What Are the Runtime Dependencies for Garden Skills? A Complete Package Analysis

Garden Skills does not declare runtime dependencies at the repository root; instead, production libraries are distributed across individual skill packages and demo applications.

Garden Skills is a modular monorepo architecture that ships independent "skills" as self-contained packages alongside demonstration websites. Unlike traditional single-package repositories, the runtime dependencies for Garden Skills are fragmented across multiple component-level manifests rather than centralized in a root package.json.

How the Monorepo Structures Runtime Dependencies

The repository root contains only development tooling and workspace orchestration. According to the Garden Skills source code, the top-level package.json manages build scripts, linting workflows, and workspace configuration, but it explicitly excludes any dependencies field for production use. This design pattern ensures that runtime requirements remain encapsulated within the specific skill scaffolds and demo applications that actually consume them.

Runtime Dependencies by Component

Web-Design-Website Demo

Located in website/web-design-website/package.json, this demonstration application requires:

• react at version ^19.2.5
• react-dom at version ^19.2.5

These dependencies support the React 19-based entry point that renders the visual design showcase interface.

Beautiful-Article Scaffold Template

The scaffold template defined in skills/beautiful-article/assets/scaffold-template/package.json declares:

• react at version ^18.3.1
• react-dom at version ^18.3.1
• reacticle at version latest

The reacticle library provides animated article UI components specific to this skill's generated output.

Zero-Dependency Core Skills

Several skills operate without external npm runtime dependencies, relying instead on built-in platform APIs:

• GPT-Image-2: As defined in skills/gpt-image-2/manifest.json, this skill executes pure JavaScript without external libraries, relying solely on host runtime network capabilities.
• KB-Retriever: The manifest at skills/kb-retriever/manifest.json confirms this skill uses native Node.js APIs for file system and PDF handling operations.
• Web-Video-Presentation: According to skills/web-video-presentation/manifest.json, the core skill logic runs without runtime dependencies, though generated project scaffolds may separately install Vite and React during instantiation.

Source Files Defining Runtime Requirements

The following manifests collectively define the complete runtime dependency graph for the Garden Skills ecosystem:

• website/web-design-website/package.json — Declares React 19 for the demo interface
• skills/beautiful-article/assets/scaffold-template/package.json — Lists React 18 and reacticle for article scaffolding
• skills/gpt-image-2/manifest.json — Confirms zero external runtime libraries
• skills/web-video-presentation/manifest.json — Indicates core skill operates without npm dependencies
• skills/kb-retriever/manifest.json — Verifies native Node.js-only operation

Implementation Examples

The Web-Design-Website demo initializes React 19 through a standard client-side mounting pattern:

// website/web-design-website/src/main.jsx
import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import App from './App.jsx';

ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root')).render(
  <React.StrictMode>
    <App />
  </React.StrictMode>
);

The Beautiful-Article scaffold imports the reacticle animation library alongside React:

// skills/beautiful-article/assets/scaffold-template/src/index.jsx
import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import { Reacticle } from 'reacticle';
import Article from './Article.jsx';

ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root')).render(
  <Reacticle>
    <Article />
  </Reacticle>
);

Summary

• Garden Skills follows a distributed dependency model where runtime libraries are declared at the individual skill level, not the repository root.
• Only two components require external runtime dependencies: the Web-Design-Website demo (React 19.2.5) and the Beautiful-Article scaffold (React 18.3.1 plus reacticle).
• Three core skills—GPT-Image-2, KB-Retriever, and Web-Video-Presentation—operate without npm runtime dependencies using native JavaScript and Node.js APIs.
• All runtime versions and library requirements are explicitly pinned in component-specific package.json files rather than a central manifest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the top-level Garden Skills package.json declare any runtime dependencies?

No. The root package.json contains only development scripts and workspace configuration. It specifically omits a dependencies field, meaning zero runtime libraries are installed when running npm install at the repository root.

Which Garden Skills require React as a runtime dependency?

Only the Web-Design-Website demo and the Beautiful-Article scaffold template require React. The web-design demo uses React 19.2.5 as specified in website/web-design-website/package.json, while the beautiful-article scaffold uses React 18.3.1 according to skills/beautiful-article/assets/scaffold-template/package.json.

Are there any skills that run without external runtime dependencies?

Yes. GPT-Image-2, KB-Retriever, and Web-Video-Presentation operate with zero npm dependencies. GPT-Image-2 relies on host runtime network capabilities, KB-Retriever uses native Node.js file system APIs, and Web-Video-Presentation processes video data without external libraries.

What is the purpose of the reacticle dependency in Beautiful-Article?

The reacticle library provides animated UI components for article presentation layouts. It is declared as a runtime dependency in skills/beautiful-article/assets/scaffold-template/package.json to enable dynamic, motion-enabled article interfaces when the scaffold generates new projects.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}