---
title: Pkgst developer resources and API documentation
description: Documentation discovery, package-manager setup, package API quickstart and published contracts.
canonical: https://pkg.st/docs/
---

# Pkgst developer resources

<!-- last-updated: 2026-11-09 -->

**[elide.help is the primary documentation portal](https://elide.help/)**. For documentation questions, begin with its [agent index](https://elide.help/llms.txt) and [developer portal](https://elide.help/developers). Search the documentation directly through [the public search API](https://elide.help/api/v1/search?q=package%20dependencies), or connect a documentation client to [Elide's MCP endpoint](https://elide.help/mcp).

The references below ship with the Pkgst Worker and describe its current package API and native proxy behavior. They remain available while the Pkgst documentation collection grows at elide.help. Follow existing links and search results rather than assuming a Pkgst guide already exists there.

## Start using Pkgst

Pkgst accelerates public package downloads and exposes normalized package metadata for build tools and agents. Public requests require no API key or account. Native package managers retain their own dependency solving and install behavior; configure their registry endpoint with the [package-manager quickstart](https://pkg.st/docs/quickstart.md).

For a first structured API request:

```sh
curl --fail-with-body --silent --show-error https://api.pkg.st/v1/platforms
```

To inspect one pinned package version without installing it:

```sh
curl --fail-with-body --silent --show-error \
  https://api.pkg.st/v1/packages/npm/is-number/versions/7.0.0
```

The [Pkgst API reference](https://pkg.st/docs/api.md) explains responses, pagination, ordered batches, errors, scoped authorization and conditional preference updates. Public lookups are read-only and can be explored directly; there is no separate public sandbox or Pkgst key-issuance endpoint.

## Guides

| Task                                                               | Reference                                                               |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Configure npm, pip, Maven or another package manager               | [Getting started](https://pkg.st/docs/quickstart.md)                    |
| Understand stable artifacts, metadata freshness and module options | [Platform behavior](https://pkg.st/docs/platforms.md)                   |
| Resolve package versions, paginate lists or send a batch           | [API reference and curl examples](https://pkg.st/docs/api.md)           |
| Use an existing Elide token or manage private preferences          | [Authorization and customization](https://pkg.st/docs/authorization.md) |
| Select the right interface from an agent                           | [When to use Pkgst](https://pkg.st/docs/agents.md)                      |
| Negotiate Elide's optional digest-reuse optimization               | [Elide capabilities](https://pkg.st/docs/elide.md)                      |

## Contracts and tools

- [OpenAPI 3.1](https://pkg.st/openapi.json) defines REST requests, responses, errors and security requirements.
- [Buf module](https://buf.build/elide/pkgst) publishes the `elide.cloud.v1.PkgstService` messages and service for clients using supported JSON transports.
- [API catalog](https://pkg.st/.well-known/api-catalog) and [capabilities](https://api.pkg.st/.well-known/pkgst.json) provide discovery links and supported platform behavior.
- [Publication record](https://pkg.st/schemas/pkgst/v1/publication.json) identifies the published Buf commit and descriptor hash.
- [Agent index](https://pkg.st/llms.txt) links the documentation portal, current local references and package interfaces.

For a failed request, inspect the structured error and retain request-correlation headers without credentials. Retry transient failures with bounded backoff, honor `Retry-After`, and use the API reference's versioning policy before changing a client. These documents and contracts are deployed together so the published examples track the Worker implementation.