The 'skills' CLI is an open agent skills ecosystem tool that allows users to install and manage skills for various AI agents. It supports multiple source formats for skill installation, including GitHub repositories, GitLab, and local paths. Users can target specific agents or skills, list available skills, and customize installation options.
The CLI for the open agent skills ecosystem.
<!-- agent-list:start -->Supports OpenCode, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and 37 more.
<!-- agent-list:end -->npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills
# GitHub shorthand (owner/repo)
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills
# Full GitHub URL
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills
# Direct path to a skill in a repo
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/tree/main/skills/web-design-guidelines
# GitLab URL
npx skills add https://gitlab.com/org/repo
# Any git URL
npx skills add git@github.com:vercel-labs/agent-skills.git
# Local path
npx skills add ./my-local-skills
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-g, --global | Install to user directory instead of project |
-a, --agent <agents...> | <!-- agent-names:start -->Target specific agents (e.g., claude-code, codex). See Available Agents<!-- agent-names:end --> |
-s, --skill <skills...> | Install specific skills by name (use '*' for all skills) |
-l, --list | List available skills without installing |
--copy | Copy files instead of symlinking to agent directories |
-y, --yes | Skip all confirmation prompts |
--all | Install all skills to all agents without prompts |
# List skills in a repository
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --list
# Install specific skills
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill frontend-design --skill skill-creator
# Install a skill with spaces in the name (must be quoted)
npx skills add owner/repo --skill "Convex Best Practices"
# Install to specific agents
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills -a claude-code -a opencode
# Non-interactive installation (CI/CD friendly)
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill frontend-design -g -a claude-code -y
# Install all skills from a repo to all agents
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --all
# Install all skills to specific agents
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill '*' -a claude-code
# Install specific skills to all agents
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --agent '*' --skill frontend-design
| Scope | Flag | Location | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project | (default) | ./<agent>/skills/ | Committed with your project, shared with team |
| Global | -g | ~/<agent>/skills/ | Available across all projects |
When installing interactively, you can choose:
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Symlink (Recommended) | Creates symlinks from each agent to a canonical copy. Single source of truth, easy updates. |
| Copy | Creates independent copies for each agent. Use when symlinks aren't supported. |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
npx skills list | List installed skills (alias: ls) |
npx skills find [query] | Search for skills interactively or by keyword |
npx skills remove [skills] | Remove installed skills from agents |
npx skills check | Check for available skill updates |
npx skills update | Update all installed skills to latest versions |
npx skills init [name] | Create a new SKILL.md template |
skills listList all installed skills. Similar to npm ls.
# List all installed skills (project and global)
npx skills list
# List only global skills
npx skills ls -g
# Filter by specific agents
npx skills ls -a claude-code -a cursor
skills findSearch for skills interactively or by keyword.
# Interactive search (fzf-style)
npx skills find
# Search by keyword
npx skills find typescript
skills check / skills update# Check if any installed skills have updates
npx skills check
# Update all skills to latest versions
npx skills update
skills init# Create SKILL.md in current directory
npx skills init
# Create a new skill in a subdirectory
npx skills init my-skill
skills removeRemove installed skills from agents.
# Remove interactively (select from installed skills)
npx skills remove
# Remove specific skill by name
npx skills remove web-design-guidelines
# Remove multiple skills
npx skills remove frontend-design web-design-guidelines
# Remove from global scope
npx skills remove --global web-design-guidelines
# Remove from specific agents only
npx skills remove --agent claude-code cursor my-skill
# Remove all installed skills without confirmation
npx skills remove --all
# Remove all skills from a specific agent
npx skills remove --skill '*' -a cursor
# Remove a specific skill from all agents
npx skills remove my-skill --agent '*'
# Use 'rm' alias
npx skills rm my-skill
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-g, --global | Remove from global scope (~/) instead of project |
-a, --agent | Remove from specific agents (use '*' for all) |
-s, --skill | Specify skills to remove (use '*' for all) |
-y, --yes | Skip confirmation prompts |
--all | Shorthand for --skill '*' --agent '*' -y |
Agent skills are reusable instruction sets that extend your coding agent's capabilities. They're defined in SKILL.md
files with YAML frontmatter containing a name and description.
