Install
Install the ABX CLI, agent skill, or SDK.
Most people need the CLI and its agent skill. The SDK is for application code.
CLI
Install it globally if you want abx available everywhere.
npm install -g @artblocks/abx-cli
abx doctorPin it inside a project when repeatable operations matter.
npm install --save-dev @artblocks/abx-cli
npx abx doctorTry it once without installing:
npx @artblocks/abx-cli@latest doctorThe unscoped abx package on npm is unrelated. Use @artblocks/abx-cli for one-off runs.
ABX requires Node.js 22.13 or newer. abx doctor checks Node, RPC access, the canonical factory,
signing, storage, and the installed skill. It does not print secrets.
Agent skill
The skill ships inside the CLI, so its instructions match the installed commands.
abx skill installBy default, ABX writes the skill to both supported discovery paths:
| Path | Agents |
|---|---|
.claude/skills/abx | Claude Code |
.agents/skills/abx | Cursor, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot |
Use --agent <name> to target one agent or --global to install in your home directory. Restart the
agent after installation. Run abx skill install again after upgrading the CLI.
SDK
npm install @artblocks/abx-sdk viemThe SDK is ESM-only and requires Node.js 22.13 or newer. See the SDK reference.
Optional Arweave dependency
A default install of @artblocks/abx-cli does not include Arweave support. Filesystem, S3/R2, and
IPFS storage backends work out of the box; --backend arweave needs one more package.
Arweave upload goes through ArDrive Turbo (@ardrive/turbo-sdk), whose dependency tree is large —
it pulls in a browser wallet-connector ecosystem a Node CLI never executes, and carries a couple of
no-fix advisories in code paths ABX does not call. To keep that weight out of the default install,
ABX ships the implementation as its own package, installed only when you actually want it:
npm install @artblocks/abx-storage-arweaveInstall it once alongside the CLI, then use --backend arweave (or ABX_STORAGE_BACKEND=arweave)
as normal. Without it, the CLI reports the missing package and the exact install command instead of
a stack trace — or use --backend arweave --provider http-bundler --upload-url <bundler>, a
dep-free provider that needs neither this package nor any of its dependencies.