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Init

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Use the ably init command to set up the Ably CLI in a single step. It installs the CLI, authenticates you with OAuth Device Authorization, and installs the Ably Agent Skills into any AI coding tools detected on your machine.

Supported AI coding tools:

For tools other than Claude Code, the skill files are copied directly into the tool's user skills directory.

Synopsis

ably init [options]

You can also run init without installing the CLI first:

npx -p @ably/cli ably init

Options

--target | -t

Target AI coding tools to install Agent Skills for. Defaults to auto, which detects installed tools and prompts you to choose. Repeat the flag to specify multiple tools.

Supported values:

  • auto - Auto-detect installed tools (default).
  • claude-code - Claude Code.
  • cursor - Cursor.
  • vscode - VS Code (GitHub Copilot).
  • windsurf - Windsurf.

auto cannot be combined with explicit targets.

--json

Output results as compact JSON. Mutually exclusive with --pretty-json.

--pretty-json

Output results in formatted, colorized JSON. Mutually exclusive with --json.

--verbose | -v

Enable verbose logging. Can be combined with --json or --pretty-json.

Examples

Set up the CLI with auto-detected AI coding tools:

ably init

Install Agent Skills for Claude Code only:

ably init --target claude-code

Install Agent Skills for Cursor and Windsurf:

ably init --target cursor --target windsurf

Set up the CLI without installing it first:

npx -p @ably/cli ably init

Run init in JSON mode for use in scripts:

ably init --json

See also