How do I install the Hermit Tooling skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add block/hermit-tooling in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Hermit Tooling safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Hermit Tooling?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Hermit Tooling free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Hermit Tooling?

block (@block) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Hermit Tooling by block — Agent Skill

Name: Hermit Tooling
Author: block

Hermit Tooling

Use when a shell command in this repo fails with "command not found" for `just`, `buf`, `golangci-lint`, `goimports`, `lefthook`, `ruff`, or any other developer tool. The repo pins its toolchain via Hermit (`.hermit/`); the tools exist on disk but only resolve after the Hermit environment is activated.

block 3902f8d 1.4 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

hermit-tooling

This repo uses Hermit to pin every developer tool (just, buf, golangci-lint, goimports, ruff, lefthook, etc.) to a specific version. The binaries live under .hermit/ and only join PATH after the environment is activated.

What to do

If a tool resolves to "command not found", activate Hermit:
```
source bin/activate-hermit
```
Verify with which just (or whatever was missing) — it should resolve under the repo's .hermit/ path.
If activation itself fails, fall back to running the tool via its full path under .hermit/python/bin/ etc. — do not install system-wide.
For tools missing from .hermit/ entirely, check bin/ for activation shims; CONTRIBUTING.md "Hermit Setup" covers prerequisites.

What to avoid

Don't brew install, apt install, npm install -g, or pip install to satisfy a missing tool. Hermit pins versions deliberately and a system-wide install will mask drift.
Don't add --no-verify to commits because lefthook is missing — activate Hermit instead.

Frequently asked questions