The CLI for the open agent skills ecosystem.
Supports OpenCode, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and 39 more.
Install a Skill
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills
Source Formats
# 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
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|
-g, --global | Install to user directory instead of project |
-a, --agent <agents...> | Target specific agents (e.g., claude-code, codex). See Available Agents |
-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 |
Examples
# 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
Installation Scope
| Scope | Flag | Location | Use Case |
|---|
| Project | (default) | ./<agent>/skills/ | Committed with your project, shared with team |
| Global | -g | ~/<agent>/skills/ | Available across all projects |
Installation Methods
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. |
Other Commands
| 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 list
List 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 find
Search 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 remove
Remove 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 |
What are Agent Skills?
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:
- Generating release notes from git history
- Creating PRs following your team's conventions
- Integrating with external tools (Linear, Notion, etc.)
Discover skills at skills.sh
Supported Agents
Skills can be installed to any of these agents:
| Agent | --agent | Project Path | Global Path |
|---|
| Amp, Kimi Code CLI, Replit, Universal | amp, kimi-cli, replit, universal | .agents/skills/ | ~/.config/agents/skills/ |
| Antigravity | antigravity | .agents/skills/ | ~/.gemini/antigravity/skills/ |
| Augment | augment | .augment/skills/ | ~/.augment/skills/ |
| Claude Code | claude-code | .claude/skills/ | ~/.claude/skills/ |
| OpenClaw | openclaw | skills/ | ~/.openclaw/skills/ |
| Cline, Warp | cline, warp |
[!NOTE]
Kiro CLI users: After installing skills, manually add them to your custom agent's resources in
.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.
Creating Skills
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
Required Fields
name: Unique identifier (lowercase, hyphens allowed)
description: Brief explanation of what the skill does
Optional Fields
metadata.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
---
Skill Discovery
The CLI searches for skills in these locations within a repository:
- Root directory (if it contains
SKILL.md)
skills/
skills/.curated/
skills/.experimental/
skills/.system/
.agents/skills/
.augment/skills/
.claude/skills/
./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/
Plugin Manifest Discovery
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.
Compatibility
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 |
Troubleshooting
"No skills found"
Ensure the repository contains valid SKILL.md files with both name and description in the frontmatter.
Skill not loading in agent
- Verify the skill was installed to the correct path
- Check the agent's documentation for skill loading requirements
- Ensure the
SKILL.md frontmatter is valid YAML
Permission errors
Ensure you have write access to the target directory.
Environment Variables
| 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
Telemetry
This CLI collects anonymous usage data to help improve the tool. No personal information is collected.
Telemetry is automatically disabled in CI environments.
Related Links
License
MIT