Apm Usage Agent Skill
> configuring, authoring, or troubleshooting AI-agent packages, dependencies, compilation, MCP servers, policy, or any `apm` CLI command.
Install
one command, takes just this skill from the repositorynpx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/apm --skill apm-usageWhat comes with it
185 010 bytes besides the instructionThe instruction itself
4 sections, as written by the authorAPM Usage
APM (Agent Package Manager) is the open-source package manager for AI coding
agents. It lets teams install, share, and govern reusable instructions, prompts,
agents, skills, and MCP server configurations across projects.
When to activate
- User mentions
apmor "Agent Package Manager" - Questions about installing or managing AI-agent packages
- Setting up instructions, prompts, agents, skills, or chatmodes
- Configuring MCP servers through apm.yml
- Authentication for private repos (GitHub, ADO, GHES, Artifactory)
- Policy enforcement or
apm audit - Package authoring or publishing
- Compiling agent context (
apm compile) - Troubleshooting apm errors
Key rules
- Commit these files: apm.yml, apm.lock.yaml, .apm/, deployed harness directories including .grok/, and AGENTS.md
- Never commit: apm_modules/ (add to .gitignore)
- Team sync: after
git clone, runapm installto restore dependencies - Update deps:
apm install --updaterefreshes to latest refs - Pin versions: use tags (
#v1.0.0) in production, branches for development - ASCII only: all CLI output and source must stay within printable ASCII
Reference
For detailed guidance, see the following resources:
- Installation -- install and update APM
- Workflow -- core workflow, apm.yml format, what to commit
- Commands -- full CLI command reference
- Dependencies -- all dependency formats and version pinning
- Authentication -- token setup for private repos
- Governance -- policy engine and audit checks
- Package Authoring -- creating APM packages
- Troubleshooting -- common errors and fixes
Other skills for the same job
different authors, same section of the catalogue
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Guide for creating effective skills. This skill should be used when users want to create a new skill (or update an existing skill) that extends Claude's capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, or tool integrations.
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Use when facing 2+ independent tasks that can be worked on without shared state or sequential dependencies
This skill should be used when the user wants to "create a skill", "add a skill to plugin", "write a new skill", "improve skill description", "organize skill content", or needs guidance on skill structure, progressive disclosure, or skill development best practices for Claude Code plugins.
Helps users discover and install agent skills when they ask questions like "how do I do X", "find a skill for X", "is there a skill that can...", or express interest in extending capabilities. This skill should be used when the user is looking for functionality that might exist as an installable skill.
Use when creating new skills, editing existing skills, or verifying skills work before deployment
How to use it
Take microsoft/apm-usage from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal
use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.
The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the
same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.