AltimateAI altimate-code
altimate-code is a CLI AI agent that ships with native data engineering tools. This skill delegates work to it via its non-interactive run mode and presents the result back to the user.
Prerequisite Check — ALWAYS DO THIS FIRST
Before invoking altimate-code, verify it is installed and on PATH:
command -v altimate-code
If the command returns nothing (exit code 1), STOP and tell the user this exact message — do not proceed:
altimate-code is not installed. Install it with:
npm install -g altimate-codeRequires Node.js 20+. Docs: https://docs.altimate.sh · Source: https://github.com/AltimateAI/altimate-code · npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/altimate-code
After installing, run
altimate-codeonce to configure it — this launches the TUI where you set up your LLM provider auth and warehouse connections. Then re-run your request and I'll delegate it.
Do not attempt to install altimate-code on the user's behalf — they may want a specific version, a different package manager (e.g. pnpm/yarn global), or to opt out entirely. Surface the command and let them decide.
If command -v fails but the user says it is installed, suggest checking npm bin -g is on PATH, or running npm config get prefix to find the global install location.
How to Invoke
altimate-code run is non-interactive — it takes a message, executes the task, prints the final result to stdout, and exits.
Minimal invocation:
altimate-code run "<task description>" --yolo
Recommended invocation — captures the final response to a file and runs in the right directory:
altimate-code run "<task description>" \
--yolo \
--output /tmp/altimate-result.md \
--dir "$(pwd)"
Then read /tmp/altimate-result.md and pass it straight back to the user.
Key flags
| Flag | When to use |
|---|---|
--yolo |
Required for non-interactive — auto-approves tool calls. Without this it hangs on the first permission prompt. |
--output <path> |
Write the final assistant response to a file. Use .md or .txt. |
--dir <path> |
Run the agent in a specific directory (e.g. a dbt project root). Defaults to cwd. |
--model provider/model |
Override the model. Useful for fast/cheap exploration. |
--format json |
Emit raw JSON events instead of formatted output. Use only when post-processing programmatically. |
--continue / --session <id> |
Continue a previous altimate-code session. |
Example invocations
Find expensive queries in Snowflake:
altimate-code run "Find the top 10 most expensive queries from the last 7 days in Snowflake and explain why each is slow." \
--yolo --output /tmp/expensive.md
Generate column-level lineage for a dbt model:
altimate-code run "Show column-level lineage for the dim_customers model, including upstream sources and downstream consumers." \
--yolo --dir "$(pwd)" --output /tmp/lineage.md
Profile a table:
altimate-code run "Profile the events table — row count, null distribution per column, cardinality, and top 5 values for low-cardinality columns." \
--yolo --output /tmp/profile.md
Presenting the Result
Read the output file with the Read tool and pass the content through to the user as-is. Do not re-summarize, re-format, or interpret — altimate-code has already produced the answer.
Failure Modes
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
altimate-code: command not found |
Not installed or not on PATH |
Run npm install -g altimate-code (Node 20+). If installed but not found, check npm bin -g is on PATH. See https://docs.altimate.sh |
| Hangs after starting | Missing --yolo, waiting on a permission prompt |
Re-run with --yolo |
| Output is empty | Task too vague, agent gave up | Re-run with a more specific prompt |
| "No provider configured" | LLM provider creds missing | Run altimate-code providers to set up auth |
| Warehouse errors mid-run | DB credentials not configured for altimate-code | Configure provider/warehouse auth in ~/.config/opencode/ or via env vars |
Notes
- altimate-code runs its own LLM, separate from Claude Code's. Cost and rate limits accrue against altimate-code's configured provider, not Claude Code's.
- Sessions persist in altimate-code's local store — use
altimate-code session listto find prior runs and--continueto resume. - For long-running tasks, prefer
--output <file>over scraping stdout.