PRPM: The Universal Package Manager for AI Coding Tools

Stop copy-pasting prompts from GitHub. Install cursor rules, Claude skills, and AI agents like npm packages. PRPM is the missing package manager for AI-assisted development - and it's about time.

🎯 What You'll Learn

This comprehensive guide explores PRPM's capabilities:

• What PRPM is and why it matters for AI-assisted development
• How to install and use PRPM across different AI coding tools
• The power of collections - multi-package bundles for complete workflows
• Real-world use cases and productivity gains
• Why universal packages solve the AI tool fragmentation problem

The Problem: AI Tool Configuration is a Mess

You've been there. You find an amazing cursor rule on GitHub that promises better code reviews. You copy the raw URL, create a new file in .cursor/rules/, paste the content, and hope you got the formatting right. Then you hear about a Claude skill that does systematic debugging. Same dance - different directory.

Now multiply this by every rule, skill, and prompt you want to use. Multiply again by every AI coding tool on your machine - Cursor, Claude Code, Continue, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot. Each one has its own format, its own directory structure, its own conventions.

❌ The Current Reality

Finding prompts:

• Searching GitHub repositories for "cursor rules"
• Scrolling through README files to find the good ones
• No ratings, no reviews, no way to know what's actually good

Installing prompts:

• Manually creating directories
• Copy-pasting raw file contents
• Repeating for every single tool you use
• Converting formats between tools

Managing prompts:

• No version control
• No way to know when prompts are updated
• Manual updates mean you probably never update them
• No dependency management

This is exactly where package managers came in for code. Before npm, you downloaded JavaScript libraries manually, tracked versions in comments, and prayed nothing broke. Package managers solved that problem for code.

PRPM solves it for AI prompts.

What is PRPM?

PRPM (Prompt Package Manager) is the npm for AI coding tools. It's a centralized registry where you can discover, install, and manage prompts, rules, skills, and agents that work across any AI coding platform.

✅ The PRPM Way

npm install -g prpm
prpm login
prpm install collection/nextjs-pro

# That's it. Done.
# 5+ packages installed, properly formatted for your editor

One command. Multiple packages. Works everywhere.

Universal Packages: Write Once, Use Anywhere

The genius of PRPM is universal packages. Package authors publish once in a canonical format. PRPM's server-side conversion handles the rest. Users install in their preferred editor format without thinking about it.

🔄 How Universal Packages Work

For Authors:

Publish once in canonical format. Reach users across Cursor, Claude, Continue, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot, and Kiro.

For Users:

Install in your preferred editor. PRPM handles format conversion automatically.

Server-Side Magic:

Conversion happens on the server. Your local install is always in the right format.

🎨 Supported Formats

# Same package, different editors
prpm install react-best-practices --as cursor    # .cursor/rules/
prpm install react-best-practices --as claude    # .claude/agents/
prpm install react-best-practices --as continue  # .continue/prompts/
prpm install react-best-practices --as windsurf  # .windsurf/rules/
prpm install react-best-practices --as copilot   # .github/instructions/
prpm install react-best-practices --as kiro      # .kiro/steering/

# Or just auto-detect
prpm install react-best-practices  # Installs in the right place

This solves the tool fragmentation problem. Your team uses different editors? No problem. Install the same packages, get consistent behavior across tools.

Collections: Complete Setups in One Command

Here's where PRPM gets really powerful. Collections are curated bundles of packages for complete workflows. Instead of installing packages one by one, install an entire setup with one command.

📦 Example Collections

prpm install collection/nextjs-pro

Installs: react-best-practices, typescript-strict, tailwind-helper, nextjs-patterns, component-architect

prpm install collection/python-data

Installs: pandas-helper, numpy-patterns, matplotlib-guide, jupyter-best-practices, ml-workflow

prpm install collection/react-fullstack

Installs: Everything for React + Node + PostgreSQL (8 packages)

Collections are perfect for onboarding. New developer joins the team? One command gets them the entire prompt setup. New project? One command for the full stack.

The Registry: 1,500+ Production-Ready Packages

PRPM comes with a massive registry of production-ready packages from verified contributors. These aren't random GitHub gists - they're curated, tested, and actually work.

🎯 Cursor Rules

Next.js, React, Vue, Python, Laravel, TypeScript, mobile, testing, and hundreds more

Pre-configured rules for your stack that actually understand your framework's best practices

🤖 Claude Skills & Agents

Repository analysis, code review, architecture, specialized workflows

Skills like systematic-debugging, test-driven-development, and karen (brutally honest code reviews)

🌊 Windsurf Rules

Frontend, backend, mobile, DevOps, and full-stack development

Complete rule sets for modern development workflows

🔌 MCP Server Configs

Auto-configure MCP servers for Claude Code

One-command setup for Model Context Protocol servers

Discovery: Finding the Right Packages

PRPM includes powerful discovery tools. Search, browse, see what's trending, check ratings and downloads. It's like npm search, but for AI prompts.

🔍 Discovery Commands

# Search by keyword
prpm search react
prpm search "test driven development"

# See what's popular
prpm trending
prpm popular

# Browse collections
prpm collections
prpm collections --category frontend

# Get package details
prpm info react-best-practices
# → Shows: description, downloads, rating, tags, install instructions

Real-World Use Cases

💼 Team Consistency

Your team uses different editors? Some on Copilot, others on Claude, a few on Cursor? PRPM ensures everyone has the same rules across the codebase.

# Add to your team's setup docs
npm install -g prpm
prpm install collection/our-company-standards

# Works for everyone, regardless of editor

🚀 Fast Project Setup

Starting a new Next.js project? Don't spend an hour configuring AI tools. Install the collection.

npx create-next-app@latest my-app
cd my-app
prpm install collection/nextjs-pro

# Complete AI setup in seconds

🔄 Switching Editors

Want to try Claude Code today, back to Cursor tomorrow? Your prompts go with you.

# Monday: Working in Cursor
prpm install react-best-practices --as cursor

# Tuesday: Trying Claude Code
prpm install react-best-practices --as claude

# Same package, zero conversion work

📊 Code Quality Automation

Install Karen for brutally honest code reviews. Get scored 0-100 on code quality.

prpm install karen-skill

# In Claude Code: "Karen, review this repository"
# Get: 78/100 score + market research + actionable fixes

Getting Started: Installation in 60 Seconds

🚀 Quick Start

# Install PRPM globally
npm install -g prpm

# Or with Homebrew
brew install khaliqgant/homebrew-prpm/prpm

# Login to access the registry
prpm login

# Install your first collection
prpm install collection/nextjs-pro

# Or install individual packages
prpm install test-driven-development
prpm install systematic-debugging

# Browse what's available
prpm trending
prpm search react

Package Management: Version Control and Updates

Like npm, PRPM handles version control and updates. Your installed packages are tracked in prpm.lock, ensuring consistent installs across machines.

🔄 Update Management

# Check for updates
prpm outdated

# Update all packages
prpm update

# Update specific package
prpm update karen-skill

📋 Package Management

# List installed packages
prpm list

# Uninstall a package
prpm uninstall package-name

# Get package info
prpm info package-name

What Makes PRPM Different?

📊 PRPM vs. Manual Copying vs. Other Tools

Feature	PRPM	Manual	Others
Collections (multi-package)	✓	✗	✗
Universal packages (any editor)	✓	✗	✗
Server-side conversion	✓	✗	✗
Auto-updates	✓	✗	⚠
Version control	✓	✗	⚠
All major editors	✓	⚠	✗

For Package Authors: Reach More Users

If you've created useful prompts, skills, or rules, publishing to PRPM gives you 4x reach. Publish once, users install across Cursor, Claude, Continue, and Windsurf.

📤 Publishing Benefits

• 4x Reach: Users across all major AI coding tools
• One Format: Publish in canonical format, PRPM handles conversion
• Version Control: Users get updates automatically
• Analytics: See download stats and usage patterns
• Discovery: Users find your packages through search and trending

Contact @khaliqgant for publishing access.

Why PRPM Matters for Vibe Coding

PRPM aligns perfectly with the concept of vibe engineering - professional, accountable AI-assisted development. Here's why:

🎯 Professional Workflows

Production-ready packages from verified authors. No random GitHub gists. Curated collections that actually work.

🔄 Consistency

Same prompts across your team. Same behavior across editors. Version-controlled configurations that don't drift.

⚡ Productivity

Stop managing files manually. Install collections. Get updates automatically. Focus on building, not configuring.

🚀 Quality

Best-practice prompts. Systematic debugging. Test-driven development. Code reviews that actually catch issues.

Conclusion: The Package Manager We Needed

PRPM solves a problem that every AI-assisted developer faces: how do you manage prompts across multiple tools without losing your mind?

The answer is the same one that worked for code dependencies: package management. Centralized registry. Version control. Dependency resolution. Discovery. Updates. All the things we take for granted with npm, now available for AI prompts.

🎯 Key Takeaways

• Stop copy-pasting - Install packages like you install code dependencies
• Universal packages - One package works across all AI coding tools
• Collections - Complete workflow setups in one command
• 1,500+ packages - Production-ready prompts from verified contributors
• Team consistency - Same rules across different editors
• Version control - Track, update, and manage your AI configurations

Whether you're setting up a new project, onboarding a team member, or just trying to keep your AI tools configured consistently, PRPM makes it simple.

Install it. Try a collection. See how much faster AI-assisted development becomes when you're not fighting with configuration files.

🚀 Get Started Now

npm install -g prpm
prpm login
prpm install collection/nextjs-pro

# That's it. You're ready.