Helmet Library Skill#

Access the Helmet library system (Helsinki Metropolitan Area libraries) from an AI agent. Query loans, renew books, check holds and fines — for one account or many family accounts at once, via the helmet CLI with --json output.

What you can ask your agent#

• "Is anything overdue for me or the kids at the library?"
• "Renew everything that's due this week."
• "How many holds do I have, and which are ready for pickup?"
• "Place a hold on Dog Man Scarlet Shedder."
• "Cancel my hold on the Finnish language audiobook."
• "Do I owe any fines right now?"
• "Search the Helmet catalog for 'Tove Jansson'."

Quick Start#

bash

# Install
npm install -g @helmet-ai/helmet

# First-time login — run once per library card (saves credentials locally)
helmet login

# Full account overview (single account)
helmet summary --json

# Family overview (all saved profiles)
helmet summary --all-profiles --json

Preflight (recommended before bulk queries)#

bash

helmet status --json
helmet status --all-profiles --json

Verifies each saved profile's session is live. Exit code 0 means authenticated; 2 means the user needs to run helmet login. Run this once at the start of a multi-step task to avoid partial failures halfway through.

Profiles#

The CLI stores one or more library accounts as profiles. Use these when acting for a user or a family:

• One profile saved — commands run against it by default.
• Multiple profiles saved — commands run against the last-used profile unless you pass --profile or --all-profiles.

Profile selection flags#

FlagPurpose--profile <selector>Target one profile. Selector is any of: display name ( Alice), unique display-name prefix ( al), card number, or full id ( helmet|<card>).--all-profilesFan out across every saved profile. Works on summary and loans list. Mutually exclusive with --profile.

--all-profiles is not supported on loans renew, holds place, holds cancel (all destructive — always target one profile), search (unauthenticated), or login.

Fan-out JSON shape#

--all-profiles --json wraps output in a per-profile array. Each row is independent: one profile failing does not block others.

json

[
  {"profile": {"id": "helmet|...", "displayName": "Alice"}, "ok": true,  "data": { /* same shape as single-profile --json */ }},
  {"profile": {"id": "helmet|...", "displayName": "Bob"},   "ok": false, "error": "AuthenticationError: ...", "errorCode": "AUTH_REQUIRED"}
]

Exit code is 0 if at least one profile succeeded, 1 if all failed. When reporting partial failures to the user, key on errorCode (stable) rather than the free-form error string (which embeds the raw exception message).

helmet profiles list --json#

Enumerate saved profiles. Returns id, displayName, cardNumber, and lastUsedAt for each.

helmet profiles rename <selector> <new-name> / helmet profiles remove <selector>#

Local-only management of saved profiles (no Helmet API calls).

Session cache#

Each profile's authenticated cookie jar is persisted at ~/.config/helmet/sessions/<id>.json (mode 0600). The first command per profile walks the full Finna login handshake (~2.7s); subsequent commands skip straight to the data request (~1.3s). Stale cookies are handled transparently — if Finna redirects to the login page, the session auto-re-authenticates using the stored PIN. You do not need to manage the cache explicitly; it is cleared automatically on helmet login, helmet profiles remove, or an unrecoverable AuthenticationError.

Commands#

All commands accept --json for machine-readable output. Always use --json when calling from an agent.

helmet summary --json#

Returns a complete account snapshot: loans (with overdue/due-soon flags), holds (with pickup-ready status), and fines. Start here — one call gives you everything needed for triage. Add --profile <selector> for a specific person or --all-profiles for a whole family.

helmet loans list --json#

List checked-out items with title, author, due date, due status ( ok, due, overdue), and whether renewable. Supports --profile and --all-profiles.

helmet loans renew <id> --json#

Renew a specific loan by its ID. Returns success/failure with new due date or error code. Requires --profile <selector> when multiple profiles exist (the CLI will not auto-pick a profile for destructive operations).

helmet loans renew --all --json#

Renew every renewable item on one profile. Same profile-targeting rule as above — pass --profile <selector> explicitly.

helmet holds list --json#

List current holds. helmet holds (no subcommand) is an alias. Each row has shape:

json

{
  "id": "12345678",
  "title": "Sample Book Title",
  "author": "Last, First",
  "pickupLocation": "Sample Branch",
  "queuePosition": null,
  "pickupDeadline": "15.1.2026",
  "createdDate": "1.1.2026",
  "shelfLocation": "A 000",
  "status": "available_for_pickup",
  "cancelable": true,
  "fetchedAt": "2026-01-01T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Field meanings:

• status: "pending" (in queue) / "in_transit" (on its way to the pickup branch) / "available_for_pickup" (arrived — the user must go collect it).
• pickupDeadline (Finnish "nouto viimeistään"): the date the hold will be cancelled and passed to the next patron if uncollected. Only populated when status === "available_for_pickup" — null otherwise. Date is in Finnish format D.M.YYYY. If the user misses this date, Helmet charges a no-pickup fee and may suspend borrowing for a period — agents should surface this date prominently in reminders.
• shelfLocation (Finnish "Varaushylly"): the exact shelf code inside the branch where the arrived hold is waiting (e.g. A 000). Only populated for arrived holds. Include it in pickup reminders so the user can walk straight to the shelf.
• createdDate (Finnish "Luotu"): when the hold was placed. Informational, not actionable.
• queuePosition: for pending holds, the user's position in the reservation queue ( null once the hold is in transit or arrived).

helmet holds place <record-id> [--comment <text>] --json#

Place a title-level hold on a Helmet catalog record. The record-id comes from helmet search (e.g. helmet.2613471). The CLI uses the default pickup location preselected by Helmet in the hold form. The --comment field is used only for bookmobile pickup stops. Returns { success, message }; on success, message is typically "Varauspyyntö onnistui.". Requires --profile <selector> when multiple profiles exist — the CLI will not auto-pick a profile for a destructive/state-changing operation.