Skills let agents perform specialized tasks like:
Discover skills at skills.sh
Skills can be installed to any of these agents:
<!-- supported-agents:start -->| Agent | --agent | Project Path | Global Path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amp, Kimi Code CLI, Replit, Universal | amp, kimi-cli, replit, universal | .agents/skills/ | ~/.config/agents/skills/ |
| Antigravity | antigravity | .agent/skills/ | ~/.gemini/antigravity/skills/ |
| Augment | augment | .augment/skills/ | ~/.augment/skills/ |
| Claude Code | claude-code | .claude/skills/ | ~/.claude/skills/ |
| OpenClaw | openclaw | skills/ | ~/.openclaw/skills/ |
| Cline | cline | .cline/skills/ | ~/.cline/skills/ |
| CodeBuddy | codebuddy | .codebuddy/skills/ | ~/.codebuddy/skills/ |
| Codex | codex | .agents/skills/ | ~/.codex/skills/ |
| Command Code | command-code | .commandcode/skills/ | ~/.commandcode/skills/ |
| Continue | continue | .continue/skills/ | ~/.continue/skills/ |
| Cortex Code | cortex | .cortex/skills/ | ~/.snowflake/cortex/skills/ |
| Crush | crush | .crush/skills/ | ~/.config/crush/skills/ |
| Cursor | cursor | .agents/skills/ | ~/.cursor/skills/ |
| Droid | droid | .factory/skills/ | ~/.factory/skills/ |
| Gemini CLI | gemini-cli | .agents/skills/ | ~/.gemini/skills/ |
| GitHub Copilot | github-copilot | .agents/skills/ | ~/.copilot/skills/ |
| Goose | goose | .goose/skills/ | ~/.config/goose/skills/ |
| Junie | junie | .junie/skills/ | ~/.junie/skills/ |
| iFlow CLI | iflow-cli | .iflow/skills/ | ~/.iflow/skills/ |
| Kilo Code | kilo | .kilocode/skills/ | ~/.kilocode/skills/ |
| Kiro CLI | kiro-cli | .kiro/skills/ | ~/.kiro/skills/ |
| Kode | kode | .kode/skills/ | ~/.kode/skills/ |
| MCPJam | mcpjam | .mcpjam/skills/ | ~/.mcpjam/skills/ |
| Mistral Vibe | mistral-vibe | .vibe/skills/ | ~/.vibe/skills/ |
| Mux | mux | .mux/skills/ | ~/.mux/skills/ |
| OpenCode | opencode | .agents/skills/ | ~/.config/opencode/skills/ |
| OpenHands | openhands | .openhands/skills/ | ~/.openhands/skills/ |
| Pi | pi | .pi/skills/ | ~/.pi/agent/skills/ |
| Qoder | qoder | .qoder/skills/ | ~/.qoder/skills/ |
| Qwen Code | qwen-code | .qwen/skills/ | ~/.qwen/skills/ |
| Roo Code | roo | .roo/skills/ | ~/.roo/skills/ |
| Trae | trae | .trae/skills/ | ~/.trae/skills/ |
| Trae CN | trae-cn | .trae/skills/ | ~/.trae-cn/skills/ |
| Windsurf | windsurf | .windsurf/skills/ | ~/.codeium/windsurf/skills/ |
| Zencoder | zencoder | .zencoder/skills/ | ~/.zencoder/skills/ |
| Neovate | neovate | .neovate/skills/ | ~/.neovate/skills/ |
| Pochi | pochi | .pochi/skills/ | ~/.pochi/skills/ |
| AdaL | adal | .adal/skills/ | ~/.adal/skills/ |
[!NOTE] Kiro CLI users: After installing skills, manually add them to your custom agent's
resourcesin.kiro/agents/<agent>.json:{ "resources": ["skill://.kiro/skills/**/SKILL.md"] }
The CLI automatically detects which coding agents you have installed. If none are detected, you'll be prompted to select which agents to install to.
Skills are directories containing a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter:
---
name: my-skill
description: What this skill does and when to use it
---
# My Skill
Instructions for the agent to follow when this skill is activated.
## When to Use
Describe the scenarios where this skill should be used.
## Steps
1. First, do this
2. Then, do that
name: Unique identifier (lowercase, hyphens allowed)description: Brief explanation of what the skill doesmetadata.internal: Set to true to hide the skill from normal discovery. Internal skills are only visible and
installable when INSTALL_INTERNAL_SKILLS=1 is set. Useful for work-in-progress skills or skills meant only for
internal tooling.---
name: my-internal-skill
description: An internal skill not shown by default
metadata:
internal: true
---
The CLI searches for skills in these locations within a repository:
<!-- skill-discovery:start -->SKILL.md)skills/skills/.curated/skills/.experimental/skills/.system/.agents/skills/.agent/skills/.augment/skills/.claude/skills/./skills/.cline/skills/.codebuddy/skills/.commandcode/skills/.continue/skills/.cortex/skills/.crush/skills/.factory/skills/.goose/skills/.junie/skills/.iflow/skills/.kilocode/skills/.kiro/skills/.kode/skills/.mcpjam/skills/.vibe/skills/.mux/skills/.openhands/skills/.pi/skills/.qoder/skills/.qwen/skills/.roo/skills/.trae/skills/.windsurf/skills/.zencoder/skills/.neovate/skills/.pochi/skills/.adal/skills/If .claude-plugin/marketplace.json or .claude-plugin/plugin.json exists, skills declared in those files are also discovered:
// .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
{
"metadata": { "pluginRoot": "./plugins" },
"plugins": [
{
"name": "my-plugin",
"source": "my-plugin",
"skills": ["./skills/review", "./skills/test"]
}
]
}
This enables compatibility with the Claude Code plugin marketplace ecosystem.
If no skills are found in standard locations, a recursive search is performed.
Skills are generally compatible across agents since they follow a shared Agent Skills specification. However, some features may be agent-specific:
| Feature | OpenCode | OpenHands | Claude Code | Cline | CodeBuddy | Codex | Command Code | Kiro CLI | Cursor | Antigravity | Roo Code | Github Copilot | Amp | OpenClaw | Neovate | Pi | Qoder | Zencoder |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic skills | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
allowed-tools | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
context: fork | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Hooks | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Ensure the repository contains valid SKILL.md files with both name and description in the frontmatter.
SKILL.md frontmatter is valid YAMLEnsure you have write access to the target directory.
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
INSTALL_INTERNAL_SKILLS | Set to 1 or true to show and install skills marked as internal: true |
DISABLE_TELEMETRY | Set to disable anonymous usage telemetry |
DO_NOT_TRACK | Alternative way to disable telemetry |
# Install internal skills
INSTALL_INTERNAL_SKILLS=1 npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --list
This CLI collects anonymous usage data to help improve the tool. No personal information is collected.
Telemetry is automatically disabled in CI environments.
MIT