Pica CLI Skills

Install Pica CLI

curl -fsSL https://picadabra.ai/pica-cli/install | bash

# Verify the install
pica status

The installer downloads the latest release from AIGC-Hackers/pica-cli, verifies the bundle, installs Bun if needed, and places the managed CLI under your local user directory. The default executable path is ~/.local/bin; set PICA_INSTALL_DIR before the installer when you need another location.

Agent Setup

# Sign in with a Picadabra API key
pica auth login --api-key <your-api-key>

# Install the official Pica skill into your agent workspace
pica skill install picadabra/pica

# Ask the CLI for the current command contract
pica --schema=.skill

Create an API key from your Picadabra dashboard, then install picadabra/pica in the same workspace where your agent runs. The installed skill teaches the agent how to discover models, generate media, inspect tasks, and handle assets.

Skill Discovery

# Find skills
pica skill find "product photography"

# Install a skill
pica skill install picadabra/pica

# Inspect the current command shape
pica --schema=.skill

What is a Skill?

A skill is a reusable capability for AI agents. It contains procedural knowledge — instructions, examples, and patterns — that helps an agent create specific types of content more effectively.

In Pica, skills are installed by public references such as picadabra/pica. The CLI owns the exact command contract, so agents should use pica --schema instead of relying on stale prose examples.

Creating a Skill

Create a folder with a SKILL.md entry point:

---
name: studio-lighting
description: Generate studio-quality product photos with controlled lighting
---

# Studio Lighting

This skill teaches your agent to create product photos
with professional studio lighting setups.

## Usage

1. Describe your product and desired mood
2. The agent applies lighting techniques automatically
3. Use pica --schema before running CLI commands

Skill Structure

Publish a Skill

Validate the folder before publishing. Published skills are addressed as owner/slug references.

pica skill inspect ./studio-lighting
pica skill publish ./studio-lighting --category image

Best Practices

• ✓Be specific and concrete — vague instructions lead to poor results
• ✓Tell agents when to use pica --schema before calling commands
• ✓Keep skills focused: one domain, one workflow, one clear outcome
• ✓Use comma-separated strings for list inputs such as a1,a2 or owner/a,owner/b
• ✗Do not teach space-separated varargs such as pica task wait t1 t2
• ✗Do not duplicate command reference details that pica --schema already exposes

Schema-First Commands