Usage & Features

Adding Knowledge

On this page

Chain Hub supports registry skills, GitHub packs, and content you author in the hub.

chain add <slug-from-registry>
chain add github:owner/repo --pack
chain new my-skill
chain setup
chain validate

Skills

  • Protected core (14): Hub operations skills ship under core/skills/ on every chain init. They cover setup, validation, sync, Learn, registry hygiene, and more.
  • Authoring pack (9, optional): chain init --with-authoring or install individual slugs with chain add. Removable with chain remove.
  • Registry & marketplace: chain add <slug> copies from the generated registry/index.yaml. Use chain search to discover slugs.
  • GitHub packs: chain add github:owner/repo --pack registers skills under the packs bucket and refreshes together on chain update. Protected core slugs in a pack are skipped automatically.
  • Manual copies & editor sync: If a skill folder lands in skills/ without chain add, run chain setup or chain validate --fix — Chain Hub registers it in skills-registry.yaml so the dashboard shows the correct bucket (Personal or Community), not Unknown.

Deactivation

If you want to temporarily hide certain skills, rules, or entire packs from your IDE adapters without deleting them, you can deactivate them.

  • Deactivating an asset renames its folder to .deactivated-<slug> (for skills) on your filesystem and registers the state in skills-registry.yaml.
  • The CLI automatically skips creating symlinks for any deactivated content during chain setup.
  • You can toggle activation status at any time from the asset’s detail page or pack card in the dashboard.

Private repositories: Set GITHUB_TOKEN or GH_TOKEN, or run gh auth login, before installing packs from private GitHub repositories.

Chain Hub Pro pack

Purchasing Solo or Team Pro gives you a Hub Pro license — it does not copy skills onto disk automatically. The pack layers onto your existing hub: design direction, shipping checklists, stack workflows, and Brain in the dashboard — one library, no duplicate tree.

You need three steps:

  1. Purchase or request access — Checkout or early-access request; copy your CHAIN-… key from Account or your welcome email after approval. See Account docs.
  2. Activate — Unlock Brain (Memory + Pipeline) with an active license.
  3. Install pack — Download skills, agents, workflows, and rules into ~/chain-hub while the license is active.
# 2 — Activate (Brain)
chain pro activate CHAIN-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
chain pro status
# 3 — Install Pro pack (requires active license)
chain pro install-pack
chain setup
chain validate

In chain hub, paste your key under Settings → Pro, then use Install Chain Hub Pro pack on the Dashboard or the same Settings section when Pro is active.

Refresh an installed pack with chain pro refresh-pack or chain update (when the pack is registered in skills-registry.yaml).

HTTPS artifact delivery (default when configured): the CLI downloads manifest.json and a versioned tarball from a release host (for example packages.chainhub.one/pro-pack/). No GitHub collaborator invite required. Maintainers can override with chain config set pro_pack_manifest_url <url>.

Legacy GitHub delivery: private chain-hub-pro repo collaborator plus chain add github:<org>/chain-hub-pro --pack (requires gh auth login or GITHUB_TOKEN).

See Chain Hub Pro for account sign-in, Design System tiers, and CLI reference. Marketing overview: chainhub.one/pro.

Other content types

  • Workflows — ~/chain-hub/workflows/ or chain workflows new <slug> --content "…".
  • Rules — ~/chain-hub/rules/ or chain rules new <slug> --content "…".
  • Agents — ~/chain-hub/agents/ or chain agents new <slug> --content "…".

Tip: After adding files or installing skills, run chain setup so editors pick up symlinks, then chain validate to confirm registry and layout integrity.