APM – Agent Package Manager

npm for AI coding agents. The package manager for AGENTS.md, Agent Skills, and MCP servers.

GitHub Copilot · Cursor · Claude · Codex · Gemini

📐 Built on open standards: APM generates AGENTS.md instructions, installs Agent Skills natively, and manages MCP servers.

Install

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/danielmeppiel/apm/main/install.sh | sh

Quick Start

One package. Every AI agent. Native format for each.

# Install a skill — give your agent new capabilities
apm install danielmeppiel/form-builder

# Install guardrails — keep your agent compliant
apm install danielmeppiel/compliance-rules

# Compile for your AI tools
apm compile

Done. Type /gdpr-assessment or /code-review in Copilot or Claude. It just works.

What APM Does

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  APM Packages (from GitHub, Azure DevOps)                       │
│  ├── Instructions → Coding standards, guardrails (AGENTS.md)    │
│  ├── Skills       → AI capabilities, workflows (agentskills.io) │
│  ├── Prompts      → Reusable commands and templates             │
│  └── MCP Servers  → Tool integrations                           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                    apm install && apm compile
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Universal Output (auto-detected from .github/ and .claude/)    │
│  ├── AGENTS.md      → Instructions for Copilot, Cursor, Codex   │
│  ├── CLAUDE.md      → Instructions for Claude Code              │
│  ├── .github/       → VSCode native prompts & agents            │
│  └── .claude/       → Claude commands & skills                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

One package. Every AI agent. Native format for each.

Real Example: corporate-website

A production project using APM with skills and layered guardrails:

# apm.yml
name: corporate-website
dependencies:
  apm:
    - danielmeppiel/form-builder      # Build forms with React Hook Form + Zod
    - danielmeppiel/compliance-rules  # GDPR, security
    - danielmeppiel/design-guidelines # UI standards

apm install && apm compile

→ View the full example

Commands

Command	What it does
apm install <pkg>	Add package to project
apm compile	Generate agent context files
apm init	Create new APM project
apm run <prompt>	Execute a workflow
apm deps list	Show installed packages

Install From Anywhere

# For packages hosted on GitHub 
apm install owner/repo

# Paths or Single file are also OK (Virtual Package)
apm install github/awesome-copilot/prompts/code-review.prompt.md

# For packages in GitHub Enterprise with Data Residency 
apm install ghe.company.com/owner/repo

# For packages Azure DevOps
apm install dev.azure.com/org/project/repo

Create Your Own Package

apm init my-standards && cd my-standards

This creates:

my-standards/
├── apm.yml              # Package manifest
├── SKILL.md             # Package meta-guide for AI discovery
└── .apm/
    ├── instructions/    # Guardrails (.instructions.md)
    ├── prompts/         # Workflows (.prompt.md)  
    └── agents/          # Personas (.agent.md)

Example guardrail:

cat > .apm/instructions/python.instructions.md << 'EOF'
---
applyTo: "**/*.py"
---
# Python Standards
- Use type hints for all functions
- Follow PEP 8 style guidelines
EOF

# Push and share
git add . && git commit -m "Initial standards" && git push

Anyone can now run: apm install you/my-standards

Installation Options

# Quick install (recommended)
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/danielmeppiel/apm/main/install.sh | sh

# Homebrew
brew tap danielmeppiel/apm-cli && brew install apm-cli

# pip
pip install apm-cli

Target Specific Agents

apm compile                    # Auto-detects from .github/ and .claude/ folders
apm compile --target vscode    # AGENTS.md + .github/ only
apm compile --target claude    # CLAUDE.md + .claude/ only
apm compile --target all       # Force all formats

Note: apm compile generates instruction files (AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md). Prompts, agents, and skills are integrated by apm install into .github/ and .claude/ folders.

Advanced Configuration

For private packages, Azure DevOps, or running prompts via AI runtimes:

Token	Purpose
GITHUB_APM_PAT	Private GitHub packages
ADO_APM_PAT	Azure DevOps packages
GITHUB_COPILOT_PAT	Running prompts via apm run

→ Complete setup guide

---

Community Packages

Package	What you get
danielmeppiel/compliance-rules	/gdpr-assessment, /security-audit + compliance rules
danielmeppiel/design-guidelines	/accessibility-audit, /design-review + UI standards
DevExpGbb/platform-mode	Platform engineering prompts & agents
Add yours →

---

Documentation

Getting Started

Guide	Description
Quick Start	Complete setup, tokens, first project
Core Concepts	How APM works, the primitives model
Examples	Real-world patterns and use cases

Reference

Guide	Description
CLI Reference	All commands and options
Compilation Engine	Context optimization algorithm
Skills	Native agentskills.io support
Integrations	VSCode, Spec-kit, MCP servers

Advanced

Guide	Description
Dependencies	Package management deep-dive
Primitives	Building advanced workflows
Contributing	Join the ecosystem

---

Open Standards: AGENTS.md · Agent Skills · MCP

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A practical learning path for AI-Native Development, leveraging APM along the way.