Agent skill · writing content · mvanhorn
pp-nasa-images
Every NASA Image and Video Library endpoint, plus a local SQLite mirror, FTS search, resumable bulk download,... Trigger phrases: `NASA images`, `NASA image library`, `images.nasa.gov`, `NASA Apollo photos`, `Mars rover images`, `NASA video captions`, `download NASA images`, `use nasa-images`, `run nasa-images`.
Why this skill is useful
Adds a CLI tool with executable commands for bulk downloading and advanced searching of NASA's media archive that the AI cannot generate on its own.
What it needs
Requires nasa-images-pp-cli installed locally. About 9k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-06. 1,890 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
NASA Image and Video Library — Printing Press CLI Prerequisites: Install the CLI This skill drives the nasa-images-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first: 1. Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to $HOME/.local/bin on macOS/Linux and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin on Windows: 2. Verify: nasa-images-pp-cli --version 3. Ensure the reported install directory is on $PATH for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill. If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.6 or newer): If --version reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds. When to Use This CLI Reach for this CLI when an agent or workflow needs deterministic access to NASA's public-domain media archive — image search, asset rendition picking, caption extraction, bulk album archiving — without parsing prose. The local SQLite mirror makes repeat queries free and unlocks chronological/topic-timeline analyses the upstream API doesn't support. The MCP surface gives Claude agents typed tools for every endpoint plus the novel composed commands (assets best, captions fetch text, citation, etc.). When Not to Use This CLI Do not activate this CLI for requests that require creating, updating, deleting, publishing, commenting, upvoting, inviting, ordering, sending messages, booking, purchasing, or changing remote state. This printed CLI exposes read-only commands for inspection, export, sync, and analysis. Unique Capabilities These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API. Local state that compounds download album — Bulk-download every asset in a curated NASA album with byte-range resume — re-runs pick up exactly where the last failed transfer left off. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills mvanhorn/nasa-images