Agent skill · software engineering · mvanhorn
pp-vestaboard
Read, render Trigger phrases: `what's on my vestaboard`, `show my vestaboard`, `send a message to my vestaboard`, `post to the vestaboard`, `use vestaboard`, `run vestaboard`.
Why this skill is useful
Adds specific commands and workflows for interacting with the Vestaboard API that the AI wouldn't reliably generate on its own.
What it needs
Requires vestaboard-pp-cli installed locally. About 5k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-06. 1,890 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Vestaboard — Printing Press CLI Prerequisites: Install the CLI This skill drives the vestaboard-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: vestaboard-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 Use this CLI to read or change what is displayed on a Vestaboard split-flap display: check the current message, render it as text, format text into character codes, post a new message, or adjust the transition style. It is the right tool when an agent needs to observe or update a physical Vestaboard programmatically. Anti-triggers Do not use this CLI for: Do not use this CLI for the Vestaboard Local (LAN) API or the Subscription API — it wraps the Cloud Read/Write API only. Do not use it to manage multiple boards or board membership; a Cloud token maps to a single board. Unique Capabilities These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API. Make the board legible message preview — See what's on your Vestaboard right now as readable text instead of a raw integer grid. Reach for this before composing or sending — it is the only way to know the board's current contents without decoding codes by hand. characters — Print the full Vestaboard character-code table (code to glyph) for hand-building a character-array message. Use this when constructing a 'message send' character payload so you map glyphs to the right integer codes. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills mvanhorn/vestaboard