 (50 MiB) | Compressed artifact download. |
--extracted-bytes <integer> | 104857600 (100 MiB) | Total extracted bytes per archive. |
--files <integer> | 1000 | Files per archive. |
--file-bytes <integer> | 10485760 (10 MiB) | Individual file, including standalone skill-md downloads. |
Size limits accept positive decimal integers up to 9007199254740991. Verification accepts both --option value and --option=value; only header options are repeatable, and header names cannot be duplicated. Invalid options return a usage error before any request.
General options and exit codes
| Invocation | Result |
|---|---|
remote-skills --help or remote-skills -h | Displays command help. |
remote-skills --version or remote-skills -V | Displays the installed CLI version. |
| Exit code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 | Success. |
1 | Validation, verification, or command failure. |
2 | Invalid arguments or configuration. |