Install and verify Vibe Workflow skills

The Vibewise skill is a different plugin

The Vibewise skill, also written vibe-wise, is a separate Claude Code learning plugin. It is not published by Vibe Workflow, and it is not one of the six skills on this site. Searching for a Vibewise skill and landing here is a name collision.

The skills here are vibe-workflow, vibe-research, vibe-prd, vibe-techdesign, vibe-agents, and vibe-build. They plan an app: research, a PRD, a technical design, agent files, and a build handoff. Browse them on the skills index.

Understand what is being installed

Vibe Workflow keeps its instructions in a public repository. The workflow skill routes a project through research, a PRD, technical design, agent setup, and a build handoff. Stage skills handle narrower jobs. Tool adapters tell Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or another supported agent where the shared project rules live.

You do not need every adapter. Install the files for the tools you actually use. A second copy of the same instruction in several folders becomes a maintenance problem because one copy will eventually be stale.

Preview before writing

Open a terminal in the project you want to prepare. Ask your coding agent to inspect the public repository instructions and preview the installer. The current README documents this command:

npx vibeworkflow --dry-run --json

Read the preview. Confirm the target folder, detected tools, files that would be created, and files that would be kept. A dry run is useful because it reports intent without making the project harder to undo. If the preview does not match your setup, stop and correct the inputs before installation.

Inspect the installed files

After the preview is correct, run npx vibeworkflow through your coding agent. The installer may create shared project instructions and a small adapter for the detected tool. Exact paths depend on that tool, so use the installer report as the source of truth.

Open every new instruction file. Check that it points to the project’s real commands and documents. Search for placeholder brackets, example names, or paths that do not exist. An installation is incomplete if the files are present but still describe a template project.

• The root instructions name the project and the current build phase.
• Setup, typecheck, test, and build commands match the package or build system.
• The selected tool adapter points to the shared source of truth.
• Rules for secrets, destructive actions, and user approval match the project risk.

Run the doctor check

The public README documents a setup check:

npx vibeworkflow doctor

Doctor checks the workflow setup. It does not prove that your application builds or that a feature works. Run the project’s own typecheck, tests, build, and interface checks separately. Keep that distinction in the handoff so a future agent does not turn “setup valid” into “product verified.”

Test one small task

Start a fresh agent session and ask it to read the installed instructions. Give it a read-only task first: explain the project goal, current phase, relevant commands, and the file it would inspect for the next feature. Compare the answer with your real project.

Read the installed project instructions.
Do not edit files.
Summarize the current goal, the next small task,
and the commands that would verify it.

If the answer is wrong, fix the project instructions before you grant write access. If it is correct, plan one small change and keep the review boundary. The value of a skill is not that it makes the agent autonomous. It gives the agent a repeatable way to recover the context you already approved.