Quickstart
Install the CLI, connect to your organization, and sync your first Skill into your harnesses.
This guide takes you from nothing to a shared Skill that Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor can all use. It takes about five minutes.
Before you start
- Node.js 24 or newer and npm.
- At least one supported harness: Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor. BarnDog can be set up before a harness is installed, too.
- Your organization's BarnDog server URL. Your BarnDog admin can tell you what it is.
- Access to your organization. An admin must have added you to the organization before you can sign in from the CLI.
Early access
During early access, the CLI is installed from the BarnDog repository rather than from the npm registry.
Install the CLI
From the repository's cli/ directory, build the CLI and link the barndog command:
npm install
npm run build
npm linkCheck that it works from any directory:
barndog --helpSign in
barndog login --server https://barndog.example.comYour browser opens a sign-in page. Confirm that the code it shows matches the one in your terminal. The server you pass here becomes your default, so later commands don't need --server.
Check who you're signed in as:
barndog auth statusChoose your harnesses
barndog init --server https://barndog.example.comBarnDog lists Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor and shows which ones it detected on this machine. Use the arrow keys to move, Space to check a harness, and Enter to save.
This only saves your preferences to ~/.barndog/config.yaml. Nothing is installed yet.
Install a Skill
List the Skills published in your organization:
barndog skills listEach row shows the Skill's name, its origin (who owns it), and its current version. Install one by name and origin:
barndog skills install code-review --origin team/platformBarnDog downloads the published version, checks it, and links it into every harness you selected.
Start a new agent session
Harnesses read Skills when a session starts. Open a fresh Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor session and the Skill is available.
Stay up to date
When a teammate publishes a new version, run:
barndog syncSync downloads every new version first and only then updates your harness links, so a failed download never leaves you half-updated. Running it again when nothing changed reports everything as unchanged.