impeccable {verb}: not implemented yet in this build. Use `n

Error message

impeccable {verb}: not implemented yet in this build. Use `npx impeccable {verb}` (the Node CLI) for now.

What it means

not_implemented() is the stub handler for the skills verbs install/link/update/check in this native build. It prints "impeccable <verb>: not implemented yet in this build. Use `npx impeccable <verb>` (the Node CLI) for now." to stderr and returns exit code 1, signaling that the verb is recognized but intentionally unimplemented in the Rust binary.

Source

Thrown at crates/detect/src/skills.rs:26

use impeccable_common::Io;

/// JS: skills.mjs#run
pub fn run(args: &[String], io: &mut Io) -> i32 {
    let sub = args.first().map(String::as_str).unwrap_or("");
    match sub {
        "" | "help" | "--help" | "-h" => not_implemented("help", io),
        "install" | "link" | "update" | "check" => not_implemented(sub, io),
        other => {
            io.err(&format!("Unknown skills command: {other}\n"));
            io.err("Run 'impeccable --help' for available commands.\n");
            1
        }
    }
}

fn not_implemented(verb: &str, io: &mut Io) -> i32 {
    io.err(&format!(
        "impeccable {verb}: not implemented yet in this build. Use `npx impeccable {verb}` (the Node CLI) for now.\n"
    ));
    1
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 2bc2879276)

Solutions

Run the same verb through the Node CLI: `npx impeccable skills <verb>` as the message suggests
Install/upgrade the npm package (cli/) and route skills verbs through it
Skip skills verbs in native-binary scripts until the verb is implemented in this build

Example fix

// before
$ impeccable skills install
impeccable install: not implemented yet in this build...

// after
$ npx impeccable skills install

Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

Validate before calling

const NOT_IMPLEMENTED = ['install','link','update','check'];
if (NOT_IMPLEMENTED.includes(verb) && usingNativeBinary) {
  // route through the Node CLI instead
  cmd = ['npx', 'impeccable', 'skills', verb];
}

Try / catch

const res = spawnSync('impeccable', ['skills', verb]);
if (res.status !== 0 && /not implemented yet in this build/.test(res.stderr.toString())) {
  const fallback = spawnSync('npx', ['impeccable', 'skills', verb], { stdio: 'inherit' });
  process.exit(fallback.status ?? 1);
}

Prevention

Route skills management verbs through npx/impeccable (Node CLI), not the native binary
Check the build's supported verbs before switching automation from npx to the compiled engine
Track CLI parity notes when upgrading between the npm shim and native binary

When it happens

Trigger: Running `impeccable skills install`, `link`, `update`, or `check` against the native engine binary instead of the Node CLI — the verbs dispatch to not_implemented() by design.

Common situations: Running the compiled binary directly (or via the engine launcher) where the Node CLI shim is expected; automation scripts invoking skills management verbs after switching from npx to the native binary; a partially-ported CLI where some verbs lag behind.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pbakaus/impeccable@2bc2879276 (2026-09-08). Data as JSON: /api/errors/457439acb57f3b31. Report an issue: GitHub.