fix(skills): auto-install printing-press binary in setup contract (#46)

ca675212935979f34e5b4b9f9e9f79b14299141c · 2026-03-29 11:18:59 -0700 · Matt Van Horn

* fix(skills): auto-install printing-press binary in setup contract

Instead of dumping install instructions and bailing when the binary
isn't found, the setup contract now:
1. If binary exists at ~/go/bin but not on PATH → adds to PATH
2. If Go is installed but binary missing → runs go install automatically
3. Only fails if Go itself isn't installed

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(skills): skip API key gate for public/unauthenticated APIs

The API Key Gate now checks whether the API actually requires auth
before asking for a key. Public APIs (ESPN, weather, public data)
skip the gate entirely instead of asking a nonsensical question.

Signals used: spec security section, known public APIs, community
docs describing "no auth required", absence of matching env vars.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Matt Van Horn <mvanhorn@MacBook-Pro.local>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Files touched

M skills/printing-press/SKILL.md

Diff

commit ca675212935979f34e5b4b9f9e9f79b14299141c
Author: Matt Van Horn <mvanhorn@users.noreply.github.com>
Date:   Sun Mar 29 11:18:59 2026 -0700

    fix(skills): auto-install printing-press binary in setup contract (#46)
    
    * fix(skills): auto-install printing-press binary in setup contract
    
    Instead of dumping install instructions and bailing when the binary
    isn't found, the setup contract now:
    1. If binary exists at ~/go/bin but not on PATH → adds to PATH
    2. If Go is installed but binary missing → runs go install automatically
    3. Only fails if Go itself isn't installed
    
    Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
    
    * fix(skills): skip API key gate for public/unauthenticated APIs
    
    The API Key Gate now checks whether the API actually requires auth
    before asking for a key. Public APIs (ESPN, weather, public data)
    skip the gate entirely instead of asking a nonsensical question.
    
    Signals used: spec security section, known public APIs, community
    docs describing "no auth required", absence of matching env vars.
    
    Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
    
    ---------
    
    Co-authored-by: Matt Van Horn <mvanhorn@MacBook-Pro.local>
    Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 skills/printing-press/SKILL.md | 28 +++++++++++++++++++++-------
 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/skills/printing-press/SKILL.md b/skills/printing-press/SKILL.md
index 428e2134..80f38142 100644
--- a/skills/printing-press/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/printing-press/SKILL.md
@@ -115,13 +115,17 @@ Before doing anything else:
 # min-binary-version: 0.2.0
 if ! command -v printing-press >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   if [ -x "$HOME/go/bin/printing-press" ]; then
-    echo "printing-press found at ~/go/bin/printing-press but not on PATH."
-    echo "Add GOPATH/bin to your PATH:  export PATH=\"\$HOME/go/bin:\$PATH\""
+    export PATH="$HOME/go/bin:$PATH"
+    echo "Added ~/go/bin to PATH"
+  elif command -v go >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "printing-press not found. Installing..."
+    GOPRIVATE=github.com/mvanhorn/* go install github.com/mvanhorn/cli-printing-press/cmd/printing-press@latest
+    export PATH="$HOME/go/bin:$PATH"
   else
-    echo "printing-press binary not found."
-    echo "Install with:  go install github.com/mvanhorn/cli-printing-press/cmd/printing-press@latest"
+    echo "printing-press binary not found and Go is not installed."
+    echo "Install Go first, then run:  go install github.com/mvanhorn/cli-printing-press/cmd/printing-press@latest"
+    return 1 2>/dev/null || exit 1
   fi
-  return 1 2>/dev/null || exit 1
 fi
 
 # Derive scope: prefer git repo root, fall back to CWD
@@ -202,7 +206,17 @@ Before new research:
    - `$PRESS_MANUSCRIPTS/<api>/*/research/*`
    - `$REPO_ROOT/docs/plans/*<api>*` (legacy fallback)
 3. Reuse good prior work instead of redoing it.
-4. **API Key Gate (MANDATORY STOP)** — Check for an API key and get explicit user consent before proceeding to Phase 1.
+4. **API Key Gate** — Check whether this API requires authentication, then handle accordingly.
+
+**First, determine if the API needs auth.** Use these signals:
+- The spec has no `security` or `securityDefinitions` section → likely no auth needed
+- The API is known to be public/unauthenticated (e.g., ESPN, weather APIs, public data APIs)
+- No env var matching the API name exists AND no known token pattern applies
+- Community docs or npm/PyPI wrappers describe the API as "no auth required"
+
+**If the API does NOT require auth** (public/unauthenticated), skip the key gate entirely. Proceed silently — do not ask the user about API keys for a public API. Live smoke testing in Phase 5 will work without a key.
+
+**If the API DOES require auth**, run the key gate:
 
 Token detection order:
 - GitHub: `GITHUB_TOKEN`, `GH_TOKEN`, or `gh auth token`
@@ -226,7 +240,7 @@ Token detection order:
 - If the user provides a key → proceed with the key available for Phase 5.
 - If the user declines → proceed without the key and display: "Live smoke testing (Phase 5) will be skipped. The CLI will still be generated and verified against mock responses."
 
-Always resolve the API key gate before moving to Phase 1.
+Resolve the API key gate (or skip it for public APIs) before moving to Phase 1.
 
 ## Phase 1: Research Brief

← b2b47320 feat(skills): offer to install capture tools when sniff gate · back to Cli Printing Press · fix(skills): strengthen sniff gate and add absorb gate optio 66cbbc98 →