Export/Import

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Export/Import

Status: Removed

The export and import commands have been removed from agents-exe. They were wonky and hard to use, so we’re taking another approach (see issue #339).

Alternatives

For sharing agents and tools, consider these alternatives:

1. Direct File Copy

Tools and agent configurations are just files. You can copy them directly:

# Copy tools to another agent
cp ./source-agent/tools/* ./target-agent/tools/

# Copy entire agent configuration
cp -r ./my-agent ./shared-agents/

2. Git Submodules

For team sharing, use git submodules:

# Add shared tools as submodule
git submodule add https://github.com/company/shared-tools.git tools/shared

# Update when needed
git submodule update --remote

3. Package Managers

Use standard package managers for your platform:

• Nix: Package tools as nix derivations
• Homebrew: Tap for macOS/Linux
• Apt/Yum: System packages for tools

4. Container Distribution

Package agents with their tools in containers:

FROM agents-exe:latest
COPY ./tools /app/tools/
COPY ./agent.json /app/

Historical Context

The original export/import system supported:

• Exporting agents, tools, and MCP servers to archives (tar.gz, zip)
• Git-based distribution with namespacing
• Tool installation with conflict resolution
• Namespace-based organization

This functionality was removed because:

1. Complexity: The namespace and packaging system added significant complexity
2. Overlap: Functionality overlapped with standard tools (tar, git, cp)
3. Usage patterns: Users preferred direct file management
4. Maintenance burden: High effort to maintain relative to usage

Migration

If you were using export/import, migrate to:

1. Simple archives: Use tar directly

   # Instead of: agents-exe export --output pkg.tar.gz
   tar czf pkg.tar.gz ./my-agent/
   
   # Instead of: agents-exe import --from-file pkg.tar.gz
   tar xzf pkg.tar.gz -C ./destination/

2. Git workflows: Use standard git workflows

   # Clone and copy what you need
   git clone https://github.com/company/agents /tmp/agents
   cp /tmp/agents/tools/* ./my-tools/

3. Configuration management: Use tools like Ansible, Chef, or simple shell scripts