Getting started
Before you author packages or install them into projects, you need a Station: the directory where ATP keeps configuration, the catalog, and published package files.
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”ATP is a Node.js CLI. Use a current Node.js (the upstream repo pins a version in .node-version; Node 24+ is a reasonable expectation). Install the published package globally, or run from a clone after npm install and npm run build.
Initialise the Station
Section titled “Initialise the Station”atp station initWith no overrides, this creates ~/.atp_station and the expected files: starter atp-config.yaml, atp-catalog.yaml, and directory placeholders for standard and user packages.
- Exit 0 — layout created or already sufficient.
- Non-zero — cannot write the directory; read the error message.
Non-default Station path
Section titled “Non-default Station path”Set STATION_PATH to an absolute or home-relative path before station init (and for every later command that must see the same Station):
STATION_PATH="$HOME/work/atp-test-station" atp station initKeep STATION_PATH consistent across the shell session (or export it in your profile for that workflow). Tests and automation often rely on this override.
After init
Section titled “After init”Confirm files exist under the Station root: configuration, catalog YAML, package trees, and Station bookkeeping files. You are ready to either author a package (Authoring packages) or create a Safehouse in a project (Safehouse and agent).
Optional: development build from source
Section titled “Optional: development build from source”If you work on the ATP repository itself, you can link a dev build via the project’s npm run install-home script (see the upstream README). That is separate from atp station init, which you still run once per Station location you want to use.