Agent skill

DeepTutor CLI

by HKUDS in HKUDS/DeepTutor

Teaches the agent to set up and run DeepTutor from the command line: chat and capabilities, knowledge bases, partners, memory, sessions, notebooks and the server or Web app.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedEducation

Install DeepTutor CLI

skills CLI
$ npx skills add HKUDS/DeepTutor --skill deeptutor-cli -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install HKUDS/DeepTutor deeptutor-cli --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
deeptutor-cli
GitHub stars
41k
Token cost
~2.3k tokens
SKILL.md length
407 words
Files
4,098 (incl. scripts, assets)
Skills in repo
5
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Teaches the agent to set up and run DeepTutor from the command line: chat and capabilities, knowledge bases, partners, memory, sessions, notebooks and the server or Web app.

  • Setting up DeepTutor for the first time
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use, Prerequisites, Commands and REPL Slash Commands, plus 1 more section
  • Calls pip
  • Creating a knowledge base from PDFs and chatting against it

What it does

The skill covers first-time setup and day-to-day use. DeepTutor is installed with pip, either the full package for the Web app, a CLI-only package or an editable install from a source checkout, and it needs Python 3.11 or newer. `deeptutor init` runs a guided wizard through ports, LLM, embedding, search and review, writing the same settings the Web Settings page uses; `--cli` skips the ports step and `--home` targets a specific workspace.

Commands are grouped by area. `deeptutor chat` opens an interactive session and can start with a capability such as deep solve, quiz generation, deep research, visualize, math animation or mastery path, with options for knowledge base, session, notebook, language and tools like brainstorm, web search, paper search and reasoning. Further groups cover creating and searching knowledge bases from documents, managing partners (IM-connected learning companions), searching and installing skills from the ClawHub hub, interactive Books, learning memory, sessions and notebooks, and starting the API server or the full Web app.

When your agent uses it

  • Setting up DeepTutor for the first time
  • Creating a knowledge base from PDFs and chatting against it
  • Running quiz generation or deep research from the terminal
  • Starting the DeepTutor API server or Web app

Example prompts

  • “Set up DeepTutor for CLI-only use and walk me through the init wizard.”
  • “Create a knowledge base called biology-notes from these PDFs and open a chat that uses it.”
  • “Run DeepTutor's deep research capability on the history of vaccines.”
  • “List my DeepTutor knowledge bases and show details for the first one.”

Requirements

  • Python 3.11 or newer
  • DeepTutor installed with `pip install deeptutor` or `deeptutor-cli`
  • LLM and embedding settings from `deeptutor init`

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit f07029c. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 1 file in scripts/, which the agent can run.

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • pip

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use pip, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

DeepTutor CLI loads about 2.3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 48 tokens; SKILL.md has 407 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~48
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from HKUDS/DeepTutor at commit f07029c, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© HKUDS). 407 words, ~2,260 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/deeptutor-cli/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 4097 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
deeptutor-cli
description
Configure, manage, and use DeepTutor through its CLI, including capabilities, knowledge bases, partners, memory, sessions, notebooks, providers, skills, and the server or Web app.

DeepTutor CLI Skill

Teach your AI agent to configure, manage, and use DeepTutor — an intelligent learning platform — entirely through the command line.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user wants to:

  • Set up or configure DeepTutor
  • Chat with DeepTutor or run a capability (deep solve, quiz generation, deep research, visualize, math animation, mastery path)
  • Create, manage, or search knowledge bases
  • Create, manage, or run Partners (IM-connected companions)
  • Search, install, or manage skills from a hub (ClawHub)
  • Inspect or maintain interactive Books
  • View or manage learning memory, sessions, or notebooks
  • Start the DeepTutor API server or the full Web app

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.11+
  • DeepTutor installed: pip install deeptutor for the full Web app, pip install deeptutor-cli for CLI-only, or pip install -e . from a source checkout
  • Run deeptutor init for first-time interactive setup. It walks a guided wizard (ports → LLM → embedding → search → review) and writes the same settings as the Web Settings page under data/user/settings. Add --cli to skip the ports step for CLI-only use, or --home <path> to target a specific workspace.

