---
title: Commands
description: Reference for kst add, remove, lock, sync, list, doctor, init, clean, and self-update.
---

import { Callout } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/callout';

## `kst init`

Generates a starter config file — local `./kasetto.yaml` by default, or global config with `--global`.

```bash
kst init [OPTIONS]
```

### Options

| Flag       | Description                                                                       |
| ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--global` | Write `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/kasetto/kasetto.yaml` (or `~/.config/kasetto/kasetto.yaml`) |
| `--force`  | Overwrite an existing config file without prompting                               |

## `kst add`

Appends a source to your local `kasetto.yaml` and syncs it in — the cargo/uv-style way to grow a config without hand-editing YAML. Comments and formatting in the file are preserved; only the targeted lists gain a new entry.

```bash
kst add <SOURCE> [OPTIONS]
```

Kind-tagged flags `--skill`, `--mcp`, `--command`, and `--instruction` (each repeatable) name the entries to add. Because skills, MCPs, commands, and instructions are separate lists, a single `add` can write to several of them at once — handy for a repo that ships more than one kind. A lone `*` value (`--skill "*"`) is a wildcard. With **no** kind flags, the source is added as `skills: "*"`.

```bash
kst add https://github.com/anthropics/skills                 # every skill in the pack
kst add https://github.com/anthropics/skills@v1.2.0           # `@<ref>` shorthand (cargo/uv-style)
kst add https://github.com/anthropics/skills --skill pptx --skill pdf
kst add https://github.com/example/repo --skill find --mcp github --command review
kst add https://github.com/example/pack --branch develop --no-sync
kst add https://github.com/example/pack --dry-run             # preview the edit, don't write
```

**Deep browse URLs.** Paste the URL you're looking at on GitHub/Gitea/GitLab — `add` decomposes a `blob`/`tree` URL into the repo, ref, and sub-directory (and, for a `SKILL.md` link, the skill name):

```bash
kst add https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/blob/main/skills/personal/edit-article/SKILL.md
```

writes:

```yaml
skills:
  - source: https://github.com/mattpocock/skills
    branch: main
    sub-dir: skills/personal
    skills:
      - edit-article
```

A 40-char hex ref is pinned as `ref:`; any other ref (e.g. `main`) becomes `branch:` so `--update` keeps tracking it. Explicit `--ref`/`--branch`/`--sub-dir` override the derived pieces — e.g. add a `tree/` URL for the sub-dir and name the skills yourself with `--skill`.

### Options

| Flag                  | Description                                                            |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--skill <name>`      | Skill to add (repeatable; `*` for all). Default kind when none given  |
| `--mcp <name>`        | MCP server to add (repeatable; `*` for all)                           |
| `--command <name>`    | Command to add (repeatable; `*` for all)                              |
| `--instruction <name>`| Instruction to add (repeatable; `*` for all)                          |
| `--ref <ref>`         | Pin to a git tag, commit SHA, or ref (conflicts with `--branch`)      |
| `--branch <branch>`   | Track a specific branch (conflicts with `--ref`)                      |
| `--sub-dir <dir>`     | Subdirectory inside the source to use as the root (skills/commands/instructions)   |
| `--config <path>`     | Config file to edit (default: `./kasetto.yaml`); must be a local file |
| `--no-verify`         | Skip the upfront fetch that validates the source resolves             |
| `--no-sync`           | Edit the config without installing                                    |
| `--dry-run`           | Preview the edit without writing the config or syncing                |
| `--locked`, `--frozen` | During the follow-up sync, never fetch; honor the lock               |
| `--json`              | Print the edit summary as JSON                                        |
| `-q`, `--quiet`       | Suppress non-error output (repeat for stricter silence)               |
| `--color <when>`      | `auto` (default), `always`, or `never`                                |
| `--project`           | Sync into the current project                                         |
| `--global`            | Sync globally (default)                                               |

Before writing, `add` fetches the source once to confirm it resolves (and, for a named skill list, that the names exist) — skip with `--no-verify`. Adding a source whose `(source, ref/branch, sub-dir)` identity already exists in a list is rejected; edit it directly or `kst remove` it first. MCP entries never carry `sub-dir` (the schema has none there). Remote configs (HTTPS) can't be edited in place.

The `<SOURCE>@<REF>` shorthand (cargo/uv-style) splits the trailing `@<ref>` off the positional and is equivalent to `--ref <REF>`. Passing both the shorthand and `--ref`/`--branch` is rejected. SSH (`git@host:org/repo`) and URLs with userinfo (`https://user@host/repo`) round-trip unchanged.

