Domain glossary
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Slug | domain-glossary |
| Status | defined |
| Last review | 2026-08-10 |
Summary
Terminological authority for skli. Every related feature must reuse these terms without redefining them.
Entities
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Skill | Installable unit describing a capability or workflow for an AI IDE (skill file or folder). |
| Rule | Installable unit of persistent rules / guidance for an AI IDE. |
| Agent | Installable unit describing an agent (persona, tools, instructions) for an AI IDE. |
| Package | Generic term for Skill, Rule, or Agent when discussing installation without distinguishing type. |
| Manifest | skli.json file listing installed Packages and their versions for a given scope. |
| ProjectManifest | Manifest at {project}/.skli/skli.json, including project metadata (name, description, versioning, tags), Package maps, and optional links. |
| GlobalManifest | Manifest at ~/.skli/skli.json (user profile) — Package maps only, no project metadata, no links. |
| Link | Project-scoped binding to a remote ProjectManifest (owner/repo) with a pinned version and per-kind selection (includeAll / includes). Linked packages are copied to IDE dirs but are not recorded as local Package map entries. |
| LinkEntry | One value under ProjectManifest links (key = owner/repo). |
| ProjectIndex | ~/.skli/projects.json listing absolute paths of projects referenced by the CLI. |
| Source | Install origin: local path or GitHub Source (owner/repo[@ref]:path or URL) targeting a Package (or a repository containing one). |
| PackageSourceOrigin | Manifest field source on a Package entry: local (filesystem) or repos (GitHub repository). Distinct from the CLI Source argument. |
| IDE home | User-level configuration root of an AI IDE (e.g. ~/.cursor, ~/.claude) under which global Package dirs live. Concrete paths per IdeId: ide-targets. |
Enums
Scope
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
project | Install / reference relative to the current repository (ProjectManifest). |
global | Install / reference to the user profile (GlobalManifest) and/or IDE home paths. |
ide | Deploy into IDE-specific folders (project .cursor/ / .claude/ / … or global IDE home) — selected via the install <ide> argument. |
IdeId
Supported AI IDE targets for install path resolution. Path layouts: ide-targets.
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
cursor | Cursor |
claude | Claude Code |
codex | OpenAI Codex |
copilot | GitHub Copilot (VS Code / CLI) |
windsurf | Windsurf (Cascade) |
Multi-select on CLI: comma-separated IdeId list (e.g. cursor,claude). IdeId itself has no special all value.
CLI ide selector (update / restore / remove): those commands also accept the literal argument all meaning “every IdeId” (no IDE filter). That token is a command-level selector, not a member of the IdeId enum — see cmd-update, cmd-restore, and cmd-remove.
CLI install-path (update / restore / remove): a single filesystem path under a primary IdeId layout (e.g. .cursor/skills/arcade-bootstrap) may select one Package instead of <ide> <kind> <id>. Resolution: ide-targets.
PackageKind
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
skill | Skill-type Package. |
rule | Rule-type Package. |
agent | Agent-type Package. |
InstallKind
Selector for skli install — which Package kind to install from a Source. Same values as PackageKind (historical alias name in CLI docs).
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
skill | Skill only. |
rule | Rule only. |
agent | Agent only. |
Multi-package install from a remote ProjectManifest is owned by cmd-link, not InstallKind.
VersioningMode
Versioning mode for a project (ProjectManifest metadata) or a Package entry (versioning field).
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
tag | Versioning by git tags (default at project init and package install). On repos install, Package version is a tag (explicit Source tag if it exists, otherwise the repository’s latest tag). |
commit | Versioning by commit SHA (repos install resolves Source ref to full SHA). |
branch | Versioning by branch name. |
none | No versioning policy (e.g. local add); repos install still records the resolved ref as version. |
PackageSourceOrigin
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
local | Package originates from a local filesystem path. |
repos | Package originates from a GitHub repository. |
Paths (canonical)
| Alias | Path |
|---|---|
| ProjectManifest | {project}/.skli/skli.json |
| GlobalManifest | ~/.skli/skli.json |
| ProjectIndex | ~/.skli/projects.json |
~ means the user home (os.homedir() / %USERPROFILE% on Windows).
Out of scope
- File format details inside each IDE directory (frontmatter schemas) — see product docs; path registry in
ide-targets. - Public Package catalog.
Terminology
This file is the authority; other specs link here.