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Create your first Vincent Ability in under 20 minutes using the Vincent Starter Kit.

Ability Starter Kit

Clone the Vincent Ability Starter Kit repository for quick setup

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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

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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