How do I install the Ct skill?

Run npx skillmds add majiayu000/ct 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.

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Which AI agents work with Ct?

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.

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

majiayu000 (@majiayu000) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Ct by majiayu000 — Agent Skill

Name: Ct
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: majiayu000

Guide for using the ct (CommonTools) binary to interact with charms, recipes, and the Common Fabric. Use this skill when deploying recipes, managing charms, linking data between charms, or debugging recipe execution. Triggers include requests to "deploy this recipe", "call a handler", "link these charms", "get data from charm", or "test this recipe locally".

majiayu000 182de82 2 files · 4.2 KB Updated Sep 9, 2026 567 repo stars

File contents

CT CLI

The ct binary is the CLI for CommonTools. Use --help for current commands:

deno task ct --help           # Top-level commands
deno task ct charm --help     # Charm operations
deno task ct check --help     # Type checking

Environment Setup

Identity key (required for most operations):

ls -la claude.key              # Check for existing
deno task ct id new > claude.key  # Create if missing

Environment variables (avoid repeating flags):

export CT_API_URL=http://localhost:8000  # or https://toolshed.saga-castor.ts.net/
export CT_IDENTITY=./claude.key

Local servers: See docs/development/LOCAL_DEV_SERVERS.md

Quick Command Reference

Operation	Command
Type check	`deno task ct check pattern.tsx --no-run`
Deploy new	`deno task ct charm new pattern.tsx -i key -a url -s space`
Update existing	`deno task ct charm setsrc pattern.tsx --charm ID -i key -a url -s space`
Inspect state	`deno task ct charm inspect --charm ID ...`
Get field	`deno task ct charm get --charm ID fieldPath ...`
Set field	`echo '{"data":...}' \| deno task ct charm set --charm ID path ...`
Call handler	`deno task ct charm call --charm ID handlerName ...`
Trigger recompute	`deno task ct charm step --charm ID ...`
List charms	`deno task ct charm ls -i key -a url -s space`
Visualize	`deno task ct charm map ...`

Core Workflow: setsrc vs new

Critical pattern: After initial deployment, use setsrc to iterate:

# First time only
deno task ct charm new pattern.tsx ...
# Output: Created charm bafyreia... <- Save this ID!

# ALL subsequent iterations
deno task ct charm setsrc pattern.tsx --charm bafyreia... ...

Why: new creates duplicate charms. setsrc updates in-place.

JSON Input Format

All values to set and call must be valid JSON:

# Strings need nested quotes
echo '"hello world"' | deno task ct charm set ... title

# Numbers are bare
echo '42' | deno task ct charm set ... count

# Objects
echo '{"name": "John"}' | deno task ct charm set ... user

Gotcha: Stale Computed Values

charm set does NOT trigger recompute. Run charm step after:

echo '[...]' | deno task ct charm set --charm ID expenses ...
deno task ct charm step --charm ID ...  # Required!
deno task ct charm get --charm ID totalSpent ...

See docs/development/debugging/cli-debugging.md for debugging patterns.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
Commands hang	Check Tailnet connection for `*.ts.net` URLs
Permission denied	`chmod 600 claude.key`
JSON parse error	Check nested quotes, no trailing commas
Local servers not responding	`./scripts/restart-local-dev.sh --force`

References

packages/patterns/system/default-app.tsx - System charms (allCharms list lives here)
docs/common/workflows/handlers-cli-testing.md - Handler testing
docs/development/debugging/cli-debugging.md - CLI debugging

---name: ctdescription: Guide for using the ct (CommonTools) binary to interact with charms, recipes, and the Common Fabric. Use this skill when deploying recipes, managing charms, linking data between charms, or debugging recipe execution. Triggers include requests to "deploy this recipe", "call a handler", "link these charms", "get data from charm", or "test this recipe locally".--- # CT CLI The `ct` binary is the CLI for CommonTools. **Use `--help` for current commands:** ```bash deno task ct --help # Top-level commands deno task ct charm --help # Charm operations deno task ct check --help # Type checking ``` ## Environment Setup **Identity key** (required for most operations): ```bash ls -la claude.key # Check for existing deno task ct id new > claude.key # Create if missing ``` **Environment variables** (avoid repeating flags): ```bash export CT_API_URL=http://localhost:8000 # or https://toolshed.saga-castor.ts.net/ export CT_IDENTITY=./claude.key ``` **Local servers**: See `docs/development/LOCAL_DEV_SERVERS.md` ## Quick Command Reference | Operation | Command | |-----------|---------| | Type check | `deno task ct check pattern.tsx --no-run` | | Deploy new | `deno task ct charm new pattern.tsx -i key -a url -s space` | | Update existing | `deno task ct charm setsrc pattern.tsx --charm ID -i key -a url -s space` | | Inspect state | `deno task ct charm inspect --charm ID ...` | | Get field | `deno task ct charm get --charm ID fieldPath ...` | | Set field | `echo '{"data":...}' \| deno task ct charm set --charm ID path ...` | | Call handler | `deno task ct charm call --charm ID handlerName ...` | | Trigger recompute | `deno task ct charm step --charm ID ...` | | List charms | `deno task ct charm ls -i key -a url -s space` | | Visualize | `deno task ct charm map ...` | ## Core Workflow: setsrc vs new **Critical pattern:** After initial deployment, use `setsrc` to iterate: ```bash # First time only deno task ct charm new pattern.tsx ... # Output: Created charm bafyreia... <- Save this ID! # ALL subsequent iterations deno task ct charm setsrc pattern.tsx --charm bafyreia... ... ``` **Why:** `new` creates duplicate charms. `setsrc` updates in-place. ## JSON Input Format All values to `set` and `call` must be valid JSON: ```bash # Strings need nested quotes echo '"hello world"' | deno task ct charm set ... title # Numbers are bare echo '42' | deno task ct charm set ... count # Objects echo '{"name": "John"}' | deno task ct charm set ... user ``` ## Gotcha: Stale Computed Values `charm set` does NOT trigger recompute. Run `charm step` after: ```bash echo '[...]' | deno task ct charm set --charm ID expenses ... deno task ct charm step --charm ID ... # Required! deno task ct charm get --charm ID totalSpent ... ``` See `docs/development/debugging/cli-debugging.md` for debugging patterns. ## Troubleshooting | Issue | Fix | |-------|-----| | Commands hang | Check Tailnet connection for `*.ts.net` URLs | | Permission denied | `chmod 600 claude.key` | | JSON parse error | Check nested quotes, no trailing commas | | Local servers not responding | `./scripts/restart-local-dev.sh --force` | ## References - `packages/patterns/system/default-app.tsx` - System charms (allCharms list lives here) - `docs/common/workflows/handlers-cli-testing.md` - Handler testing - `docs/development/debugging/cli-debugging.md` - CLI debugging

Frequently asked questions