Printing Press Library

Use this skill when a user asks for a CLI, agent skill, API wrapper, scraper, automation tool, or data source that may exist in the Printing Press Library.

The library is an open-source catalog of focused CLIs and matching agent skills generated from mvanhorn/cli-printing-press. This skill is the catalog front door. Do not install a random long-tail skill just because it exists. First identify the right tool, then install the focused skill or CLI only when it is useful for the task.

Default workflow

1. Clarify the user goal only if needed.

   • If the request names a service or website, search for that directly.
   • If the request describes a job instead of a service, search by capability and domain.

2. Search the catalog with the library CLI first.

   • Use npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library search \x3Ckeyword> for human-readable result cards.
   • Use npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library search \x3Ckeyword> --json for agent-friendly parsing.
   • Use npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library list --category \x3Ccategory> --json when the category is known.
   • Each search result includes the canonical install command for that tool.
   • Fall back to the GitHub repo or local clone only when npx is unavailable or deeper inspection is needed.

3. Install through the library installer when the selected tool is useful.

   • The primitive is npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install \x3Cslug>.
   • The install command installs both the CLI and the matching focused agent skill.
   • install \x3Cslug> is idempotent: re-running it on an already-installed tool refreshes the Go binary and overwrites/re-adds the focused skill in place.
   • Behind the scenes, the installer uses go install \x3Cmodule>@latest for the CLI and the Vercel Agent Skills-compatible skills CLI to install the focused pp-* skill globally from this repo.
   • In OpenClaw, this same install command installs the focused skill for OpenClaw; do not replace it with a separate repo-path skill install unless the user explicitly asks for skill-only installation.
   • Pass --cli-only or --skill-only only when the user explicitly wants just one side.

4. Refresh installed tools without uninstalling first.

   • npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library update \x3Cslug> is the explicit reinstall/refresh primitive for one tool; it delegates to install semantics.
   • npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library update refreshes every Printing Press CLI currently found on PATH, including each matching skill.
   • npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install \x3Cslug> has the same refresh effect for one named tool because install overwrites in place.
   • reinstall \x3Cslug> may also exist as a convenience alias for update \x3Cslug>; use it if the installed CLI exposes it, but prefer update as the stable documented primitive until the alias is published.

5. Make the newly installed skill visible to the running agent.

   • Most agent harnesses snapshot available skills at session start. After installing or refreshing a focused skill, start a fresh session or reload skills before trying to invoke it.
   • In Hermes CLI sessions, use /reload-skills when available, or exit and start a new hermes session.
   • In Hermes gateway sessions, use /restart from the gateway chat or hermes gateway restart from a shell so the gateway process reloads installed skills.
   • In OpenClaw, assume the current agent session may not see newly installed skills until the OpenClaw session or gateway is restarted.

6. Verify before claiming success.

   • If installing a CLI, run its --help or an equivalent harmless command.
   • If installing a skill, verify the destination harness can see it after the session reload/restart when the harness has a verification command.
   • If using a credentialed CLI, confirm required environment variables without printing secrets.

What this skill is for

Use this skill to discover CLIs and agent skills in the public Printing Press Library. Match the user's goal to the right library entry, use the library CLI to find the canonical install command, and install the selected tool only when it is useful for the task.

Install primitive

The Printing Press Library CLI is the canonical interface for installing catalog tools:

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install \x3Cslug>

That command installs both halves of a catalog entry:

• the Go CLI binary
• the matching focused pp-* agent skill

For the skill half, the installer shells out through the Vercel Agent Skills-compatible installer. Conceptually, it runs:

npx -y skills@latest add mvanhorn/printing-press-library/cli-skills/pp-\x3Cslug> -g -y

So the catalog installer is still the right top-level command: it installs the CLI, then installs the focused skill globally using the same agent-skills mechanism rather than asking the agent to hand-roll a separate skill install path.

The install operation is idempotent and works as a reinstall for one tool. Re-running install \x3Cslug> uses go install \x3Cmodule>@latest for the binary and re-adds the focused skill non-interactively, overwriting the existing install in place. No uninstall-first step is needed.

Use update when the user asks to refresh or reinstall existing tools:

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library update flight-goat
npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library update

update \x3Cslug> delegates to install semantics for that tool. update with no args discovers Printing Press CLIs currently on PATH and refreshes all of them, including their matching focused skills.

If the installed library CLI exposes reinstall, treat it as a convenience alias for update:

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library reinstall flight-goat

Example:

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install flight-goat

Use the install line printed by search or list output. Do not synthesize harness-specific direct skill install commands as the default path; those are only for explicit skill-only workflows.

After install or update, assume the focused skill may not be visible to the currently running agent until skills are reloaded or the session restarts. Hermes CLI sessions can use /reload-skills or start a new session. Hermes gateway sessions should use /restart or hermes gateway restart. OpenClaw agents should restart the current session or gateway if the newly installed focused skill is not visible immediately.

Search tactics

Use the library CLI as the default catalog index. Human-readable search cards include an install: line with the canonical install command:

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library search \x3Ckeyword>

Use JSON when scripting or when structured ranking is useful:

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library search \x3Ckeyword> --json

Examples:

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library search flights
npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library search espn --json
npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library list --category travel --json

Use repository inspection only as a fallback when npx is unavailable, when the CLI result is ambiguous, or when deeper README/SKILL details are needed before choosing a candidate:

rg -i "\x3Cservice-or-capability>" registry.json library cli-skills

If the registry shape differs, prefer the npm CLI output instead of hand-parsing generated catalog files. Facts beat vibes; official interfaces beat archaeology.

Selection rules

Prefer a candidate when:

• It names the target service directly.
• Its README/SKILL examples match the user's requested job.
• It has documented auth and setup requirements the user can satisfy.
• It supports the user's OS/runtime.

Avoid a candidate when:

• It is only vaguely adjacent to the task.
• It requires credentials the user does not have.
• It is a scraper for a site where the user's task needs official-account data and the skill cannot authenticate.
• A safer built-in API/tool already solves the task.

Safety and credentials

• Never print API keys, cookies, tokens, or session headers.
• Do not ask the user to paste secrets into chat if a local secret manager or environment file is available.
• Treat third-party CLIs as code execution. Install only the focused tool needed for the task.
• Do not publish, post, email, buy, book, or mutate external state unless the user explicitly approves that action.

README behavior on ClawHub

ClawHub renders SKILL.md (or skill.md) as the skill readme. A separate README.md in the skill folder is not the published readme. Put user-facing ClawHub documentation in this file.