Installation Commands

Installation commands manage skill dependencies in your project or globally.

tank install

Install a skill from the Tank registry.

tank install <name> [version-range]

Examples

# Install latest version
tank install @acme/analytics

# Install specific version range
tank install @acme/analytics@^1.0.0
tank install @acme/analytics@~2.1.0
tank install @acme/[email protected]

# Install all skills from skills.json
tank install

Installation Flow

Resolve version using semver range
Fetch skill metadata from registry
Verify permission budget (if defined in skills.json)
Download tarball from signed URL
Verify SHA-512 integrity hash
Extract with security filters
Update skills.json and skills.lock
Link to installed AI agents (if detected)

Example Output

$ tank install @acme/analytics
⠹ Resolving versions...
⠹ Fetching @acme/[email protected]...
⠹ Downloading @acme/[email protected]...
⠹ Verifying integrity...
⠹ Extracting @acme/[email protected]...
ℹ Linked to 2 agent(s)
✓ Installed @acme/[email protected]

Options

—global

Install skill globally instead of in current project.

tank install @acme/analytics --global

Global skills are stored in ~/.tank/skills/ and available to all agents.

Version Resolution

Tank uses semantic versioning (semver) to resolve versions:

# Caret (^) - Compatible with version (same major)
tank install skill@^1.2.3   # Matches 1.2.3, 1.3.0, 1.9.9 (not 2.0.0)

# Tilde (~) - Approximately equivalent (same minor)
tank install skill@~1.2.3   # Matches 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 1.2.9 (not 1.3.0)

# Exact version
tank install [email protected]    # Only matches 1.2.3

# Latest (default)
tank install skill          # Latest published version
tank install skill@*        # Explicit wildcard

See source: packages/shared/src/resolver.ts

Install from Lockfile

Run tank install without arguments to install all skills from skills.lock:

$ tank install
⠹ Installing from lockfile...
✓ Installed 3 skills from lockfile

This ensures deterministic installs across environments (CI/CD, team members).

Integrity Checks

During installation, Tank verifies tarball integrity:

const hash = crypto.createHash('sha512')
  .update(tarballBuffer)
  .digest('base64');
const computedIntegrity = `sha512-${hash}`;

if (computedIntegrity !== metadata.integrity) {
  throw new Error('Integrity mismatch');
}

See source: apps/cli/src/commands/install.ts:244 If integrity fails:

✗ Integrity mismatch for @acme/[email protected]
  Expected: sha512-abc123...
  Got: sha512-def456...

This prevents:

Tampered packages
Corrupted downloads
Man-in-the-middle attacks

Security Filters

Tank extracts tarballs with strict security filters:

Rejected Entries

Absolute paths - /etc/passwd
Path traversal - ../../etc/passwd
Symlinks - link -> /etc/passwd
Hard links - Physical links to other files

See source: apps/cli/src/commands/install.ts:552

Size Limits

Max uncompressed size: 100 MB
Enforced during extraction

Permission Budget

If skills.json defines a permission budget, Tank verifies the skill fits within it:

{
  "permissions": {
    "network": {
      "outbound": ["*.example.com"]
    },
    "filesystem": {
      "read": ["./data/**"],
      "write": []
    },
    "subprocess": false
  }
}

If a skill requests permissions outside the budget:

✗ Permission denied: @acme/analytics requests network access to "api.acme.com",
  which is not in the project's permission budget

See source: apps/cli/src/commands/install.ts:592

Audit Score Threshold

Set minimum audit score in skills.json:

{
  "audit": {
    "min_score": 7.0
  }
}

If installed skill’s audit score is below threshold:

✗ Audit score 4.2 for @acme/analytics is below minimum threshold 7.0
  defined in skills.json

See source: apps/cli/src/commands/install.ts:216

tank update

Update one or all skills to the latest compatible version.

