openabcode can help you create openabcode packages. Ask it to bundle your extensions, skills, prompt templates, or themes.

OpenABCode Packages

OpenABCode packages bundle extensions, skills, prompt templates, and themes so you can share them through npm or git. A package can declare resources in package.json under the openabcode key, or use conventional directories.

Table of Contents

• Install and Manage
• Package Sources
• Creating a OpenABCode Package
• Package Structure
• Dependencies
• Package Filtering
• Enable and Disable Resources
• Scope and Deduplication

Install and Manage

Security: OpenABCode packages run with full system access. Extensions execute arbitrary code, and skills can instruct the model to perform any action including running executables. Review source code before installing third-party packages.

openabcode install npm:@foo/bar@1.0.0
openabcode install git:github.com/user/repo@v1
openabcode install https://github.com/user/repo  # raw URLs work too
openabcode install /absolute/path/to/package
openabcode install ./relative/path/to/package

openabcode remove npm:@foo/bar
openabcode list                     # show installed packages from settings
openabcode update                   # update openabcode only
openabcode update --all             # update openabcode, update packages, and reconcile pinned git refs
openabcode update --extensions      # update packages and reconcile pinned git refs only
openabcode update --self            # update openabcode only
openabcode update --self --force    # reinstall openabcode even if current
openabcode update npm:@foo/bar      # update one package
openabcode update --extension npm:@foo/bar

These commands manage openabcode packages and openabcode update can update the openabcode CLI installation. To uninstall openabcode itself, see Quickstart.

By default, install and remove write to user settings (~/.openabcode/agent/settings.json). Use -l to write to project settings (.openabcode/settings.json) instead. Project settings can be shared with your team, and openabcode installs any missing packages automatically on startup after the project is trusted.

To try a package without installing it, use --extension or -e. This installs to a temporary directory for the current run only:

openabcode -e npm:@foo/bar
openabcode -e git:github.com/user/repo

Package Sources

OpenABCode accepts three source types in settings and openabcode install.

npm:@scope/pkg@1.2.3
npm:pkg

openabcode install npm:@scope/pkg@1.2.3
openabcode install npm:pkg

git:github.com/user/repo@v1
git:git@github.com:user/repo@v1
https://github.com/user/repo@v1
ssh://git@github.com/user/repo@v1

openabcode install git:github.com/user/repo@v1
openabcode install ssh://git@github.com/user/repo@v1

/absolute/path/to/package
./relative/path/to/package

openabcode install /absolute/path/to/package
openabcode install ./relative/path/to/package

npm

npm:@scope/pkg@1.2.3
npm:pkg

• Versioned specs are pinned and skipped by package updates (openabcode update --extensions, openabcode update --all).
• User installs go under ~/.openabcode/agent/npm/.
• Project installs go under .openabcode/npm/.
• Set npmCommand in settings.json to pin npm package lookup and install operations to a specific wrapper command such as mise or asdf.

Example:

{
  "npmCommand": ["mise", "exec", "node@20", "--", "npm"]
}

git

git:github.com/user/repo@v1
git:git@github.com:user/repo@v1
https://github.com/user/repo@v1
ssh://git@github.com/user/repo@v1

• Without git: prefix, only protocol URLs are accepted (https://, http://, ssh://, git://).
• With git: prefix, shorthand formats are accepted, including github.com/user/repo and git@github.com:user/repo.
• HTTPS and SSH URLs are both supported.
• SSH URLs use your configured SSH keys automatically (respects ~/.ssh/config).
• For non-interactive runs (for example CI), you can set GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0 to disable credential prompts and set GIT_SSH_COMMAND (for example ssh -o BatchMode=yes -o ConnectTimeout=5) to fail fast.
• Refs are pinned tags or commits. openabcode update --extensions and openabcode update --all do not move them to newer refs, but they do reconcile an existing clone to the configured ref.
• Use openabcode install git:host/user/repo@new-ref to update settings and move an existing package to a new pinned ref.
• Cloned to ~/.openabcode/agent/git/<host>/<path> (global) or .openabcode/git/<host>/<path> (project).
• When reconciliation changes the checkout, openabcode resets and cleans the clone, then runs npm install if package.json exists.

