Installing the CLI

To publish prototypes you need Node and the artor CLI. Artor uses the package manager your project already uses.

Install Node

Node is the software the Artor CLI needs to run. The recommended way to install it is through nvm (Node Version Manager), which lets you switch versions easily.

Mac / Linux

Open Terminal and run:


curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.7/install.sh | bash

Close and reopen Terminal, then install the current Node LTS release:


nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts
node --version   # should print v22 or newer

Install the artor CLI


npm install -g artor-cli@latest
artor --version   # confirms it's installed

On a work machine with a private npm registry? If your company configures npm to use a private feed by default (Azure DevOps Artifacts, JFrog Artifactory, Verdaccio, …), the command above can fail with npm error code E404 / 'artor-cli' was not found in feed. artor-cli is published to public npm, not your company feed — so pin the install to public npm:


npm install -g artor-cli@latest --registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/

The --registry flag affects only that one command and never changes your global config. artor update and the CLI’s own “install globally?” prompt already apply this flag for you — so once installed, updates just work. See Troubleshooting for a more permanent per-scope setup.


artor login   # opens your browser to approve access
artor whoami  # confirms you're signed in and shows the active org

Updating the CLI


artor update      # upgrade a global install to the latest published version
artor --version

artor update upgrades a global install for you; if you run it through npx or a project-local install, it prints the exact command instead and never installs anything without you asking. It always pins the install to public npm (--registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/), so it keeps working even behind a private company registry.

It also refreshes the installed Artor skill in the same step — whichever way you installed it (the Claude Code plugin, or the portable skill on any other tool) — so one command keeps both current. See Keeping the skill up to date.

A global or packaged install also keeps itself current automatically: when the server reports a newer CLI, an interactive (non-CI) artor updates after your command finishes and prints one confirmation line; in CI or a non-interactive shell it only shows a one-line “update available” notice and does not update itself. Set ARTOR_NO_AUTOUPDATE=1 for one run, or artor update --off to turn automatic updates off for good (--on re-enables).

If an update is required to continue, a global or packaged install updates and retries once. Other installations ask you to run artor update before trying again.

Troubleshooting

npm error code E404 / 'artor-cli' was not found in feed on install

Your machine’s default npm registry is a private company feed (you’ll see a pkgs.dev.azure.com/…, Artifactory, or similar URL in the error). artor-cli lives on public npm, not that feed. Two fixes:

One-off: pin public npm for just this install — npm install -g artor-cli@latest --registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/.
Permanent (recommended): in your ~/.npmrc, scope only your company packages to the private feed and leave the default registry on public npm, so unscoped packages like artor-cli resolve normally:
```
# ~/.npmrc — default stays public npm…
@yourcompany:registry=https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/…/registry/   # …only @yourcompany goes to the private feed
```
If your company publishes unscoped package names to the private feed, you can’t cleanly split them — use the one-off --registry flag whenever you install or update artor-cli.

This CLI is too old for the Artor server. Run artor update.

Run artor update, follow any installation command it prints, then retry. This can happen with project-local or npx installations, automated runs, or when automatic updates are off.

A publish stops with boot smoke test failed …

Artor couldn’t start the app before uploading it. Give the error to your coding agent, fix the build, and publish again. Use --no-smoke only if the app needs configuration or services available exclusively on Artor. See Publishing.

artor: command not found after installing

Your terminal may not have picked up the new install. Try closing and reopening it, then run artor --version again.

If it still doesn’t work, the npm global bin folder might not be on your PATH. Run npm prefix -g to find where global packages live, and check that its bin subfolder is on your PATH.

EACCES: permission denied on install

Don’t use sudo; it can cause permission issues. Instead, configure npm to use a folder you own:


mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH   # add this line to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc too
npm install -g artor-cli@latest

Node version is wrong

Check with node --version. If it shows something older than 22, run:


nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts
nvm alias default 'lts/*'   # use the current LTS in new terminal windows

Once installed, head to Publishing a prototype to get your first prototype live.