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Create your first Vincent Ability in under 10 minutes using the Vincent Starter Kit.

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Prerequisites

Node.js

Version 20.19.4 or higher

Corepack

Version 20.19.4 or higher

Pinata Account

For IPFS storage of your Ability code

Starter Kit

Clone the Vincent Starter Kit repository for quick setup

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Setup

1

Clone the Starter Kit

git clone git@github.com:LIT-Protocol/vincent-ability-starter-kit.git
cd vincent-ability-starter-kit
2

Ensure Corepack is Updated

# Verify your corepack version (should be > 0.31.0)
corepack -v

# If needed, update corepack to the latest version
npm install -g corepack@latest

# Enable Corepack globally
corepack enable
3

Run Bootstrap

corepack enable pnpm
pnpm bootstrap
The bootstrap will prompt you for:
  • Pinata JWT: Get from Pinata after creating an account
  • Test wallet private key: Fund with test tokens from the Lit Faucet
4

Verify Setup

pnpm test-e2e
If successful, you’ll see all tests passing and your environment is ready.

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Create Your Ability

1

Copy the Template

# Replace 'my-ability' with your desired package name
mkdir -p packages/my-ability
rsync -a --exclude='node_modules/' --exclude='dist/' \
  packages/ability-native-send/ packages/my-ability/
2

Update Package Configuration

1. Edit packages/my-ability/package.json:
{
  "name": "@your-org/my-ability",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "description": "Your ability description here"
}
2. Edit packages/my-ability/project.json:Replace all occurrences of ability-native-send with my-ability:
  • "name": "my-ability"
  • "sourceRoot": "packages/my-ability/src"
  • "cwd": "packages/my-ability" (all instances)
  • "input": "packages/my-ability/src/generated"
  • "outputPath": "packages/my-ability/dist"
  • "main": "packages/my-ability/src/index.ts"
  • "tsConfig": "packages/my-ability/tsconfig.lib.json"
  • All asset paths
3. Edit packages/my-ability/tsconfig.lib.json:Remove the policy-counter reference if not using it:
{
  "references": []  // Remove policy-counter reference
}
4. Update nx.json in repository root:Add your package to the release projects:
{
  "release": {
    "projects": ["ability-native-send", "policy-counter", "test-e2e", "my-ability"]
  }
}
3

Update the Main Index File

Edit packages/my-ability/src/index.ts:Update the comment to reflect your ability name.
4

Update Jest Configuration

Edit packages/my-ability/jest.config.js:
module.exports = {
  displayName: '@your-org/my-ability', // Update this
  // ... rest of config
};
5

Define Your Ability Logic

Edit packages/my-ability/src/lib/vincent-ability.ts:
export const vincentAbility = createVincentAbility({
  packageName: '@your-org/my-ability',
  abilityDescription: 'What your ability does',

  // There are other configurations here, not covered in the Quick Start.
  // Please read the other guides for more details.

  // Validation - runs locally
  precheck: async ({ abilityParams }, { fail, succeed }) => {
    // Validate inputs, check balances, etc.
    return succeed({ /* validation passed */ });
  },

  // Execution - runs in Lit Action environment
  execute: async ({ abilityParams }, { fail, succeed }) => {
    // Your ability's main logic
    // Has access to sign with user's PKP wallet
    return succeed({ /* result data */ });
  }
});
6

Build and Test

pnpm install
pnpm nx build my-ability
pnpm test-e2e
7

Deploy to IPFS

pnpm nx action:deploy my-ability
Your Ability is now deployed and ready to be used by Vincent Apps!
8

Publish Your Ability

When you’re prepared, you can publish the Ability to npm. This will make it publishable in the Vincent Registry.
cd packages/my-ability
pnpm publish
9

Register in Vincent Registry

See the Publishing Guide for details on registering your Ability in the Vincent Registry.

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Quick Commands

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build
command
pnpm nx build my-ability - Build your Ability package
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test
command
pnpm test-e2e - Run end-to-end tests with the Vincent system
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deploy
command
pnpm nx action:deploy my-ability - Deploy to IPFS via Pinata
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clean
command
pnpm clean - Remove build artifacts

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What’s Next?

Ability Structure

Learn how Abilities work under the hood

Example Abilities

Study the included examples

Integration Guide

Connect Abilites with Policies
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