Commands

Chat & Capabilities
bash
# Interactive REPL
deeptutor chat
deeptutor chat --capability deep_solve --kb my-kb --tool rag --tool web_search

# One-shot capability execution
deeptutor run chat "Explain Fourier transform"
deeptutor run deep_solve "Solve x^2 = 4" --tool rag --kb textbook
deeptutor run deep_question "Linear algebra" --config num_questions=5
deeptutor run deep_research "Attention mechanisms" --kb papers --config mode=report --config depth=standard
deeptutor run visualize "Plot the unit circle"
deeptutor run math_animator "Visualize a Fourier series"

# Capabilities accepted by `run` / `chat -c`:
#   chat, deep_solve, deep_question, deep_research, visualize, math_animator, mastery_path

# Options for `run`:
#   --session <id>         Resume existing session
#   --tool/-t <name>       Enable tool (repeatable)
#   --kb <name>            Knowledge base (repeatable)
#   --notebook-ref <ref>   Notebook reference, "<notebook_id>:<rec1>,<rec2>" (repeatable)
#   --history-ref <id>     Referenced session id (repeatable)
#   --language/-l <code>   Response language (default: en)
#   --config <key=value>   Capability config (repeatable)
#   --config-json <json>   Capability config as JSON
#   --format/-f <fmt>      Output format: rich | json (default: rich)

deeptutor chat accepts the same --session / --tool / --kb / --notebook-ref / --history-ref / --language / --config / --config-json options, plus --capability/-c <name> to set the initial capability.

Tools for --tool / -t: user-toggleable tools are brainstorm, web_search, paper_search, reason, geogebra_analysis, imagegen, and videogen. Context-gated tools (rag, exec, read_source, web_fetch, github, ask_user, …) auto-mount when their context is present, but can also be force-enabled with --tool. Run deeptutor plugin list for the full registered set.

Show full SKILL.md (163 more words)Show less
Knowledge Bases
bash
deeptutor kb list [--format rich|json]              # List all knowledge bases
deeptutor kb info <name>                            # Show knowledge base details (JSON)
deeptutor kb create <name> --doc file.pdf           # Create from documents (--doc/-d repeatable)
deeptutor kb create <name> --docs-dir ./papers      # ...or from a directory of documents
deeptutor kb add <name> --doc more.pdf              # Add documents incrementally
deeptutor kb search <name> "query text" [--mode hybrid] [--format rich|json]
deeptutor kb eval <name> --dataset qa.jsonl [--top-k 5] [--mode hybrid] [--save report.json]
#   Scores retrieval quality against a QA set (JSONL: {"query": ..., "gold": [...]});
#   reports Recall@k / Precision@k / nDCG@k / MRR / MAP / Hit@k per case and averaged.
deeptutor kb set-default <name>                     # Set as default KB
deeptutor kb delete <name> [--force]                # Delete a knowledge base
Partners

Partners are IM-connected learning companions (the former "TutorBot").

bash
deeptutor partner list                              # List all partners
deeptutor partner create <id> -n "My Tutor"         # Create and start a new partner
#   -n/--name <text>   Display name
#   -s/--soul <md>     Soul markdown (the persona)
#   -m/--model <id>    Model override
deeptutor partner start <id>                        # Start a partner
deeptutor partner stop <id>                         # Stop a running partner
Skills

Install and manage skills, including packages from external hubs (ClawHub). Hub refs use <hub>:<slug>[@version] (the hub prefix defaults to clawhub).

bash
deeptutor skill search "flashcards" [--hub clawhub] [--limit 10]
deeptutor skill install clawhub:some-skill[@1.2.0] [--name local-name] [--force] [--allow-unverified]
deeptutor skill list                                # List local skills (with hub provenance)
deeptutor skill remove <name>                       # Remove a user-layer skill
Books

Maintenance commands for the BookEngine (authoring/reading is via the Web app).

bash
deeptutor book list                                 # List all books (flags stale pages)
deeptutor book health <book_id>                     # Inspect KB drift + log.md health
deeptutor book refresh-fingerprints <book_id>       # Re-snapshot KB fingerprints
Memory
bash
deeptutor memory show [<target>]    # target: L3 (all global docs, default) | L2 (all surfaces) | a doc name (e.g. profile, chat)
deeptutor memory clear [<target>]   # target: all (default) | trace (all L1) | a surface name (clears that surface's L1)
#   --force/-f   Skip confirmation
Sessions
bash
deeptutor session list [--limit 20]                 # List sessions
deeptutor session show <id> [--format rich|json]    # View session messages
deeptutor session open <id>                         # Resume session in the REPL
deeptutor session rename <id> --title "..."         # Rename a session
deeptutor session delete <id>                       # Delete a session
Notebooks
bash
deeptutor notebook list                             # List notebooks
deeptutor notebook create <name> [--description "..."]
deeptutor notebook show <notebook_id> [--format rich|json]
deeptutor notebook add-md <notebook_id> <file.md> [--title "..."] [--type chat|question|research|solve]
deeptutor notebook replace-md <notebook_id> <record_id> <file.md>
deeptutor notebook remove-record <notebook_id> <record_id>
Providers
bash
deeptutor provider login openai-codex               # OAuth login for OpenAI Codex
deeptutor provider login github-copilot             # Validate an existing Copilot auth session
System
bash
deeptutor config show                               # Print resolved configuration
deeptutor plugin list                               # List registered tools and capabilities
deeptutor plugin info <name>                         # Show a tool/capability's schema + availability
deeptutor serve [--host 0.0.0.0] [--port 8001] [--reload]   # Start the API server
deeptutor start [--home <path>]                     # Launch backend + frontend together
deeptutor init [--cli] [--home <path>]              # Create/update workspace settings

