6. Add tools with extras
Extras (modules) give agents tools and know-how for a kind of work. The Hive works without any of them. Agents can add one when a job needs it, but the tools it needs may have to be installed by you, as an admin on the machine.
Add one
Settings, then Extras, shows three groups:
- Public, installed: what's on this Hive from the public list. The ones marked "comes with the Hive" are there from the start.
- Recommended: a few worth having, with Add. Browse all shows the whole public list, with a filter.
- This Hive's own: extras made on this Hive or added from a Git URL, each saying where it lives: on GitHub or only on this machine.
Click Add next to one. Or ask in Chat:
Design a circuit board for this. Add whatever extra you need, and tell me what it has to download first.
| Extra | What it does | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
hwde | KiCad circuit board design, from a written brief to files ready to order | KiCad 10, freerouting, Java, xvfb, uv |
chip-flow | Chip design with open tools | The IIC-OSIC-TOOLS image |
mech | 3D-printable enclosures fitted to boards | uv |
fw | ESP32 firmware: tests, builds, simulated boots | ESP-IDF, about 2 GB |
autoresearch | A loop that keeps improving one measured number | Nothing extra |
slack-door | Talk to the Hive from Slack (tutorial 7) | Your own Slack app, uv |
cost | What agents spent, by conversation and agent | Nothing to download |
extras | Helpers such as code review prompts | Nothing to download |
Add one from elsewhere
Paste a Git URL in Add from a Git URL, under This Hive's own. A module's code runs in your Hive, so only add ones you trust.
Make your own
Ask for it:
Make this into an extra, so future agents know how to use it.
Or write one: a folder with a module.json. The README shows the format.
From a terminal: hive module list, hive module add NAME and hive module remove NAME.