# Update single skill
tank update @acme/analytics

# Update all skills
tank update

Update Flow

Read version range from skills.json
Fetch available versions from registry
Resolve latest compatible version
Compare with lockfile version
If newer version exists, install it

Example Output

$ tank update @acme/analytics
⠹ Resolving versions...
⠹ Fetching @acme/[email protected]...
✓ Updated @acme/analytics to 1.3.0

$ tank update @acme/analytics
ℹ Already at latest: @acme/[email protected]

Update All

$ tank update
⠹ Resolving versions...
✓ Updated 2 skills

$ tank update
ℹ All skills up to date

Global Updates

Update globally installed skills:

tank update --global             # Update all global skills
tank update @acme/analytics --global  # Update single global skill

tank remove

Remove a skill from the project.

tank remove <name>

Examples

tank remove @acme/analytics
tank remove @acme/analytics --global

Removal Flow

Remove skill from skills.json
Remove all matching entries from skills.lock
Unlink from installed agents
Delete skill directory from .tank/skills/

Example Output

$ tank remove @acme/analytics
ℹ Unlinked from 2 agent(s)
✓ Removed @acme/analytics

Global Removal

$ tank remove @acme/analytics --global
ℹ Unlinked from 3 agent(s)
✓ Removed @acme/analytics (global)

Errors

$ tank remove unknown-skill
✗ Skill "unknown-skill" is not installed (not found in skills.json)

Installation Locations

Project Installation

my-project/
├── skills.json
├── skills.lock
└── .tank/
    ├── skills/
    │   └── @acme/
    │       └── analytics/      # Extracted skill files
    └── agent-skills/
        └── acme-analytics/     # Agent-ready wrapper

Global Installation

~/.tank/
├── config.json
├── skills.lock
├── skills/
│   └── @acme/
│       └── analytics/          # Extracted skill files
└── agent-skills/
    └── acme-analytics/         # Agent-ready wrapper

Agent Linking

After installation, Tank automatically links skills to detected agents:

ℹ Linked to 2 agent(s)

Supported agents:

OpenCode
Cursor
Windsurf
Cline
Continue

See Linking Commands for details.

Lockfile Format

The skills.lock file ensures deterministic installs:

{
  "lockfileVersion": 1,
  "skills": {
    "@acme/[email protected]": {
      "resolved": "https://storage.tank.dev/tarballs/abc123.tgz",
      "integrity": "sha512-abc123...",
      "permissions": {
        "network": { "outbound": ["api.acme.com"] },
        "filesystem": { "read": [], "write": [] },
        "subprocess": false
      },
      "audit_score": 8.5
    }
  }
}

Key Properties

resolved - Download URL (signed, time-limited)
integrity - SHA-512 hash for verification
permissions - Declared permissions from manifest
audit_score - Security score (0-10, null if pending)

Determinism

Keys are sorted alphabetically
Trailing newline enforced
Consistent indentation (2 spaces)

This ensures lockfile diffs are minimal and git-friendly.

Troubleshooting

Network Errors

✗ Network error fetching versions: ENOTFOUND

Fix: Check internet connection and registry URL in ~/.tank/config.json.

Permission Budget Violation

✗ Permission denied: skill requests subprocess access,
  but project budget does not allow it

Fix: Update permissions.subprocess in skills.json or choose a different skill.

Audit Score Too Low

⚠ Audit score 3.5 for skill is below minimum threshold 7.0

Fix: Lower audit.min_score in skills.json or contact skill author to address security issues.

Skill Not Found

✗ Skill not found or no access: @acme/analytics

Fix:

Verify skill name is correct
Run tank login if private skill
Check organization membership for scoped packages

Get Started

Core Concepts

CLI Commands

Security

Registry

Development

​Installation Commands

​tank install

​Examples

​Installation Flow

​Example Output

​Options

​—global

​Version Resolution

​Install from Lockfile

​Integrity Checks

​Security Filters

​Rejected Entries

​Size Limits

​Permission Budget

​Audit Score Threshold

​tank update

​Update Flow

​Example Output

​Update All

​Global Updates

​tank remove

​Examples

​Removal Flow

​Example Output

​Global Removal

​Errors

​Installation Locations

​Project Installation

​Global Installation

​Agent Linking

​Lockfile Format

​Key Properties

​Determinism

​Troubleshooting

​Network Errors

​Permission Budget Violation

​Audit Score Too Low

​Skill Not Found

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Installation Commands

tank install

Examples

Installation Flow

Example Output

Options

—global

Version Resolution

Install from Lockfile

Integrity Checks

Security Filters

Rejected Entries

Size Limits

Permission Budget

Audit Score Threshold

tank update

Update Flow

Example Output

Update All

Global Updates

tank remove

Examples

Removal Flow

Example Output

Global Removal

Errors

Installation Locations

Project Installation

Global Installation

Agent Linking

Lockfile Format

Key Properties

Determinism

Troubleshooting

Network Errors

Permission Budget Violation

Audit Score Too Low

Skill Not Found