## `kst remove`

Deletes entries from your local `kasetto.yaml`, then syncs so the now-unconfigured skills, MCPs, commands, and instructions are pruned from disk and the lock. Aliased as `kst rm`.

```bash
kst remove <SOURCE> [OPTIONS]
```

`remove` mirrors `add`. The kind-tagged flags `--skill`, `--mcp`, `--command`, and `--instruction` (each repeatable) **subtract** named entries from a list; when the last name goes, the whole entry is dropped. A lone `*` value drops that kind's entry outright. With **no** kind flags, the source is removed from every list it appears in.

```bash
kst remove https://github.com/anthropics/skills               # drop the whole source
kst remove https://github.com/anthropics/skills@v1.2.0         # disambiguate via `@<ref>` shorthand
kst remove https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills --skill find-skills
kst remove https://github.com/example/repo --mcp github --command review
kst remove https://github.com/example/pack --mcp "*"          # drop the whole mcps entry
kst remove https://github.com/example/pack --dry-run          # preview, don't write
kst rm ./local/pack --no-sync                                 # edit config only
```

Deep `blob`/`tree` browse URLs are accepted too — they resolve to the same repo-root source `add` would have written, so you can paste the URL you're looking at.

### Options

| Flag                | Description                                                       |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--skill <name>`    | Skill to remove (repeatable; `*` drops the whole skills entry)   |
| `--mcp <name>`      | MCP to remove (repeatable; `*` drops the whole mcps entry)       |
| `--command <name>`  | Command to remove (repeatable; `*` drops the whole commands entry) |
| `--instruction <name>` | Instruction to remove (repeatable; `*` drops the whole instructions entry) |
| `--ref <ref>`       | Disambiguate by pinned ref when a URL appears more than once      |
| `--branch <branch>` | Disambiguate by tracked branch                                    |
| `--sub-dir <path>`  | Disambiguate by sub-dir (or pass a deep blob/tree URL)            |
| `--config <path>`   | Config file to edit (default: `./kasetto.yaml`); must be local    |
| `--no-sync`         | Edit the config without pruning installed assets                  |
| `--dry-run`         | Preview the edit without writing the config or pruning            |
| `--locked`, `--frozen` | During the follow-up sync, never fetch; honor the lock         |
| `--json`            | Print the edit summary as JSON                                    |
| `-q`, `--quiet`     | Suppress non-error output (repeat for stricter silence)           |
| `--color <when>`    | `auto` (default), `always`, or `never`                           |
| `--project`         | Prune from the current project                                    |
| `--global`          | Prune globally (default)                                          |

Subtracting a name from a `"*"` wildcard entry is an error (there are no named entries to drop — use `--<kind> "*"` to remove the whole entry); so is naming a skill that isn't in the list. When several entries share a source URL, pass `--ref` or `--branch` to pick one. Entries inherited via `extends:` live in the parent config and must be removed there.

## `kst sync`

Reads your config, fetches any remote skills, and brings your local install up to date.

```bash
kst sync [OPTIONS]
```

### Options

| Flag                     | Description                                                  |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `--config <path-or-url>` | Path or HTTPS URL to a YAML config (default order: `$KASETTO_CONFIG`, `./kasetto.yaml`, `source:` in `config.yaml`, `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/kasetto/kasetto.yaml`) |
| `--dry-run`              | Preview what would change without writing anything           |
| `-q`, `--quiet`          | Suppress non-error output (repeat for stricter silence)      |
| `--json`                 | Print the sync report as JSON                                |
| `--color <when>`         | `auto` (default), `always`, or `never`                       |
| `-v`, `--verbose`        | Increase detail (`-v`, `-vv`, `-vvv`); per-skill action list at `-v` |
| `--project`              | Install into the current project directory                   |
| `--global`               | Install globally (default)                                   |

Missing skills are reported as broken but won't stop the rest of the run. The exit code is non-zero only for source-level failures.

<Callout type="tip">


`--dry-run` is great in CI — verify your config without touching anything on disk.

</Callout>

## `kst lock`

Re-resolves every source and pins it into `kasetto.lock` **without installing** to your agent directories — the equivalent of `cargo generate-lockfile` / `uv lock`. Like `sync --update`, it re-resolves moving refs (branches and the default HEAD).

```bash
kst lock [OPTIONS]
```

### Options

| Flag                     | Description                                            |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| `--config <path-or-url>` | Path or HTTPS URL to a YAML config (same default order as `sync`) |
| `--json`                 | Print the result as JSON                              |
| `--check`, `--locked`, `--frozen` | Verify the lock matches the config without writing; exit 1 on drift |
| `-P`, `--upgrade-package <name>...` | Only re-resolve sources providing these skills (mirrors `sync --update <name>...`) |
| `-q`, `--quiet`          | Suppress non-error output (repeat for stricter silence) |
| `--color <when>`         | `auto` (default), `always`, or `never`                |
| `--project`              | Lock the project scope (`./kasetto.lock`)             |
| `--global`               | Lock the global scope (default)                       |

Skills are hashed from the materialized **source tree**. Because a skill installs as a verbatim copy, that hash equals the one a later `sync` computes at the destination — so after `kst lock` a plain `kst sync --locked` succeeds with zero fetches. MCP and command entries can't be hashed without applying their merge/transform, so `lock` only refreshes their resolved revision pins; their content hash fills in on the next real `sync`. Any source that fails to resolve aborts the lock before writing.

