cqi-install

name	cqi-install
description	Make the cqi command available, installing the cqi-cli npm package only if it is missing. Use when another skill reports that `cqi` is not on PATH, or when the user asks to install, update or upgrade the CQI queue container CLI. Prefers an already-installed binary, then a global npm install, then npx without installing anything.
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires Node.js and npm (or yarn). Standalone — does not need cqi to be present already. Installs the public npm package cqi-cli, so no GitHub authentication is needed.
allowed-tools	Bash(npm:*) Bash(npx:*) Bash(yarn:*) Bash(node:*) Bash(command:*) Bash(which:*) Bash(echo:*) Bash(test:*) Read

cqi-install

Make the cqi command usable, doing the least work that achieves it.

Route 1 — an existing installation on PATH

command -v cqi && cqi --version

If that resolves, use it and stop here. Do not check npm for a newer version — the user did not ask for an upgrade.

Two checks before trusting the hit:

• It is the right tool. cqi is a short, generic name. cqi llm | head -1 must read # cqi — reference for AI agents. If something else owns the name, tell the user and call this one by an explicit path.
• It is recent enough. If cqi llm is not a known command, the installed version predates the embedded reference (added in 0.3.0). Say so and continue to route 2 to upgrade it.

Continue past this section only when the command is missing, is the wrong tool, is too old, or the user explicitly asked to update.

Route 2 — install globally from npm

node --version      # Node.js is required
npm install -g cqi-cli

A global install writes outside the project, so say what you are about to do before running it. If the user prefers not to install globally, or npm's global prefix is not writable, use route 3 instead — do not reach for sudo.

Project-local installs work too, and are the better choice inside a repository that will depend on cqi:

npm install --save-dev cqi-cli   # then invoke it as npx cqi

Route 3 — run without installing

npx cqi-cli llm | head -5
npx cqi-cli -l repl -d echo

npx fetches the package on demand. It is the right answer for a one-off, and the safe answer when you should not modify the user's machine. The trade-off is a download on first use and a slower start each time.

Verify

cqi --version      # or: npx cqi-cli --version
cqi llm | head -5

Report which route was taken, the version, and whether anything was installed globally.

Then say what is still needed for real use: the sqs listener needs AWS credentials in the environment of whatever process runs cqi, and --plugins modules must be installed separately before they can be loaded.