Runtime Compatibility

APM manages LLM runtime installation and configuration automatically. This guide covers the supported runtimes, how to use them, and how to extend APM with additional runtimes.

Overview

APM acts as a runtime package manager, downloading and configuring LLM runtimes from their official sources. Currently supports three runtimes:

Runtime	Description	Best For	Configuration
GitHub Copilot CLI	GitHub’s Copilot CLI (Recommended)	Advanced AI coding, native MCP support	Auto-configured, no auth needed
OpenAI Codex	OpenAI’s Codex CLI	Code tasks, GitHub Models API	Auto-configured with GitHub Models
LLM Library	Simon Willison’s llm CLI	General use, many providers	Manual API key setup

Quick Setup

Install APM and Setup Runtime

# 1. Install APM
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/apm/main/install.sh | sh

# 2. Setup AI runtime (downloads and configures automatically)
apm runtime setup copilot

Runtime Management

apm runtime list              # Show installed runtimes
apm runtime setup llm         # Install LLM library
apm runtime setup copilot     # Install GitHub Copilot CLI (Recommended)
apm runtime setup codex       # Install Codex CLI

GitHub Copilot CLI Runtime (Recommended)

APM automatically installs GitHub Copilot CLI from the public npm registry. Copilot CLI provides advanced AI coding assistance with native MCP integration and GitHub context awareness.

Setup

1. Install via APM

apm runtime setup copilot

This automatically:

• Installs GitHub Copilot CLI from public npm registry
• Requires Node.js v22+ and npm v10+
• Creates MCP configuration directory at ~/.copilot/
• No authentication required for installation

Usage

APM executes scripts defined in your apm.yml. When scripts reference .prompt.md files, APM compiles them with parameter substitution. See Prompts Guide for details.

# Run scripts (from apm.yml) with parameters
apm run start --param service_name=api-gateway
apm run debug --param service_name=api-gateway

Script Configuration (apm.yml):

scripts:
  start: "copilot --full-auto -p analyze-logs.prompt.md"
  debug: "copilot --full-auto -p analyze-logs.prompt.md --log-level debug"

OpenAI Codex Runtime

APM automatically downloads, installs, and configures the Codex CLI with GitHub Models for free usage.

Setup

1. Install via APM

apm runtime setup codex

This automatically:

• Downloads the latest Codex binary for your platform
• Installs to ~/.apm/runtimes/codex
• Creates configuration for GitHub Models (github/gpt-4o)
• Updates your PATH

2. Set GitHub Token

# Get a fine-grained GitHub token (preferred) with "Models" permissions
export GITHUB_TOKEN=your_github_token

Usage

# Run scripts (from apm.yml) with parameters
apm run start --param service_name=api-gateway
apm run debug --param service_name=api-gateway

Script Configuration (apm.yml):

scripts:
  start: "codex analyze-logs.prompt.md"
  debug: "RUST_LOG=debug codex analyze-logs.prompt.md"

LLM Runtime

APM also supports the LLM library runtime with multiple model providers and manual configuration.

Setup

1. Install via APM

apm runtime setup llm

This automatically:

• Creates a Python virtual environment
• Installs the llm library and dependencies
• Creates a wrapper script at ~/.apm/runtimes/llm

2. Configure API Keys (Manual)

# GitHub Models (free)
llm keys set github
# Paste your GitHub PAT when prompted

# Other providers
llm keys set openai     # OpenAI API key
llm keys set anthropic  # Anthropic API key

Usage

APM executes scripts defined in your apm.yml. See Prompts Guide for details on prompt compilation.

# Run scripts that use LLM runtime
apm run llm-script --param service_name=api-gateway
apm run analysis --param time_window="24h"

Script Configuration (apm.yml):

scripts:
  llm-script: "llm analyze-logs.prompt.md -m github/gpt-4o-mini"
  analysis: "llm performance-analysis.prompt.md -m gpt-4o"

Examples by Use Case

Basic Usage

# Run scripts defined in apm.yml
apm run start --param service_name=api-gateway
apm run copilot-analysis --param service_name=api-gateway
apm run debug --param service_name=api-gateway

Code Analysis with Copilot CLI

# Scripts that use Copilot CLI for advanced code understanding
apm run code-review --param pull_request=123
apm run analyze-code --param file_path="src/main.py"
apm run refactor --param component="UserService"

Code Analysis with Codex

# Scripts that use Codex for code understanding
apm run codex-review --param pull_request=123
apm run codex-analyze --param file_path="src/main.py"

Documentation Tasks

# Scripts that use LLM for text processing
apm run document --param project_name=my-project
apm run summarize --param report_type="weekly"

Troubleshooting

“Runtime not found”

# Install missing runtime
apm runtime setup copilot  # Recommended
apm runtime setup codex
apm runtime setup llm

# Check installed runtimes
apm runtime list

“Command not found: copilot”

# Ensure Node.js v22+ and npm v10+ are installed
node --version  # Should be v22+
npm --version   # Should be v10+

# Reinstall Copilot CLI
apm runtime setup copilot

“Command not found: codex”

# Ensure PATH is updated (restart terminal)
# Or reinstall runtime
apm runtime setup codex

Extending APM with New Runtimes

APM’s runtime system is designed to be extensible. To add support for a new runtime:

Architecture

APM’s runtime system consists of three main components:

1. Runtime Adapter (src/apm_cli/runtime/) - Python interface for executing prompts
2. Setup Script (scripts/runtime/) - Shell script for installation and configuration
3. Runtime Manager (src/apm_cli/runtime/manager.py) - Orchestrates installation and discovery

Adding a New Runtime

1. Create Runtime Adapter - Extend RuntimeAdapter in src/apm_cli/runtime/your_runtime.py
2. Create Setup Script - Add installation script in scripts/runtime/setup-your-runtime.sh
3. Register Runtime - Add entry to supported_runtimes in RuntimeManager
4. Update CLI - Add runtime to command choices in cli.py
5. Update Factory - Add runtime to RuntimeFactory

Best Practices

• Follow the RuntimeAdapter interface
• Use setup-common.sh utilities for platform detection and PATH management
• Handle errors gracefully with clear messages
• Test installation works after setup completes
• Support vanilla mode (no APM-specific configuration)

Contributing

To contribute a new runtime to APM:

1. Fork the repository and follow the extension guide above
2. Add tests and update documentation
3. Submit a pull request

The APM team welcomes contributions for popular LLM runtimes!