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Troubleshooting & FAQ

Coding agent skills

Runtype publishes official coding-agent skills in the Runtype skills repository. Each skill packages instructions, references, and helper scripts that a coding agent loads on demand while you work with Runtype. The skills cover Runtype product schemas, MCP tools, flow step types, and SDK conventions.

Coding-agent skills are different from Runtype Agent Skills, which your deployed Runtype Agents load at runtime. For that feature, see Agent Skills.

Install all Runtype skills

To install every skill in the repository, run the following command:

Install all Runtype skills
npx skills add runtypelabs/skills

The standalone skills CLI supports many coding agents, including Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Copilot, and Windsurf. It detects the coding agents on your machine and installs the skills in project scope by default. Add --global to install them for your user account.

To confirm the installation, run npx skills list. Then restart your coding agent so it loads the skills.

Install skills with the Runtype CLI

To install skills and connect the hosted Runtype MCP server in one step, run the following command:

Run Runtype onboarding
npx -y @runtypelabs/cli@latest onboard

If the Runtype CLI is installed globally, run runtype onboard instead.

The command checks your Runtype sign-in state, detects the coding agent in the current session, installs its Runtype skills, and configures the hosted OAuth MCP connection. The skills give your coding agent instructions for using Runtype. The MCP connection lets it inspect your account and create resources. Complete any sign-in or OAuth action that the CLI reports, then restart or reload your coding agent.

The following options change what onboard does:

  • --agent <agent-id>: configures a specific coding agent. Use this option when the CLI can’t detect the current agent, or when it detects several agents and can’t show a prompt. Accepted IDs are claude, codex, cursor, gemini, opencode, and vscode.
  • --no-skills: configures MCP without installing skills.
  • --dry-run: shows the selected agent and the planned changes without writing them.

For per-agent details, see Connect Runtype to coding agents.

The Runtype CLI has three commands that install skills. The following table compares them:

CommandInstalls skillsConfigures MCPSigns in to the Runtype CLI
runtype onboardYesYesYes
runtype install-mcpYesYesNo
runtype skills installYesNoNo

All three commands install skills for your user account (global scope), not for the current project.

In an interactive terminal, the Runtype CLI also offers a one-time skill installation prompt when it detects supported agents. It skips the prompt in CI and for skill, onboarding, and authentication commands. If you decline the prompt, the CLI doesn’t ask again. To install the skills later, run runtype skills install.

Install specific skills

To review the available skills before installing, run the following command:

List available skills
npx skills add runtypelabs/skills --list

To install one skill without selecting from a prompt, run the following command:

Install one skill
npx skills add runtypelabs/skills --skill runtype-build-product -y

Target a specific agent

The skills CLI and the Runtype CLI use different agent IDs. For example, Claude Code is claude-code in the skills CLI and claude in runtype skills install. Use the IDs that match the tool you run.

With the skills CLI

To install skills for selected coding agents, pass one or more agent IDs to the --agent option:

Target coding agents
npx skills add runtypelabs/skills --agent claude-code cursor

Supported IDs include claude-code, cursor, codex, copilot, and windsurf. For the full list, see the skills.sh agent directory. The skills CLI can install for an agent even when the agent isn’t detected on your machine.

With the Runtype CLI

runtype skills install installs only for agents that it detects. To see the detected agents and their IDs, run the following command:

List detected agents
runtype skills list

The output shows each agent’s ID in parentheses after its name. To install skills for selected agents, pass those IDs to --agent:

Install skills for selected agents
runtype skills install --agent claude cursor

The command skips any ID that isn’t in the runtype skills list output. The following options are also available:

  • --yes: skips the confirmation prompt.
  • --json: prints structured output, including the agents that installed and the agents that failed.
  • --verbose: shows installation progress.

Available skills

The following table lists the official skills and the work that each skill covers:

SkillUse it for
runtypeRoute general Runtype requests to the focused skill.
runtype-adminInspect and manage a live Runtype account.
runtype-build-productBuild and validate hosted Runtype products.
runtype-external-agentsConnect agents that run outside Runtype to traces, evals, and surfaces.
runtype-personaEmbed, theme, and debug Persona chat widgets.
runtype-sdk-marathonUse the Runtype SDK, CLI, Marathon, and code-first workflows.
runtype-templatesCreate, validate, and package Full Product Object templates.
tool-designDesign or audit the tool set of an AI agent.

The repository also includes focused tool-design-* skills that the tool-design skill routes to. They cover tool naming and schemas, output, errors, execution, composition, and security.

Install all the skills when you need the full Runtype workflow. The coding agent selects the focused skill based on your request.

Update or remove skills

Use the following commands to update, list, or remove skills in project scope:

Manage installed skills
npx skills update
npx skills list
npx skills remove runtype-build-product

To manage a global installation that you made with the skills CLI, add --global to the relevant command. The Runtype CLI installs skills with a separate installer, so npx skills update doesn’t update them. To update skills that the Runtype CLI installed, run runtype skills install again.

Troubleshoot skill installation

The following table lists common Runtype CLI messages and how to resolve them:

Message or symptomResolution
No supported AI coding agents detected on this machine.Open the coding agent once so it creates its configuration directory, then run the command again. Or install with npx skills add runtypelabs/skills --agent <agent-id>.
Not detected (skipping)runtype skills install installs only for detected agents. Run runtype skills list and use an ID from its output.
No matching AI coding agents detected. Nothing to install.The CLI detected no agents, or none of the IDs that you passed to --agent match a detected agent. Run runtype skills list and use an ID from its output.
Skills install failed for: followed by agent IDsRun runtype skills install --agent <agent-id> --verbose for each failed agent. runtype skills install exits with code 1 when any agent fails.
Runtype MCP is configured, but skill installation failedRun the retry command that the CLI prints, for example runtype skills install --agent claude.
The coding agent doesn’t use the skills after installationRestart or reload the coding agent. If the skills are still missing, run runtype skills install --agent <agent-id> again.

Keep the Runtype CLI updated

A global installation of the Runtype CLI checks npm for a stable release every hour. When the CLI finds one, it installs it and uses it the next time you run a command. Automatic installation is off for CI, source checkouts, project-local installations, and npx or pnpm dlx runs.

To manage CLI updates manually, use one of the following commands:

  • Check for a release without installing it: runtype update --check.
  • Install an available release: runtype update.
  • Go back to the previous working version: runtype update --rollback.

To keep a package-manager-installed version, set RUNTYPE_DISABLE_AUTO_UPDATE=true. To keep the installed version without checking for updates, set RUNTYPE_DISABLE_UPDATE_CHECK=true.

Next steps

Continue with one of these guides: