https://github.com/baton-dx/baton-dx
CLI package manager for AI coding tool configuration — one manifest for 14 tools
https://github.com/baton-dx/baton-dx
agentic-coding agentic-workflow ai ai-tools claude-code cli copilot cursor developer-experience developer-tools dotfiles dx vibe-coding
Last synced: about 3 hours ago
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CLI package manager for AI coding tool configuration — one manifest for 14 tools
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/baton-dx/baton-dx
- Owner: baton-dx
- License: mit
- Created: 2026-02-14T21:52:56.000Z (27 days ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-03-12T14:31:16.000Z (1 day ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-03-12T18:58:53.640Z (1 day ago)
- Topics: agentic-coding, agentic-workflow, ai, ai-tools, claude-code, cli, copilot, cursor, developer-experience, developer-tools, dotfiles, dx, vibe-coding
- Language: TypeScript
- Homepage: https://github.com/baton-dx/baton-dx
- Size: 1.63 MB
- Stars: 2
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 7
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- License: LICENSE
- Code of conduct: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
- Codeowners: .github/CODEOWNERS
- Security: SECURITY.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# Baton DX /bəˈtɑːn/
[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@baton-dx/cli)
[](https://github.com/baton-dx/baton-dx/actions)
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
**Baton is a CLI package manager for Developer Experience & AI configuration.** Manage Skills, Rules, Agents, Memory Files, and file configs as versioned, composable profiles for 14 AI coding tools.
## What's New in v1.0.0
v1.0.0 is the first stable release of Baton. Key changes from 0.x:
- **Convention over Configuration** — Drop files into `ai/rules/`, `ai/agents/`, `ai/skills/` and Baton discovers them. No manifest declarations needed.
- **`baton preview`** — Inspect processed output for any AI tool before syncing. Supports `--diff` to compare two tools side by side.
- **Directives** — `baton:if` / `baton:else` / `baton:endif` with expression syntax, and `baton:include` with `inline` / `link` / `reference` modes.
- **MCP Server Distribution** — Define MCP servers once in `ai/mcp/*.yaml`; Baton places them in each tool's native config format with per-tool env-var syntax transformations.
- **Profile Inheritance** — `extends: ../base` in `baton.profile.yaml` for layered configuration.
- **`baton self-update`** — Update Baton to the latest version from the CLI.
- **`baton source validate`** — Validate a source repository's structure and manifests.
- **`baton sync` replaces `baton update`** — The old `baton update` command has been removed.
See [Migration Guide](docs/MIGRATION-1.0.md) for upgrading from 0.x.
## Why Baton?
| | Without Baton | With Baton |
|---|---|---|
| **Setup** | Manually copy and adapt config files for each AI tool | `baton init` + `baton sync` — done in seconds |
| **Team Consistency** | Config drift — every dev diverges over time | One source of truth, version-locked with `baton.lock` |
| **Cross-Project** | Each repo has its own ad-hoc AI configs, no shared standard | Same profiles across all your projects — consistent by default |
| **Multiple Tools** | Even 2–3 AI tools mean 2–3 different formats to maintain | One manifest, automatically transformed per tool |
| **Onboarding** | New devs spend hours recreating the "right" AI setup | `baton sync` — match the team instantly |
**Without Baton** — manual config per project, per tool:
```mermaid
graph TB
D("Developer"):::person --> P1("Project A"):::project
D --> P2("Project B"):::project
D --> P3("Project C"):::project
P1 --> T1A("Claude Code"):::config
P1 --> T1B("Cursor"):::config
P1 --> T1C("Copilot"):::config
P2 --> T2A("Claude Code"):::config
P2 --> T2B("Cursor"):::config
P2 --> T2C("Copilot"):::config
P3 --> T3A("Claude Code"):::config
P3 --> T3B("Cursor"):::config
P3 --> T3C("Copilot"):::config
classDef person fill:#fee2e2,stroke:#fca5a5,color:#991b1b,stroke-width:2px
classDef project fill:#fff7ed,stroke:#fdba74,color:#9a3412,stroke-width:2px
classDef config fill:#fef2f2,stroke:#fca5a5,color:#b91c1c,stroke-width:1px
linkStyle default stroke:#f87171,stroke-width:1.5px
```
**With Baton** — one source, every project in sync:
```mermaid
graph TB
S("Source Repo"):::source -->|"baton sync"| P1("Project A"):::project
S -->|"baton sync"| P2("Project B"):::project
S -->|"baton sync"| P3("Project C"):::project
P1 --> T1("All tools configured"):::done
P2 --> T2("All tools configured"):::done
P3 --> T3("All tools configured"):::done
classDef source fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#86efac,color:#166534,stroke-width:2px
classDef project fill:#f0fdf4,stroke:#86efac,color:#166534,stroke-width:2px
classDef done fill:#bbf7d0,stroke:#4ade80,color:#14532d,stroke-width:2px
linkStyle default stroke:#4ade80,stroke-width:1.5px
```
Baton currently supports 14 AI coding tools — see the [full list below](#supported-ai-tools).
