pp-crates-io

Crates Io — Printing Press CLI

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the crates-io-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:

Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to $HOME/.local/bin on macOS/Linux and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin on Windows:
```
npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install crates-io --cli-only
```
Verify: crates-io-pp-cli --version
Ensure the reported install directory is on $PATH for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.6 or newer). This installs into $GOPATH/bin (default $HOME/go/bin), so add that directory to $PATH instead:

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/developer-tools/crates-io/cmd/crates-io-pp-cli@latest

If --version reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

Read-only endpoints for crates.io ecosystem intelligence.

When Not to Use This CLI

Do not activate this CLI for requests that require creating, updating, deleting, publishing, commenting, upvoting, inviting, ordering, sending messages, booking, purchasing, or changing remote state. This printed CLI exposes read-only commands for inspection, export, sync, and analysis.

Command Reference

crates — Manage crates

crates-io-pp-cli crates get — Get crate metadata
crates-io-pp-cli crates search — Search crates

Finding the right command

When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:

crates-io-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"

which resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code 0 means at least one match; exit code 2 means no confident match — fall back to --help or use a narrower query.

Auth Setup

No authentication required.

Run crates-io-pp-cli doctor to verify setup.

Agent Mode

Add --agent to any command. Expands to: --json --compact --no-input --no-color --yes.

Pipeable — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr
Filterable — --select keeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:
```
crates-io-pp-cli crates get mock-value --agent --select id,name,status
```
Previewable — --dry-run shows the request without sending
Offline-friendly — sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
Non-interactive — never prompts, every input is a flag
Read-only — do not use this CLI for create, update, delete, publish, comment, upvote, invite, order, send, or other mutating requests

Response envelope

Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:

{
  "meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
  "results": <data>
}

Parse .results for data and .meta.source to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable N results (live) summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal AND no machine-format flag (--json, --csv, --compact, --quiet, --plain, --select) is set — piped/agent consumers and explicit-format runs get pure JSON on stdout.

Paths and state

Agents should treat the CLI's path resolver as part of the runtime contract:

Use --home <dir> for one invocation, or set CRATES_IO_HOME=<dir> to relocate all four path kinds under one root.
Use per-kind env vars only when a specific kind must diverge: CRATES_IO_CONFIG_DIR, CRATES_IO_DATA_DIR, CRATES_IO_STATE_DIR, CRATES_IO_CACHE_DIR.
Resolution order is per-kind env var, --home, CRATES_IO_HOME, XDG (XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_STATE_HOME, XDG_CACHE_HOME), then platform defaults.
config contains settings like config.toml and profiles. data contains credentials.toml, data.db, cookies, and auth sidecars. state contains persisted queries, jobs, and teach.log. cache contains regenerable HTTP/cache files.
Stored secrets live in credentials.toml under the data dir. Existing legacy config.toml secrets are read for compatibility and leave config.toml on the first auth write.
Run crates-io-pp-cli doctor --fail-on warn to surface path and credential-location warnings. agent-context exposes a schema v4 paths block for agents that need the resolved dirs.

For MCP, pass relocation through the MCP host config. The MCP binary does not inherit CLI flags:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "crates-io": {
      "command": "crates-io-pp-mcp",
      "env": {
        "CRATES_IO_HOME": "/srv/crates-io"
      }
    }
  }
}

Fleet precedence: an inherited per-kind env var overrides an explicit --home for that kind. Use CRATES_IO_HOME or per-kind vars as durable fleet levers, and use --home only for a single invocation. Relocation is not reversible by unsetting env vars; move files manually before clearing CRATES_IO_HOME, or doctor will not find credentials left under the former root.

Agent Feedback

When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:

crates-io-pp-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
crates-io-pp-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
crates-io-pp-cli feedback list --json --limit 10

Entries are stored locally as feedback.jsonl under the resolved data dir. They are never POSTed unless CRATES_IO_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT is set AND either --send is passed or CRATES_IO_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true. Default behavior is local-only.

Write what surprised you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.

Output Delivery

Every command accepts --deliver <sink>. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:

Sink	Effect
`stdout`	Default; write to stdout only
`file:<path>`	Atomically write output to `<path>` (tmp + rename)
`webhook:<url>`	POST the output body to the URL (`application/json` or `application/x-ndjson` when `--compact`)

Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.

Named Profiles

A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled agent calls the same command every run with the same configuration - HeyGen's "Beacon" pattern.

crates-io-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
crates-io-pp-cli --profile briefing crates get mock-value
crates-io-pp-cli profile list --json
crates-io-pp-cli profile show briefing
crates-io-pp-cli profile delete briefing --yes

Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults. agent-context lists all available profiles under available_profiles so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
2	Usage error (wrong arguments)
3	Resource not found
5	API error (upstream issue)
7	Rate limited (wait and retry)
10	Config error

Argument Parsing

Parse $ARGUMENTS:

Empty, help, or --help → show crates-io-pp-cli --help output
Starts with install → ends with mcp → MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above
Anything else → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with --agent)

MCP Server Installation

Install the MCP server:

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/developer-tools/crates-io/cmd/crates-io-pp-mcp@latest

Register the server with your MCP host, using crates-io-pp-mcp as the command.
Verify that your MCP host lists crates-io-pp-mcp.

Direct Use

Check if installed: which crates-io-pp-cli If not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill).
Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.

Execute with the --agent flag:

crates-io-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent

If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help: crates-io-pp-cli <command> --help.