<Callout type="info">

`kst lock` reads remote configs fine (it only writes the lock, never the config). `kst add` / `kst remove`, which rewrite the config, require a local file.

</Callout>

## `kst list`

Prints a uv-style table of installed assets from the lock file — name, scope, and source per row.

```bash
kst list [OPTIONS]
```

### Options

| Flag                | Description                                                            |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--type <kind>`     | `all` (default), `skills`, `mcps`, `commands`, or `instructions`                       |
| `--json`            | Output as JSON                                                         |
| `-q`, `--quiet`     | Suppress output (unless `--json` is set)                               |
| `--color <when>`    | `auto` (default), `always`, or `never`                                 |
| `--project`         | Only read the project lock (`./kasetto.lock`) in the current directory |
| `--global`          | Only read the global lock (under XDG data)                             |

With **no** `--project` or `--global`, Kasetto merges **both** scopes so you can see global and project installs together. Each row includes a **scope** column. The `--json` shape always includes top-level `skills`, `mcps`, `commands`, `instructions`, and `merged_scopes` keys; `--type` filters the contents of each list but never drops the key.
## `kst doctor`

Prints a local health check: your version, lock file location, install paths, last sync time, and any skills that failed.

It also reports **untracked entries** — assets sitting in a Kasetto-managed install path that the lock file does not track: stray skills, command files, per-directory instruction rules, orphaned instruction blocks left in a shared `CLAUDE.md`/`AGENTS.md`, and MCP servers in an agent's settings file. This is purely advisory and **read-only** — Kasetto never deletes files it does not own, and the check never changes the exit code.

<Callout type="info">

Because Kasetto writes no ownership marker into MCP settings files (and deliberately preserves servers you add yourself), the MCP portion is an **inventory of every server the lock does not track** — it will also list servers you added by hand. Treat it as an FYI, not an orphan report. Command and per-directory instruction dirs are likewise shared with your own files, so anything you hand-authored there shows up too.

</Callout>

```bash
kst doctor [OPTIONS]
```

### Options

| Flag             | Description                                |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| `--json`         | Output as JSON                             |
| `-q`, `--quiet`  | Do not print anything (unless `--json`)    |
| `--color <when>` | `auto` (default), `always`, or `never`     |
| `--project`      | Show project-scoped diagnostics            |
| `--global`       | Show globally-scoped diagnostics (default) |

## `kst clean`

Removes everything Kasetto installed for the given scope — skills, commands, MCP configs, instructions, and lock file entries.

```bash
kst clean [OPTIONS]
```

### Options

| Flag             | Description                                                     |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--dry-run`      | Preview what would be removed (lists skill paths and MCP packs) |
| `--json`         | Print output as JSON                                            |
| `-q`, `--quiet`  | Suppress non-error output                                       |
| `--color <when>` | `auto` (default), `always`, or `never`                          |
| `--project`      | Clean project-scoped assets                                     |
| `--global`       | Clean globally-scoped assets (default)                          |

## `kst self`

Manage Kasetto itself — update to a new version or remove it completely.

### `kst self update`

Fetches the latest release from GitHub, verifies the SHA256 checksum against `checksums.txt` from the same release, and swaps out the binary in-place.

```bash
kst self update [OPTIONS]
```

#### Options

| Flag     | Description    |
| -------- | -------------- |
| `--json` | Output as JSON |

<Callout type="info">


Self-update only works when Kasetto was installed via the standalone installer.
For Homebrew or Cargo installs, use their own upgrade commands.

</Callout>

#### Update notifications

Kasetto prints a yellow `New version available: x.y.z → a.b.c` line at the end of any command when a newer release exists on GitHub. The check runs in a background thread at most once every 24 hours and stores the result under `$XDG_CACHE_HOME/kasetto/update-check.json` (default: `~/.cache/kasetto/update-check.json`).

The notice is suppressed when:

- output is `--json`, `--color never`, or `--quiet`
- the command emits machine-readable content (`completions`, `self update`)
- stdout is not a TTY (e.g. piped to a file)

### `kst self uninstall`

A full teardown: removes installed skills, commands, instructions, and MCP configs, clears Kasetto's data directories, and deletes the binary.

```bash
kst self uninstall [OPTIONS]
```

#### Options

| Flag    | Description                                                    |
| ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--yes` | Skip the confirmation prompt (required in non-interactive use) |

## `kst completions`

Generates completion scripts for your shell.

```bash
kst completions <SHELL>
```

Supported shells: `bash`, `zsh`, `fish`, `powershell`.

<Callout type="tip">


Example for Fish: `kst completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/kst.fish`

</Callout>