## Quick Start
```bash
# Install
bun install -g @baton-dx/cli
# Connect your team's source repository
baton source connect github:your-org/dx-configs --name my-team
# Initialize in any project
baton init
# Sync all configurations
baton sync
```
## Features
- **Convention over Configuration** — Drop files into `ai/rules/`, `ai/agents/`, `ai/skills/` and Baton discovers them automatically
- **Unified AI Configuration** — One profile for 14 AI coding tools
- **MCP Server Distribution** — Define MCP servers once in `ai/mcp/*.yaml`, placed into each tool's native config format
- **Profile Inheritance** — Compose profiles with `extends` for layered configuration
- **Directives** — Conditional content and file inclusion with `baton:if` and `baton:include`
### Directives — Smart Composition
Baton profiles use directives to compose content dynamically based on the target project and tool:
```markdown
## TypeScript Standards
Use @file to reference project files.
Reference files by relative path.
TypeScript-aware AI tool detected.
```
Conditions: `tool`, `ide`, `scope`, `type`, `file`, `var`, `has` — with AND/OR composition and expression syntax.
Include modes: `inline`, `link`, `reference` — with `@project/` for project-relative resolution.
- **Smart Sync** — Transform and place files in the correct format for each tool
- **Version Control** — Lockfile-based reproducibility with SHA-256 integrity
- **Auto-Detection** — Automatically detect installed AI tools and IDEs
- **Scaffold Templates** — Bootstrap source repositories with `baton source create`
## Supported AI Tools
| Tool | Key | Tool | Key |
|------|-----|------|-----|
| Claude Code | `claude-code` | OpenCode | `opencode` |
| Cursor | `cursor` | Amp | `amp` |
| Windsurf | `windsurf` | Kiro | `kiro` |
| Antigravity | `antigravity` | Zed | `zed` |
| Codex CLI | `codex` | Cline | `cline` |
| GitHub Copilot | `github-copilot` | Roo | `roo` |
| Junie | `junie` | Trae | `trae` |
## Official Source Repository
Baton's own configurations are published as [`baton-dx-source`](https://github.com/baton-dx/baton-dx-source) — a real-world example of sources and profiles in action:
| Profile | Command | Audience |
| ------- | ------- | -------- |
| **maintainer** | `baton init --profile github:baton-dx/baton-dx-source/maintainer` | Contributors to this repo |
| **creator** | `baton init --profile github:baton-dx/baton-dx-source/creator` | Developers building their own sources and profiles |
| **consumer** | `baton init --profile github:baton-dx/baton-dx-source/consumer` | Developers using Baton in their projects |
## Documentation
- [Installation](docs/01-installation.md) — Prerequisites and install methods
- [Quick Start Guide](docs/02-quickstart.md) — Get running in 5 minutes
- [Using Sources](docs/03-using-sources.md) — Connect and use source repositories
- [Using Profiles](docs/04-using-profiles.md) — Use profiles in your projects
- [Creating Sources](docs/05-creating-sources.md) — Build source repositories
- [Creating Profiles](docs/06-creating-profiles.md) — Design profile manifests
- [CLI Reference](docs/07-cli-reference.md) — Complete command reference
- [Configuration Reference](docs/08-configuration-reference.md) — All config file schemas
- [AI Tools Reference](docs/09-ai-tools-reference.md) — All 14 supported AI tools
- [IDE Platforms](docs/10-ide-platforms-reference.md) — Supported IDE platforms
- [Merge Strategies](docs/11-merge-strategies.md) — Deep dive into merge strategies
- [Migration Guide](docs/MIGRATION-1.0.md) — Upgrading from 0.x
- [Contributing](docs/12-contributing.md) — How to contribute to Baton
- [Troubleshooting](docs/13-troubleshooting.md) — Common issues and solutions
## Built with AI, Verified by Humans
Baton is proudly built with the help of AI tools. We believe AI-assisted development is a powerful accelerator — and as a tool that manages AI coding configurations, we practice what we preach. At the same time, human review, testing, and judgment are essential for every contribution. We do not accept pull requests from fully autonomous bots (e.g., OpenClaw).
## Contributing
See [Contributing Guide](docs/12-contributing.md) for development setup, coding conventions, and PR workflow.
## License
MIT © 2026 Baton Contributors