Imprint

Distribute AI Skills and MCP configurations via NuGet packages

Overview

Imprint is a pattern for distributing AI Skills (those SKILLS.md files for GitHub Copilot, Claude, Cursor, Roo Code, and other AI assistants) and MCP Server configuration via NuGet packages. When you add an Imprint package to your project:

1. On dotnet build: Skills are automatically copied to each AI agent's native directory
2. On dotnet clean: Skills are removed (including empty parent directories)
3. Multi-agent support: Targets Copilot, Claude, Cursor, Roo Code, OpenCode, and Windsurf simultaneously — each gets files in its native location (if exists)
4. All file types supported: Not just .md — scripts, configs, and any other files in the skills/ folder are included
5. MCP Server Injection: Packages can inject MCP (Model Context Protocol) server configurations into each agent's mcp.json
6. Code + Skills: Packages can ship both a compiled DLL library and AI skills — consumers get runtime APIs and AI guidance from a single NuGet install

This enables scenarios like:

• Compliance skills: Organization-wide coding standards distributed as a package
• Framework skills: Best practices for specific frameworks (e.g., Azure, EF Core)
• Team skills: Shared knowledge across team projects
• MCP servers: Ship MCP server configs alongside skills — consumers get both AI knowledge and tool access from a single NuGet install
• Library + Skills: Ship a utility library with AI guidance on how to use it

Library authors can choose if Skills and MCP fragments are opt-in or opt-out for consumers. By setting ImprintEnabledByDefault in the package's .csproj, authors control the default behavior:

<PropertyGroup>
  <ImprintEnabledByDefault>false</ImprintEnabledByDefault> <!-- Opt-in: disabled unless user enables -->
</PropertyGroup>

Consumers can always override this per-package using metadata on their PackageReference:

<PackageReference Include="SomePackage" Version="1.0.0">
  <ImprintEnabled>false</ImprintEnabled> <!-- Disable or enable this package's skills/MCP -->
</PackageReference>

The consumer's explicit setting always takes priority over the package author's default.

Quick Start

Consuming an Imprint Package

# Add the package
dotnet add package <some-Imprint-package>

# Build to install skills (happens automatically before build)
dotnet build

# Skills are now at .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .cursor/rules/, .roo/rules/ etc.

Imprint auto-detects which AI agents you use by scanning for their configuration directories (.github/, .claude/, .cursor/, .roo/, .opencode/, .windsurf/). Skills are copied to each detected agent's native location.

A shared .gitignore is automatically generated at .imprint/.gitignore, so no manual .gitignore configuration is needed.

Creating Your Own Imprint Package

Create a new class library project and add <Imprint> items to declare your content:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Zakira.Imprint.Sdk" Version="1.0.0-preview" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <!-- Declare your content using <Imprint> items -->
  <ItemGroup>
    <Imprint Include="skills\**\*" /> 
    <Imprint Include="mcp\*.mcp.json" Type="Mcp" />             <!-- MCP server configs -->
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Create your skills in a skills/ folder, then pack:

dotnet pack -o ./packages

The SDK automatically generates the .targets file at pack time — no manual MSBuild authoring required!

Multi-Agent Support

Imprint includes multi-agent support. Instead of targeting only GitHub Copilot, Imprint can distribute skills and MCP configurations to multiple AI agents simultaneously, placing files in each agent's native directory structure.

Supported Agents

Unknown agent names fall back to .{name}/rules/ for skills and .{name}/mcp.json for MCP.

Agent Resolution

Imprint determines which agents to target using a priority hierarchy:

1. Explicit configuration — Set ImprintTargetAgents in your .csproj:

   <PropertyGroup>
     <ImprintTargetAgents>claude;cursor</ImprintTargetAgents>
   </PropertyGroup>
   

2. Auto-detection (default, ON) — Scans for agent directories at build time. If .github/ and .claude/ exist, both copilot and claude are targeted.
   Supported detection directories: .github/ (copilot), .claude/ (claude), .cursor/ (cursor), .roo/ (roo), .opencode/ (opencode), .windsurf/ (windsurf), .agents/ (agents).

