Quick start

Publish your first pack without guessing the workflow

This path is designed for a new creator. Follow it if you want the shortest route from installing the CLI to seeing your first pack version in the marketplace.

Open Creator Studio Open the full guide

Before you start

A marketplace account you can sign into
An active account with pack management and publishing access
Node.js and npm installed locally
A pack idea with clear process, standards, or knowledge worth packaging
Run CLI commands from the root of a git-initialised directory

What success looks like

Locally

You have an authoring workspace, a publishable pack source, and validation runs cleanly for that specific pack path.

In the marketplace

Your pack version appears in Creator Studio, and you can manage its visibility and release notes.

Operationally

You know which active account owns the pack and where to go next when you want to publish again.

Step by step

The shortest happy path

Follow these steps in order. The goal is first success, not deep theory.

Install the CLI

Install the Context as Code CLI globally so you can log in, scaffold a pack, validate it, and publish versions to the marketplace.

npm install -g @zebralabs/context-cli

Sign in to the marketplace

Authenticate with the marketplace before you publish. Use the account you want the pack to belong to, then confirm the active account inside the marketplace.

ctx login --base-url https://context-as-code-marketplace.zebralabs.io --email you@example.com --password yourpassword

Initialize the authoring workspace

Start with the upstream workspace for raw capture and wiki shaping. Drop your notes and source material into raw/, then point your agent at .sys/schema.md to compile the wiki. Do this before creating the publishable pack source.

ctx pack init my-pack-workspace

Create the publishable pack source

Create the real pack scaffold separately. The first argument is your pack's logical ID (used in the manifest and install flow). The --path argument is where the files land — keep it inside your workspace.

ctx pack create my-pack-id --path .\my-pack-workspace\pack-source

Promote and validate

Review the shaped wiki and promote verified, reusable material into the pack source under content/. Edit pack.yaml, tailor both INSTALLATION.md and USAGE-GUIDES.md, then run validation before you publish. This is the human checkpoint between agent output and distributable product.

ctx pack validate --path .\my-pack-workspace\pack-source

Publish your first version

Push a validated version to the marketplace. Once published, use Creator Studio to manage visibility, release notes, and pack lifecycle.

ctx pack publish --path .\my-pack-workspace\pack-source

After publish

Open Creator Studio and find the pack under the active account that published it.
Check the release notes and visibility settings.
Confirm the listing reads well for other people, not just for you.
Publish again from the CLI when you need a new version.

When to stop and use the fuller guide

You are unsure what belongs in the pack

Go to the methodology page first.

You want to understand the CLI and structure properly

Use the build and publish guide.

You hit validation or account issues

Use the troubleshooting sections in the full guide.