helmet holds cancel <hold-id> --json#

Cancel an active hold. The hold-id is the id field from helmet holds list --json. Returns { success, message }; on success, message is typically "1 varaus(ta) poistettu.". Same profile-targeting rule as place — pass --profile <selector> explicitly.

helmet fines --json#

List individual fines and total amount owed.

helmet search <query> --json#

Search the Helmet catalog. Unauthenticated — --profile has no effect and --all-profiles is rejected.

helmet status [--json] [--all-profiles]#

Lightweight preflight: reports whether the selected profile (or all profiles) has a live authenticated session. Exit code 0 if authenticated, 2 if helmet login is needed. With --json:

json

{
  "version": "0.3.0",
  "profile": {"id": "helmet|...", "displayName": "Alice"},
  "authenticated": true,
  "checkedAt": "2026-04-14T12:34:56Z"
}

On --all-profiles, emits {version, checkedAt, profiles: [...]} where each row carries authenticated: bool and, on failure, errorCode: "AUTH_REQUIRED". Run this before multi-step tasks.

helmet version / helmet --version / helmet -V#

Print the CLI version (e.g. 0.3.0). No auth, no network. Useful when an agent needs to record which helmet build produced a report.

Handling authentication errors#

When the stored session expires, the PIN has changed, or Finna invalidates the session for any reason, helmet exits with code 2 and (with --json) emits:

json

{
  "ok": false,
  "errorCode": "AUTH_REQUIRED",
  "errorName": "AuthenticationError",
  "message": "Helmet session expired and re-authentication failed — run `helmet login` to refresh credentials.",
  "recovery": "Run `helmet login` to refresh your library credentials."
}

On --all-profiles, one row may fail with errorCode: "AUTH_REQUIRED" while others succeed. Report the affected person by displayName and continue with the rest.

Agent recovery procedure#

1. Detect — check the exit code (2 = auth) or the errorCode: "AUTH_REQUIRED" field in the JSON output.
2. Report — tell the user which profile(s) need re-authentication, referring to them by displayName (not card number).
3. Do NOT run helmet login yourself. It is interactive and prompts for a PIN that only the user knows. Ask the user to run helmet login locally.
4. Retry the original command after the user confirms they've re-logged in. The CLI's stale session cache is cleared automatically when auth fails, so the retry will attempt a fresh login.
5. Do NOT loop. If the retry still returns AUTH_REQUIRED, stop and ask the user — do not keep retrying. The most likely cause is a changed PIN that the stored credential no longer matches, which only a fresh helmet login can fix.

Triage Guidance#

When reporting to the user, prioritize items by actionability:

PriorityConditionActionURGENTOverdue items ( dueStatus: "overdue")Renew immediately or alert userURGENTFines > 0 EURAlert user — fines block borrowingURGENTReady-for-pickup hold whose pickupDeadline is today, tomorrow, or in the pastAlert user to collect today — missing the deadline cancels the hold and charges a no-pickup feeHIGHLoans due within 3 days ( dueStatus: "due" or in loansDueSoon)Renew if possible, otherwise warnHIGHReady-for-pickup hold ( status: "available_for_pickup") with pickupDeadline within 7 daysRemind user to pick up. Always cite the exact deadline date and the shelfLocation so they can go straight to the shelf at pickupLocation.MEDIUMLoans due within 7 daysMention in summaryLOWHolds with queue position ≤ 2Mention — pickup may come soon

Formatting hold reminders for users#

When surfacing a ready-for-pickup hold, prefer a line like:

"Pick up Sample Book Title at Sample Branch (shelf A 000) by 15.1.2026 — otherwise the hold is cancelled and a no-pickup fee applies."

Always include: title, pickupLocation, shelfLocation (when present), and pickupDeadline. Dates are already in Finnish D.M.YYYY format — keep them as-is; do not reformat to ISO unless the user is clearly a developer consuming JSON.

Recommended workflow (single person)#

1. Run helmet summary --json (or with --profile <name>).
2. Check for URGENT items first — auto-renew overdue loans if renewable.
3. Surface HIGH items prominently.
4. Mention MEDIUM/LOW items briefly.
5. If renewals fail, include the error code in your report.

Recommended workflow (family)#

1. Run helmet summary --all-profiles --json — one call covers everyone.
2. Flatten rows where ok: true. For each ok: false row, mention the person's name and that their data could not be fetched (don't abort the whole report).
3. Group findings by urgency first, by person second — one overdue book across any family member is more actionable than "here is Alice's summary, here is Bob's summary".
4. For renewals, issue one helmet loans renew --all --profile <name> per person that has renewable overdue loans. Never fan out renew.
5. Prefer referring to people by displayName in user-facing output; keep id for internal routing.

Scripts#

The wrapper script at scripts/helmet-cli.sh can be used as a fallback when the helmet binary is not on PATH:

bash

bash skills/helmet/scripts/helmet-cli.sh summary --all-profiles --json

Troubleshooting#

Empty holds / loans / fines arrays with no error — this was a bug in helmet ≤ 0.1.1 where an expired session was parsed as "no data" instead of raising an auth error. Upgrade to 0.2.0+:

bash

npm install -g @helmet-ai/helmet@latest
helmet --version   # must be ≥ 0.2.0

If you still see empty results after upgrading, run helmet status --json — if it reports authenticated: false, the user needs to run helmet login. Real empty results (no holds, no loans) after 0.2.0 are legitimate; only pre-0.2.0 masked auth failures as empty.