Install the Bast skill with npx skills (or curl) for Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex, and use llms.txt for agent-friendly docs.

Bast ships resources for AI coding agents: an installable skill, machine-readable docs, and per-page shortcuts to open ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor with context.

Agent skill

The Bast skill teaches agents how to use the CLI correctly: --json automation, patch semantics for host edits, file paths, and safety rules (never paste private keys).

It uses the standard SKILL.md format and works in Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, and other agents supported by the Skills CLI.

The canonical skill lives in this repo at skills/bast/SKILL.md.

Install with npx skills (recommended)

Global (user-level) install for every project:

npx skills add ellipse-software/bast -g -y

Project-local (commit agent skill dirs with your repo):

npx skills add ellipse-software/bast -y

List what the repo exposes without installing:

npx skills add ellipse-software/bast --list

Requires Node.js. The Skills CLI discovers skills/bast/SKILL.md and installs it into the agent directories you choose.

Curl fallback (no Node)

curl -fsSL https://bast.sh/install-skill | sh

This writes the skill to:

Agent	Path
Cursor	`~/.cursor/skills/bast/SKILL.md`
Claude Code	`~/.claude/skills/bast/SKILL.md`
Codex	`~/.codex/skills/bast/SKILL.md`

Project-local via curl:

curl -fsSL https://bast.sh/install-skill | BAST_SKILL_SCOPE=project sh

Restart or start a new agent session after installing.

One agent (manual)

# Cursor
mkdir -p ~/.cursor/skills/bast
curl -fsSL https://bast.sh/bast.skill.md -o ~/.cursor/skills/bast/SKILL.md

# Claude Code
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/bast
curl -fsSL https://bast.sh/bast.skill.md -o ~/.claude/skills/bast/SKILL.md

# Codex
mkdir -p ~/.codex/skills/bast
curl -fsSL https://bast.sh/bast.skill.md -o ~/.codex/skills/bast/SKILL.md

You can also download the skill file and copy it to the path above.

llms.txt

Agents can fetch curated documentation without scraping the site:

URL	Purpose
llms.txt	When to use Bast.sh, developer resources, and the docs index
llms-full.txt	Full docs in one file
OpenAPI	Hosted HTTP API (Vault, health, search, telemetry)
Developers	API, CLI, skill, and llms.txt in one place

Each doc page also exposes processed Markdown (use Copy Markdown or Open on any docs page) for pasting into a chat or loading into context.

Ask AI from the docs

Every docs page includes Copy Markdown and an Open menu to start a conversation in ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor with the current page URL as context.

On the homepage, the footer has the same shortcuts plus the skill installer.

What agents should know

Brief version of what the skill covers, useful even without installing it:

Bast wraps OpenSSH, not a custom SSH protocol. Connection settings live in ~/.ssh/config; metadata (groups, tags, notes) lives in ~/.config/bast/state.json.
Use --json --no-input for scripts. Add --yes for deletes and exports.
bast doctor --json diagnoses SSH config and Bast setup. data.healthy is false when fail findings remain; finding id values are stable.
Host and key edits are patches: only flags you pass change. Use --clear-* flags to remove values.
Prefer bast hosts / bast keys subcommands over the TUI in non-interactive environments.

See Command line and Files and storage for the full reference.

AI agents