Use APM packages

You’re here because you want to install someone else’s APM packages and use them in your project. This is the consumer ramp.

Where to start

Your situation	Start here
First time using APM, just want to try it	Quickstart (5 min)
Adding APM to an existing repo	Install packages
You hit Authentication failed for a private repo	Authentication
You need org-private packages or your own marketplace	Private and org packages
You manage apm.yml and need lockfile / dependency commands	Manage dependencies
You want APM to wire MCP servers (GitHub, Atlassian, …) into your tools	Install MCP servers
You received a local .tar.gz bundle and need to install it	Deploy a local bundle
You hit Drift detected after a git pull	Drift and secure-by-default
Your org rolled out apm-policy.yml and your install is now blocked	Governance on the consumer ramp

The consumer flow

The four commands you’ll use almost every day:

apm init                 # one-time per project
apm install <pkg>        # add a dependency
apm install              # restore from apm.lock.yaml
apm run <script>         # invoke a script declared in apm.yml

That’s the loop. Everything else is either lifecycle automation (update, outdated, audit) or a workflow extension (MCP servers, local bundles, scripts).

Recommended reading order

1. Install packages — the canonical install loop.
2. Manage dependencies — apm.yml, lockfile, update, outdated.
3. Run scripts — the script runner that wraps your agent runtime of choice.
4. Update and refresh — when refs move, when caches go stale.
5. Stop here unless you hit one of the situational pages above.

Producer-curious?

If you want to publish a package others can install, switch to the producer ramp. The skills you build there install on the same apm install command everyone here is running.

Enterprise rollout?

If you operate a platform team and need org-wide policy, audit, and CI gating, the enterprise ramp is the right entry. Consumer commands are unchanged when policy is enforced — you’ll just see more [x] blocks at install time when something is denied.