Step 1: Install the Extension

Install AIShelf from VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX Registry.

Compatible with VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code-based IDEs (version 1.105.0+).

Step 2: Authenticate with GitHub

1. Open the AIShelf sidebar (click the AIShelf icon in the Activity Bar)
2. Click the GitHub icon in the toolbar
3. Follow the secure OAuth flow to authenticate

Credentials are stored in VS Code's secure credential storage.

Step 3: Connect Your First Registry

1. Click the Connect Registry button in the toolbar
2. Choose one of these options:

• Create New Registry: The extension creates and initializes a new registry automatically. Learn more
• Select from Your Registries: Choose from your existing GitHub repositories.
• Connect to a Registry by GitHub URL: Paste a GitHub URL of an AIShelf-compatible registry.

Browsing Resources

The AIShelf sidebar displays connected registries in a tree view:

• Registries - See all connected repositories
• Packages - Expand to view skills, prompts, rules, and workflows
• Resources - Click any resource to preview its content

Hierarchy: Registry → Package → Resource Type → Individual Files

Copying Resources

1. Browse to the resource you want to use
2. Click the copy icon next to the resource
3. Paste the content wherever your IDE needs it:
   • Cursor's .cursorrules file
   • Windsurf's custom rules
   • Cascade workflows
   • AI chat prompts

Syncing Updates

Sync local resources with team changes:

1. Click the sync icon on any registry
2. AIShelf pulls the latest changes from GitHub
3. Your sidebar updates with new or modified resources

Sync daily, after team updates, or before starting important work.

Creating & Editing Resources

With write access to a registry:

• Create packages: Click the folder icon to add new package categories
• Upload resources: Click the upload icon to add new workflows, rules, or prompts
• Edit resources: Click the edit icon to modify existing resources

Draft System

Work on resources locally before pushing to the registry:

1. Click Create Resource or Edit Resource to start a draft
2. Edit the file in your IDE
3. Click Push to Registry when ready to share with your team
4. Click Discard Changes to revert if needed

Compare Versions

Click the compare icon on draft resources to view a diff between local and registry versions.

Managing Multiple Registries

Connect to multiple registries simultaneously:

• Your team's private registry
• Public community registries
• Personal resource collections

Each registry appears in the sidebar with its own tree view.

Organization & Team Collaboration

AIShelf detects permissions based on GitHub repository access:

• Read-only access: Browse and copy resources
• Write access: Create, edit, and upload resources

What is the AIShelf MCP Server?

The AIShelf MCP server lets AI assistants (Cursor, Windsurf, Claude, and others) automatically discover and apply your team's resources - skills, prompts, rules, and workflows - without any manual copy-paste. Once configured, your AI assistant can query AIShelf directly during a conversation.

Setup

Add the following to your IDE's MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aishelf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@aishelf/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

You can add MCP servers through your IDE's settings interface — look for an MCP section in Cursor or Windsurf settings.

How It Works

The MCP server exposes two tools to your AI assistant:

• list_resources - returns an index of available resources across your connected registries, with just enough information for the AI to identify what to fetch
• get_resource - fetches the full content of a specific resource by its path

Your AI assistant calls these tools automatically when relevant, so it can find and apply the right workflows, rules, or prompts for your task without you having to look them up manually.