CLI Tools Skill

A Claude Code skill for automatic CLI tool management. Detects missing tools, installs them via optimal package managers, and audits project environments.

🔌 Compatibility

This is an Agent Skill following the open standard originally developed by Anthropic and released for cross-platform use.

Supported Platforms:

✅ Claude Code (Anthropic)
✅ Cursor
✅ GitHub Copilot
✅ Other skills-compatible AI agents

Skills are portable packages of procedural knowledge that work across any AI agent supporting the Agent Skills specification.

Features

Reactive Mode: Auto-detect "command not found" errors and install missing tools
Proactive Mode: Audit project environments and report missing/outdated tools
Maintenance Mode: Batch update all managed tools across package managers

Supported Tools

77+ tools across categories:

Category	Tools
Core CLI	ripgrep, fd, fzf, jq, yq, bat, delta, just
Languages	python, node, rust, go, ruby, php
Package Managers	uv, npm, pnpm, cargo, pip, gem, composer
DevOps	docker, compose, kubectl, terraform, ansible
Linters	eslint, prettier, ruff, black, shellcheck, phpstan
Security	trivy, gitleaks, bandit, semgrep
Git Tools	gh, glab, git-lfs, delta

Project Type Detection

Automatically detects project types and their requirements:

Project Type	Detection Files	Required Tools
Python	`pyproject.toml`, `requirements.txt`	python, uv
Node.js	`package.json`	node, npm
Rust	`Cargo.toml`	rust
Go	`go.mod`	go
PHP	`composer.json`, `*.php`	php, composer
Ruby	`Gemfile`	ruby
Docker	`Dockerfile`, `docker-compose.yml`	docker, compose
Terraform	`*.tf`	terraform

Installation

Marketplace (Recommended)

Add the Netresearch marketplace once, then browse and install skills:

# Claude Code
/plugin marketplace add netresearch/claude-code-marketplace
/plugin install cli-tools@netresearch-claude-code-marketplace

Without a marketplace

Since Claude Code 2.1.157 a plugin directory under your personal skills directory loads on its own, including the hooks this repo ships:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
git clone https://github.com/netresearch/cli-tools-skill.git \
  ~/.claude/skills/cli-tools

It loads as cli-tools@skills-dir on the next session. Update with git -C ~/.claude/skills/cli-tools pull and start a new session; remove it by deleting the directory. This route has no claude plugin update.

npx (skills.sh)

Install with any Agent Skills-compatible agent:

npx skills add https://github.com/netresearch/cli-tools-skill --skill cli-tools

Limitation: npx skills installs SKILL.md-based skills only. This repo also ships hooks, which it does not install — use the marketplace or the skills directory for those.

Download Release

Download the latest release and extract to your agent's skills directory.

Git Clone

git clone https://github.com/netresearch/cli-tools-skill.git

Composer (PHP Projects)

composer require netresearch/cli-tools-skill

Requires netresearch/composer-agent-skill-plugin.

npm (Node Projects)

npm install --save-dev \
  @netresearch/agent-skill-coordinator \
  github:netresearch/cli-tools-skill

Requires @netresearch/agent-skill-coordinator, which discovers the skill in node_modules and registers it in AGENTS.md via a postinstall hook. For pnpm, also allowlist the coordinator's postinstall:

{
  "pnpm": {
    "onlyBuiltDependencies": ["@netresearch/agent-skill-coordinator"]
  }
}

Triggers

The skill activates automatically on:

Error Patterns

bash: <tool>: command not found
zsh: command not found: <tool>
'<tool>' is not recognized as an internal or external command

User Requests

"check environment", "audit tools"
"what's missing", "what's outdated"
"install development tools"
"update all tools"

Installation Methods

The skill selects the optimal installation method based on catalog priority:

GitHub Release Binary - Direct download (fastest, no deps)
Cargo - Rust tools via cargo install
UV/Pip - Python tools
NPM - Node tools
Apt/Brew - System packages (fallback)

Priority: user-level (~/.local/bin, ~/.cargo/bin) over system-level.

Directory Structure

cli-tools/
├── SKILL.md              # Skill definition and workflows
├── catalog/              # Tool definitions (77+ JSON files)
│   ├── ripgrep.json
│   ├── php.json
│   └── ...
├── scripts/
│   ├── install_tool.sh   # Main installer
│   ├── auto_update.sh    # Batch updater
│   ├── check_environment.sh
│   ├── detect_project_type.sh
│   ├── lib/              # Shared libraries
│   └── installers/       # Method-specific installers
└── references/
    ├── binary_to_tool_map.md
    └── project_type_requirements.md

Requirements

jq: Required for JSON parsing (auto-installed if missing)
Bash 4+: Required for associative arrays
Internet: Required for tool downloads

License

This project uses split licensing:

Code (scripts, workflows, configs): MIT
Content (skill definitions, documentation, references): CC-BY-SA-4.0

See the individual license files for full terms.

Contributing

Add tool definition to catalog/<tool>.json
Update references/binary_to_tool_map.md if binary differs from tool name
Test with scripts/install_tool.sh <tool> install
Submit PR

Credits

Developed and maintained by Netresearch DTT GmbH.

Made with ❤️ for Open Source by Netresearch