3. Default fallback — If no directories are detected:

   <PropertyGroup>
     <ImprintDefaultAgents>copilot</ImprintDefaultAgents>
   </PropertyGroup>
   

Configuration Properties

Root Directory

By default, Imprint auto-detects the repository root by walking up from the project directory. Markers are checked in priority order:

1. VCS directories - .git/, .svn/, .hg/ (most authoritative)
2. IDE directories - .vs/ (Visual Studio), .idea/ (JetBrains)
3. Solution files - *.sln, *.slnx (fallback)

This ensures that in multi-project solutions, skills are placed at the repository root (where .git/ lives) rather than inside individual project directories:

/repo-root/              <-- Skills placed here (correct)
├── .git/
├── .github/skills/      <-- Not inside src/MyProject/.github/
├── src/
│   └── MyProject/
│       └── MyProject.csproj
└── MyApp.sln

If auto-detection doesn't work for your setup, you can explicitly set the root directory:

<PropertyGroup>
  <ImprintRootDirectory>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\</ImprintRootDirectory>
</PropertyGroup>

If no repository root is found and no explicit override is set, Imprint falls back to the project directory.

Example Output

With .github/ and .claude/ directories present, installing Zakira.Imprint.Sample produces:

.github/
  skills/
    personal/
      SKILL.md              # Copilot sees this
.claude/
  skills/
    personal/
      SKILL.md              # Claude sees this
.vscode/
  mcp.json                  # MCP servers for Copilot/VS Code
.claude/
  mcp.json                  # MCP servers for Claude
.imprint/
  manifest.json             # Unified tracking manifest (v2)
  .gitignore                # Prevents tracking of managed files

Available Packages

How It Works

Architecture

All Imprint skill packages depend on Zakira.Imprint.Sdk, which provides the MSBuild task engine. Package authors declare <Imprint> items in their .csproj — the SDK auto-generates the .targets file at pack time, then handles agent resolution, file copying, MCP merging, manifest tracking, and cleanup at build/clean time.

┌───────────────────────────┐  ┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Sample                   │  │  Sample.FilesOnly                  │
│  (skills + MCP + code)    │  │  (skills-only)                     │
└──────┬────────────────────┘  └──────┬─────────────────────────────┘
       │                              │
       ▼                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Zakira.Imprint.Sdk                                                 │
│  - Auto-generates .targets at pack time (ImprintGenerateTargets)    │
│  - Copies skills to all agents (ImprintCopyContent)                 │
│  - Merges MCP servers (ImprintMergeMcpServers)                      │
│  - Cleans on dotnet clean (ImprintCleanContent, ImprintCleanMcp)    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Build-Time Flow

1. NuGet Restore: NuGet restores skill packages, which transitively pull in Zakira.Imprint.Sdk. MSBuild auto-imports the SDK's props and targets via the buildTransitive/ folder.

2. Agent Resolution: Before any file operations, AgentConfig.ResolveAgents() determines which agents to target:

   • If ImprintTargetAgents is set, use that explicit list
   • Else if ImprintAutoDetectAgents is true, scan for .github/, .claude/, .cursor/, .roo/, .opencode/, .windsurf/ directories
   • Else fall back to ImprintDefaultAgents

3. Content Copy (Imprint_CopyContent): For each resolved agent, copies skill files to the agent's native skills directory. Writes a unified manifest v2 at .imprint/manifest.json tracking all files per-agent per-package.

4. MCP Merge (Imprint_MergeMcp): Merges MCP server fragments into each agent's mcp.json. Tracks managed server keys in the unified manifest.

5. Clean (Imprint_CleanContent + Imprint_CleanMcp): Reads the unified manifest to delete only tracked files and managed MCP servers. Removes empty directories. Preserves user-defined MCP servers.