SSH examples:

# git@host:path shorthand (requires git: prefix)
openabcode install git:git@github.com:user/repo

# ssh:// protocol format
openabcode install ssh://git@github.com/user/repo

# With version ref
openabcode install git:git@github.com:user/repo@v1.0.0

Local Paths

/absolute/path/to/package
./relative/path/to/package

Local paths point to files or directories on disk and are added to settings without copying. Relative paths are resolved against the settings file they appear in. If the path is a file, it loads as a single extension. If it is a directory, openabcode loads resources using package rules.

Creating a OpenABCode Package

Add a openabcode manifest to package.json or use conventional directories. Include the openabcode-package keyword for discoverability.

{
  "name": "my-package",
  "keywords": ["openabcode-package"],
  "openabcode": {
    "extensions": ["./extensions"],
    "skills": ["./skills"],
    "prompts": ["./prompts"],
    "themes": ["./themes"]
  }
}

Paths are relative to the package root. Arrays support glob patterns and !exclusions.

Gallery Metadata

The package gallery displays packages tagged with openabcode-package. Add video or image fields to show a preview:

{
  "name": "my-package",
  "keywords": ["openabcode-package"],
  "openabcode": {
    "extensions": ["./extensions"],
    "video": "https://example.com/demo.mp4",
    "image": "https://example.com/screenshot.png"
  }
}

• video: MP4 only. On desktop, autoplays on hover. Clicking opens a fullscreen player.
• image: PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP. Displayed as a static preview.

If both are set, video takes precedence.

Package Structure

Convention Directories

If no openabcode manifest is present, openabcode auto-discovers resources from these directories:

• extensions/ loads .ts and .js files
• skills/ recursively finds SKILL.md folders and loads top-level .md files as skills
• prompts/ loads .md files
• themes/ loads .json files

Dependencies

Third party runtime dependencies belong in dependencies in package.json. Dependencies that do not register extensions, skills, prompt templates, or themes also belong in dependencies. When openabcode installs a package from npm or git, it runs npm install, so those dependencies are installed automatically.

OpenABCode bundles core packages for extensions and skills. If you import any of these, list them in peerDependencies with a "*" range and do not bundle them: @openabcode/ai, @openabcode/agent-core, @openabcode/coding-agent, @openabcode/tui, typebox.

Other openabcode packages must be bundled in your tarball. Add them to dependencies and bundledDependencies, then reference their resources through node_modules/ paths. OpenABCode loads packages with separate module roots, so separate installs do not collide or share modules.

Example:

{
  "dependencies": {
    "shitty-extensions": "^1.0.1"
  },
  "bundledDependencies": ["shitty-extensions"],
  "openabcode": {
    "extensions": ["extensions", "node_modules/shitty-extensions/extensions"],
    "skills": ["skills", "node_modules/shitty-extensions/skills"]
  }
}

Package Filtering

Filter what a package loads using the object form in settings:

{
  "packages": [
    "npm:simple-pkg",
    {
      "source": "npm:my-package",
      "extensions": ["extensions/*.ts", "!extensions/legacy.ts"],
      "skills": [],
      "prompts": ["prompts/review.md"],
      "themes": ["+themes/legacy.json"]
    }
  ]
}

+path and -path are exact paths relative to the package root.

• Omit a key to load all of that type.
• Use [] to load none of that type.
• !pattern excludes matches.
• +path force-includes an exact path.
• -path force-excludes an exact path.
• Filters layer on top of the manifest. They narrow down what is already allowed.

Enable and Disable Resources

Use openabcode config to enable or disable extensions, skills, prompt templates, and themes from installed packages and local directories. openabcode config starts in global settings (~/.openabcode/agent/settings.json); press Tab to switch between global and project-local modes. Use openabcode config -l to start in project overrides (.openabcode/settings.json) with inherited global resources dimmed.

Scope and Deduplication

Packages can appear in both global and project settings. If the same package appears in both, the project entry wins unless the project entry has autoload: false, in which case it is applied as a delta over the global entry. Identity is determined by:

• npm: package name
• git: repository URL without ref
• local: resolved absolute path