Installation

Install the Asterism CLI and configure your environment for working with AI agent skills.

Requirements

Node.js 18 or later
npm, yarn, or pnpm package manager
A GitHub or Google account for authentication

Install the CLI

Install the Asterism CLI globally using your preferred package manager:

npm

npm install -g astercli

yarn

yarn global add astercli

pnpm

pnpm add -g astercli

Verify the installation by running:

aster --version

Authentication

aster login

This opens a browser window for authentication. You can sign in with GitHub or Google. After authentication, the CLI stores your credentials securely.

Using API Keys

For CI/CD or automated environments, use an API key instead of interactive login:

ASTER_API_KEY=aster_live_xxx aster publish

Generate API keys from your dashboard.

Configuration

The CLI stores configuration in ~/.askrc. You can customize settings with:

aster config set <key> <value>

Available Settings

Key	Description	Default
registry	Registry URL	api.joinasterism.com
skillsDir	Local skills directory	~/.ask/skills
defaultScope	Default scope for publishing	Your username

MCP Server Setup (Optional)

To use skills directly with Claude Code, Cursor, or other MCP-compatible tools, configure the MCP server:

// ~/.claude/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aster": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "astermcp"],
      "env": {
        "ASTER_API_KEY": "aster_live_xxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

See the MCP Integration guide for detailed setup instructions.

Troubleshooting

Command not found

Make sure your global npm/yarn/pnpm bin directory is in your PATH. Run npm bin -g to find the location.

Permission denied

On macOS/Linux, you may need to fix npm permissions. See the npm documentation for solutions.

Login fails

Make sure you have a browser available. For headless environments, use an API key instead.