REPL Slash Commands

Inside deeptutor chat, use these:

CommandEffect
/quitExit REPL
/sessionShow current session id
/statusPrint the current REPL state
/new or /clearStart a new session context
/regenerate or /retryRe-run the last user message
/tool on|off <name>Toggle a tool
/cap <name>Switch capability
/kb <name>|noneSet or clear knowledge base
/history add <id> / /history clearManage history references
/notebook add <ref> / /notebook clearManage notebook references
/show last|<n>Expand a captured tool result or thinking block
/refsShow all active references
/config show|set|clearManage capability config

Typical Workflows

First-time setup:

bash
cd DeepTutor
pip install -e .
deeptutor init        # Interactive guided setup (add --cli for CLI-only)

Daily learning:

bash
deeptutor chat --kb textbook --tool rag --tool web_search

Build a knowledge base from documents:

bash
deeptutor kb create physics --doc ch1.pdf --doc ch2.pdf
deeptutor run chat "Explain Newton's third law" --kb physics --tool rag

Generate quiz questions:

bash
deeptutor run deep_question "Thermodynamics" --kb physics --config num_questions=5

Run the full Web app locally:

bash
deeptutor start       # backend + frontend; Ctrl+C to stop

© HKUDS, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 4,097 other files (scripts, assets) in the repository root of HKUDS/DeepTutor.

  • SKILL.md
  • .dockerignore
  • .env.example
  • .gitattributes
  • .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.yml
  • .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml
  • .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/docs.yml
  • .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/eduhub.yml
  • .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.yml
  • .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/question.yml
  • .github/pull.yml
  • .github/pull_request_template.md
  • .github/workflows/docker-release.yml
  • .github/workflows/pypi-release.yml
  • .github/workflows/repository-hygiene.yml
  • .github/workflows/tests.yml
  • .gitignore
  • .importlinter
  • … and 4,080 more

Open the folder on GitHubat commit f07029c

Compare with similar skills

DeepTutor CLI next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

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AI Engineering Project Tutorrohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch65k—~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Claude Certification Tutorrohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch65k—~3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
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Generate Verifiers Envadithya-s-k/FineEnvs4211 repos~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0

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Works with

Questions about DeepTutor CLI

What does DeepTutor CLI do?

Teaches the agent to set up and run DeepTutor from the command line: chat and capabilities, knowledge bases, partners, memory, sessions, notebooks and the server or Web app. The skill covers first-time setup and day-to-day use.11 or newer.

When should I use DeepTutor CLI?

DeepTutor CLI fits situations like: setting up DeepTutor for the first time; creating a knowledge base from PDFs and chatting against it; running quiz generation or deep research from the terminal; starting the DeepTutor API server or Web app.

How do I install DeepTutor CLI in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add HKUDS/DeepTutor --skill deeptutor-cli -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (the HKUDS/DeepTutor repository) into .claude/skills/deeptutor-cli in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install DeepTutor CLI in Codex?

Run `npx skills add HKUDS/DeepTutor --skill deeptutor-cli -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (the HKUDS/DeepTutor repository) into .agents/skills/deeptutor-cli in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use DeepTutor CLI in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add HKUDS/DeepTutor --skill deeptutor-cli -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/deeptutor-cli, .gemini/skills/deeptutor-cli, .github/skills/deeptutor-cli and .opencode/skills/deeptutor-cli in your project.

What does DeepTutor CLI need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, DeepTutor CLI needs the command-line tools its instructions call (pip). Our summary lists: Python 3.11 or newer; DeepTutor installed with `pip install deeptutor` or `deeptutor-cli`; LLM and embedding settings from `deeptutor init`.

Does DeepTutor CLI access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use pip, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is DeepTutor CLI safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does DeepTutor CLI use?

DeepTutor CLI is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (from the LICENSE file in the skill folder). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does DeepTutor CLI use?

About 2.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to DeepTutor CLI?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with DeepTutor CLI: StudyVault Quiz Tutor (bevibing/tutor-skills, 1.3k stars), AI Engineering Project Tutor (rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch, 65k stars), Claude Certification Tutor (rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch, 65k stars) and Zone of Proximal Development Practice Lessons (THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC, 40k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains DeepTutor CLI?

HKUDS (a GitHub organization) maintains it in HKUDS/DeepTutor, which has 40,857 GitHub stars. The repository holds 5 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 4, 2026.

Source: HKUDS/DeepTutor on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.