Consuming Packages

Install and use AI skill packages in your projects.

Overview

Consuming Imprint packages is as simple as installing any NuGet package. On build, skills are automatically deployed to your AI assistants.

Installing Packages

Using .NET CLI

dotnet add package PackageName

Using Package Manager Console

Install-Package PackageName

Using PackageReference

Add directly to your .csproj:

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="PackageName" Version="1.0.0" />
</ItemGroup>

Building Your Project

After installing, simply build:

dotnet build

Imprint automatically:

Detects which AI agents you use
Copies skills to each agent’s directory
Merges MCP servers into mcp.json
Updates the tracking manifest

Verifying Installation

Check Skill Files

# GitHub Copilot
ls .github/skills/

# Claude
ls .claude/skills/

# Cursor
ls .cursor/rules/

# Roo Code
ls .roo/rules/

# OpenCode
ls .opencode/skills/

# Windsurf
ls .windsurf/rules/

Check MCP Configuration

# VS Code / Copilot
cat .vscode/mcp.json

# Claude
cat .claude/mcp.json

# Cursor
cat .cursor/mcp.json

# Roo Code
cat .roo/mcp.json

# OpenCode
cat opencode.json

# Windsurf
cat .windsurf/mcp.json

Check the Manifest

cat .imprint/manifest.json

Multiple Packages

You can install multiple skill packages:

dotnet add package MyOrg.Skills.Security
dotnet add package MyOrg.Skills.Coding
dotnet add package MyOrg.Skills.Azure

All skills are merged into the appropriate directories:

.github/skills/
├── security/           # From MyOrg.Skills.Security
│   └── SKILL.md
├── coding/             # From MyOrg.Skills.Coding
│   └── SKILL.md
└── azure/              # From MyOrg.Skills.Azure
    ├── storage/
    └── functions/

Controlling Agent Targets

Auto-Detection (Default)

By default, Imprint detects agents by looking for their directories:

Directory	Agent
`.github/`	copilot
`.claude/`	claude
`.cursor/`	cursor
`.roo/`	roo
`.opencode/`	opencode
`.windsurf/`	windsurf

To enable auto-detection, create the agent directory:

mkdir .github   # Enable Copilot
mkdir .claude   # Enable Claude
mkdir .cursor   # Enable Cursor
mkdir .roo      # Enable Roo Code
mkdir .opencode # Enable OpenCode
mkdir .windsurf # Enable Windsurf

Explicit Configuration

Override auto-detection in your .csproj:

<PropertyGroup>
  <!-- Target specific agents only -->
  <ImprintTargetAgents>copilot;claude</ImprintTargetAgents>
</PropertyGroup>

Disable for CI/CD

In CI environments, you typically don’t need skills:

<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(CI)' == 'true'">
  <ImprintTargetAgents></ImprintTargetAgents>
  <ImprintAutoDetectAgents>false</ImprintAutoDetectAgents>
</PropertyGroup>

Updating Packages

Update to the latest version:

dotnet add package PackageName --version X.Y.Z

Or update all packages:

dotnet outdated
dotnet add package PackageName

On the next build:

Old skills are removed
New skills are installed
MCP servers are updated

Removing Packages

Remove the package:

dotnet remove package PackageName

Clean up installed files:

dotnet clean

Or just rebuild - the clean happens automatically.

Understanding the Build Output

During build, you’ll see Imprint messages:

Imprint: Resolved agents: copilot, claude
Imprint: Copying skills from MyOrg.Skills.Security
Imprint: Copied 3 files to .github/skills/
Imprint: Copied 3 files to .claude/skills/
Imprint: Merging MCP servers
Imprint: Added 2 servers to .vscode/mcp.json
Imprint: Added 2 servers to .claude/mcp.json

Gitignore Considerations

Default Behavior

By default, skill files and mcp.json are NOT gitignored. This allows teams to:

Share a consistent set of AI skills
Commit MCP configurations

Ignoring Generated Files

If you prefer to not commit generated files:

# Ignore Imprint manifest
.imprint/

# Ignore generated skills
.github/skills/
.claude/skills/
.cursor/rules/
.roo/rules/
.opencode/skills/
.windsurf/rules/

# Ignore generated MCP configs (if desired)
# .vscode/mcp.json
# .claude/mcp.json
# .cursor/mcp.json
# .roo/mcp.json
# opencode.json
# .windsurf/mcp.json

Working with MCP Servers

Servers Are Merged

Imprint merges MCP servers from packages into your existing mcp.json:

Your existing mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "my-custom-server": { ... }
  }
}

After installing a package:

{
  "servers": {
    "my-custom-server": { ... },
    "package-server": { ... }
  }
}

Your Servers Are Safe

Imprint only manages servers that came from packages. Your custom servers are never touched.

Environment Variables

Some MCP servers require environment variables:

# Set required environment variables
export MY_API_KEY="your-key-here"
export DATABASE_URL="connection-string"

Check the package documentation for required variables.

Troubleshooting

Skills Not Appearing

Check agent directories exist:

ls -la | grep -E '^\.'
# Should show .github, .claude, .cursor, .roo, .opencode, or .windsurf

Check the manifest:

cat .imprint/manifest.json

Rebuild:

dotnet clean
dotnet build

MCP Server Not Connecting

Verify server is defined:

cat .vscode/mcp.json

Test server manually:

npx -y @org/server-name

Check environment variables:

echo $MY_API_KEY

Wrong Agents Targeted

Check current configuration:

grep -i imprint *.csproj

Check auto-detection directories:

ls -d .* 2>/dev/null | grep -E '\.github|\.claude|\.cursor|\.roo|\.opencode|\.windsurf'

Advanced: Private Package Feeds

Azure Artifacts

<!-- nuget.config -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
  <packageSources>
    <add key="nuget.org" value="https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json" />
    <add key="MyOrg" value="https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/myorg/_packaging/feed/nuget/v3/index.json" />
  </packageSources>
  <packageSourceCredentials>
    <MyOrg>
      <add key="Username" value="PAT" />
      <add key="ClearTextPassword" value="%AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT%" />
    </MyOrg>
  </packageSourceCredentials>
</configuration>

GitHub Packages

<!-- nuget.config -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
  <packageSources>
    <add key="nuget.org" value="https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json" />
    <add key="github" value="https://nuget.pkg.github.com/OWNER/index.json" />
  </packageSources>
  <packageSourceCredentials>
    <github>
      <add key="Username" value="USERNAME" />
      <add key="ClearTextPassword" value="%GITHUB_TOKEN%" />
    </github>
  </packageSourceCredentials>
</configuration>

Next Steps

Configuration Reference - All configuration options
Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions