Effect-TS Expert Guide

Effect-TS is a functional TypeScript library providing typed effects, structured concurrency, and a robust runtime. This skill covers correct usage patterns and addresses common misconceptions from LLM-generated content.

Quick Reference

import { Effect, Layer, Context, Fiber, Schedule, Cache, Scope } from "effect";
import { Schema, JSONSchema } from "@effect/schema";

Core Type Signature:

Effect<Success, Error, Requirements>
//      ↑        ↑       ↑
//      |        |       └── Dependencies (provided via Layers)
//      |        └── Expected errors (typed, must be handled)
//      └── Success value

Common Misconceptions

LLM outputs often contain incorrect APIs. Use this table to correct them:

Error Handling: Two Error Types

Effect distinguishes between:

1. Expected Errors (Failures) - Typed in E channel, must be handled
2. Unexpected Errors (Defects) - Runtime bugs, captured but not typed

// Expected error - typed
const fetchUser = (id: string): Effect.Effect<User, UserNotFoundError | NetworkError> => ...

// Handle expected errors
const handled = pipe(
  fetchUser("123"),
  Effect.catchTag("UserNotFoundError", (e) => Effect.succeed(defaultUser)),
  Effect.catchTag("NetworkError", (e) => Effect.retry(schedule))
);

// Unexpected errors (defects) - captured by runtime
Effect.catchAllDefect(program, (defect) =>
  Console.error("Unexpected error", defect)
);

Fibers & Cancellation (Critical for MCP)

Fibers are lightweight virtual threads with native interruption:

// Fork a fiber
const fiber = yield* Effect.fork(longRunningTask);

// Interrupt it (e.g., when MCP client disconnects)
yield* Fiber.interrupt(fiber);

// Structured concurrency: child fibers auto-terminate with parent
const parent = Effect.gen(function* () {
  yield* Effect.fork(backgroundTask);  // Auto-interrupted when parent ends
  yield* mainTask;
});

// Daemon fibers outlive their parent
yield* Effect.forkDaemon(longLivedBackgroundTask);

Concurrency Primitives

Effect.race - First Wins, Losers Interrupted

// First to succeed wins; other is automatically interrupted
const result = yield* Effect.race(
  fetchFromCache,
  fetchFromDatabase
);

Effect.all with Concurrency Control

// Process 50 documents with max 5 concurrent
const results = yield* Effect.all(documents.map(processDoc), {
  concurrency: 5  // NOT a "worker pool" - limits concurrent tasks
});

Queue Types

// Bounded - applies back-pressure (offer suspends when full)
const bounded = yield* Queue.bounded<string>(100);

// Dropping - discards new items when full (no back-pressure)
const dropping = yield* Queue.dropping<string>(100);

// Sliding - discards oldest items when full (no back-pressure)
const sliding = yield* Queue.sliding<string>(100);

Layers for Dependency Injection

Layers construct services without leaking dependencies:

// Define a service
class Database extends Context.Tag("Database")<
  Database,
  { query: (sql: string) => Effect.Effect<Result> }
>() {}

// Create layer (dependencies handled at construction)
const DatabaseLive = Layer.effect(
  Database,
  Effect.gen(function* () {
    const config = yield* Config;  // Dependency injected here
    return {
      query: (sql) => Effect.tryPromise(() => runQuery(sql, config))
    };
  })
);

// Provide to program
const runnable = program.pipe(Effect.provide(DatabaseLive));

// For testing - swap implementation
const DatabaseTest = Layer.succeed(Database, {
  query: () => Effect.succeed(mockResult)
});

Resource Management

Effect.ensuring - Always Runs Finalizer

const program = pipe(
  Effect.tryPromise(() => openConnection()),
  Effect.ensuring(Console.log("Cleanup"))  // Runs on success, failure, OR interrupt
);

acquireUseRelease Pattern

const withConnection = Effect.acquireUseRelease(
  Effect.tryPromise(() => db.connect()),     // Acquire
  (conn) => Effect.tryPromise(() => conn.query("SELECT *")),  // Use
  (conn) => Effect.promise((
how to use effect-ts
CursorClaude CodeClineCodexWindsurfGooseGitHub CopilotVS CodeGemini CLIKiloOpencodeKimi CLIRoo ClineAiderContinueZedBolt.newLovablev0Replit AgentSweepSmol DeveloperDevinCavemanAmpAntigravity
How to use effect-ts on Cursor
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1
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add effect-ts
2
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/kastalien-research/thoughtbox-dot-claude --skill effect-tscopy
The skills CLI fetches effect-ts from GitHub repository kastalien-research/thoughtbox-dot-claude and configures it for Cursor.
3
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│   • Amp
│   • Antigravity
│   • Cline
│   • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│   • Cursor
│   • Windsurf
4
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/effect-ts
Reload or restart Cursor to activate effect-ts. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /effect-ts) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
›View source code on GitHub›Skills CLI documentation›Learn more about Cursor›What are agent skills?