Pack-Time Flow

When you run dotnet pack on your Imprint package:

1. Generate Targets (Imprint_GenerateTargetsFile): The SDK reads all <Imprint> items from your .csproj and generates a .targets file at obj/{Configuration}/{TFM}/Imprint/{PackageId}.targets. This file declares ImprintContent and ImprintMcpFragment items that consumers will use.

2. Include Content + Cross-Targeting Import (Imprint_IncludeContentInPackage): The SDK adds the generated .targets file to both build/ and buildTransitive/ package paths, includes all content files (skills, MCP fragments) in the content/ folder, and for multi-targeted package projects (<TargetFrameworks>...) imports via buildMultiTargeting/ in the outer pack build so Imprint pack targets can run before _GetPackageFiles.

3. NuGet Pack: The package is created with all necessary files — no manual .targets authoring required.

Unified Manifest (v2)

Imprint uses a single manifest at .imprint/manifest.json to track everything:

{
  "version": 2,
  "packages": {
    "Zakira.Imprint.Sample": {
      "files": {
        "copilot": [".github/skills/personal/SKILL.md"],
        "claude": [".claude/skills/personal/SKILL.md"]
      }
    }
  },
  "mcp": {
    "copilot": {
      "path": ".vscode/mcp.json",
      "managedServers": ["sample-echo-server"]
    },
    "claude": {
      "path": ".claude/mcp.json",
      "managedServers": ["sample-echo-server"]
    }
  }
}

Legacy per-package .manifest files are still written for backward compatibility.

MCP Server Injection

Imprint packages can ship MCP (Model Context Protocol) server configurations. When you build, server configs are automatically merged into each targeted agent's mcp.json.

How MCP Injection Works

1. Each Imprint package includes a mcp/<PackageId>.mcp.json fragment file containing its server definitions
2. At build time, Zakira.Imprint.Sdk collects all ImprintMcpFragment items from installed packages
3. For each resolved agent, servers are merged into that agent's mcp.json, preserving any servers you've configured manually
4. The unified manifest tracks which servers are managed by Imprint
5. On dotnet clean, only Imprint-managed servers are removed — your servers are never touched

Example Fragment File

An Imprint package's mcp/<PackageId>.mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "sample-echo-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic-ai/echo-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Note: Package authors always use "servers" as the root key in fragment files. The SDK automatically transforms this to the correct root key for each agent when writing to their mcp.json files.

After dotnet build with both copilot and claude agents detected:

• .vscode/mcp.json contains the server under "servers" (VS Code / Copilot schema)
• .claude/mcp.json contains the server under "mcpServers" (Claude schema)

Key Behaviors

• Idempotent: If nothing changed, mcp.json is not rewritten (no git noise)
• Safe clean: dotnet clean removes only managed servers; if no user servers remain, mcp.json is deleted
• User servers preserved: Any servers you add manually to mcp.json are never modified or removed
• inputs preserved: Top-level properties like "inputs" in mcp.json are preserved through builds and cleans
• Multi-agent: Each agent gets its own mcp.json in its native location
• Schema transformation: The SDK automatically uses the correct root key per agent ("servers" for Copilot, "mcpServers" for Claude/Cursor)

MCP Schema Differences

Different AI agents use different JSON schemas for their MCP configuration files. The SDK handles this automatically:

Package authors always write fragments using "servers" as the root key. The SDK reads these fragments and transforms them to each agent's expected schema when writing to their respective mcp.json files. The inner server definition (command, args, type, env) is identical across all agents.

Adding MCP Injection to Your Package

1. Add a PackageReference to Zakira.Imprint.Sdk in your .csproj

2. Create a mcp/<YourPackageId>.mcp.json fragment with your server definitions

3. Add the fragment using the <Imprint> item with Type="Mcp":

<ItemGroup>
  <Imprint Include="skills\**\*" />                           <!-- Skills -->
  <Imprint Include="mcp\*.mcp.json" Type="Mcp" />             <!-- MCP fragments -->
</ItemGroup>

The SDK auto-generates the .targets file at pack time — no manual configuration needed!

