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# setup

> Initialize the skill and prepare resources. Return false to fail closed.

[ref-skillbase]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/typescript/agents/skill-base

[ref-addskill]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/typescript/agents/skill-manager/add-skill

Initialize the skill: validate environment variables, initialize API clients, and
prepare resources. Called once when the skill is loaded, before any tool
registration.

This is a concrete method with a default that returns `true`. Override it in
your [SkillBase][ref-skillbase] subclass when you need initialization logic or
need to short-circuit loading on invalid config.

> **Note**
>
> Returning `false` from `setup()` causes [`SkillManager.addSkill()`][ref-addskill]
> (and `AgentBase.addSkill()`) to **fail closed**: the skill is not registered
> and the call throws. This matches the Python SDK's behavior — never silently
> continue with a half-initialized skill.

Takes no parameters.

## **Returns**

`Promise<boolean>` — `true` on success, `false` to signal that the skill
cannot be loaded (invalid config, missing credentials, failed handshake, etc.).

## **Example**

```typescript {2-9}
class MySkill extends SkillBase {
  override async setup(): Promise<boolean> {
    if (!this.hasAllEnvVars()) return false;
    const missing = await this.validatePackages();
    if (missing.length) return false;
    // Initialize API connections here
    return true;
  }
}
```

> Initialize the skill and prepare resources. Return false to fail closed.