Use when the user wants to inspect, validate, or manipulate a VRS file using the native VRS command-line tools from facebookresearch/vrs – `vrs check`, `vrs print`, etc.
Use when the user wants to inspect, validate, or manipulate a VRS file using the native VRS command-line tools from facebookresearch/vrs - `vrs check`, `vrs print`, etc.This is the skill's description: the text your AI reads to decide when the skill applies.
aria-vrs-cli/SKILL.md
---
name: vrs-cli
description: Use when the user wants to inspect, validate, or manipulate a VRS file using the native VRS command-line tools from facebookresearch/vrs — `vrs check`, `vrs print`, etc. VRS is the file format used by Aria recordings, and the native CLI is separate from `projectaria-tools` (PAT). Reach for it for file-level operations (validate, list streams, slice, copy) when you do not need Aria sensor semantics. Use whenever the user asks about the `vrs` CLI, validating a VRS file outside PAT, or quick VRS inspection without writing Python.
---
# Native VRS CLI
VRS is Meta's open container format for timestamped multi-modal sensor data — every Aria recording is one VRS file. The native VRS library ships a CLI (`vrs`) for inspecting and manipulating VRS files at the file / stream level. It is a **separate codebase** from `projectaria-tools` (PAT) and is not Aria-aware.
> VRS source + install instructions: https://github.com/facebookresearch/vrs
> Aria-specific VRS notes: https://facebookresearch.github.io/projectaria_tools/gen2/technical-specs/vrs/data-format
## When to use VRS CLI vs PAT vs vrs-health-check
| Goal | Use |
|---|---|
| Validate that a VRS file is not corrupted | `vrs check` |
| Inspect a VRS file (streams, record counts) | `vrs` CLI |
| Slice / extract / copy streams at the file level | `vrs` CLI |
| Read **decoded sensor data** (images, IMU samples in physical units) | **PAT** — see the `projectaria-tools` skill |
| Anything that needs camera calibration / projection | **PAT** |
| Aria-specific recording quality (drop rates, timing checks) | **`vrs-health-check`** (a different tool, despite the name overlap) |
The CLI does not understand Aria-specific semantics — StreamId→label mapping, the `factory_calibration` JSON, profile names, MPS outputs, etc. It only knows about VRS streams and records.