Two Package Patterns

Skills-Only Package

For packages that only distribute AI skills and MCP configs (no compiled code):

<PropertyGroup>
  <IncludeBuildOutput>false</IncludeBuildOutput>
  <DevelopmentDependency>true</DevelopmentDependency>
</PropertyGroup>

See samples/Sample.FilesOnly for an example.

Code + Skills Package

For packages that ship both a compiled DLL and AI skills:

<PropertyGroup>
  <!-- IncludeBuildOutput defaults to true - DLL ships in lib/ -->
  <!-- Do NOT set DevelopmentDependency - consumers need the runtime DLL -->
</PropertyGroup>

See samples/Sample for an example — it ships string utility methods alongside an AI skill file and MCP server configuration.

Configuration

Agent Targeting

Control which AI agents Imprint targets:

<PropertyGroup>
  <!-- Target specific agents (overrides auto-detection) -->
  <ImprintTargetAgents>copilot;claude</ImprintTargetAgents>

  <!-- Or disable auto-detection and use only defaults -->
  <ImprintAutoDetectAgents>false</ImprintAutoDetectAgents>
  <ImprintDefaultAgents>copilot</ImprintDefaultAgents>
</PropertyGroup>

Legacy Path Overrides

These properties are still available for backward compatibility but are generally superseded by multi-agent resolution:

Testing This Repo

# 1. Pack the SDK first, then samples (to local-packages/)
dotnet pack src/Zakira.Imprint.Sdk -o ./local-packages
dotnet pack samples/Sample -o ./local-packages
dotnet pack samples/Sample.FilesOnly -o ./local-packages

# 2. Create a test consumer (or use samples/Consumer)
cd samples/Consumer
dotnet build

# 3. Verify skills are installed (agent directories vary by your setup)
ls .github/skills/
# personal/  StringUtils/

# 4. Verify MCP servers were injected
cat .vscode/mcp.json
# { "servers": { "sample-echo-server": {...} } }

# 5. Run unit tests
cd ../..
dotnet test Zakira.Imprint.sln

# 6. Test clean - skills and managed MCP servers are removed
cd samples/Consumer
dotnet clean
ls .github/          # Should be empty or not exist
ls .vscode/mcp.json  # Should not exist (no user servers to preserve)

# 7. Build again - everything is restored
dotnet build

Limitations & Known Issues

1. Package Removal: When you remove an Imprint package, its skills remain until you run dotnet clean or manually delete them.

2. IDE Design-Time Builds: Skills and MCP servers are only managed during actual builds, not during IDE background builds (this is intentional to avoid performance issues).

3. First Build Required: Skills and MCP configs are installed on the first build, not on restore.

4. Shared Output Folder: Multiple packages write to the same skills directory per agent. If two packages include a file with the same relative path, the last one to copy wins.

5. MCP Server Key Conflicts: If two Imprint packages define a server with the same key, the last fragment processed wins silently. A warning for this is planned.

6. Zakira.Imprint.Sdk requires .NET 8+: The Zakira.Imprint.Sdk compiled task DLL targets net8.0. Consumers must have the .NET 8 SDK or later installed.

Future Enhancements

• Multiple skills packages in one project
• MCP Server Injection
• Centralized SDK (Zakira.Imprint.Sdk) — single source for all MSBuild logic
• Per-package manifests for precise file tracking
• Code + Skills package pattern
• Unit tests for MSBuild task classes
• Multi-agent support (Copilot, Claude, Cursor, Roo Code)
• Auto-detection of AI agents
• Unified manifest v2 with per-agent tracking
• Auto-generated .targets files — no manual MSBuild authoring required
• Repository root auto-detection for multi-project solutions
• Server key conflict detection/warnings when multiple packages define the same key
• Global tool for managing skills across solutions
• Skill validation during pack
• Conflict detection between skill packages
• CI/CD pipeline for building and publishing packages
• Prompts support (distribute .prompt files to agent-specific directories)
• Windsurf agent support
• Additional agent support (Cody, etc.)

License

MIT