claude-code-skill-dedup

name	claude-code-skill-dedup
description	Detect and remove duplicate /slash-command registrations in Claude Code caused by the same name existing in multiple source locations (.claude/commands/, .claude/skills/, ~/.claude/skills/). Auto-activates when slash commands appear multiple times in /help or the available skills list, or when investigating duplicate command entries. Trigger keywords: duplicate command, duplicate skill, appears twice, multiple registrations, slash command list, commands skills overlap.
license	MIT
metadata	{"version":"1.2.2","hermes":{"tags":["Claude-Code","Skills","Deduplication","Troubleshooting"],"related_skills":["skill-registration-troubleshooting","commands-audit"]}}

Claude Code Skill Dedup

Why Duplicates Occur

Claude Code registers slash commands from three locations simultaneously:

1. .claude/commands/*.md (project commands)
2. .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md (project skills)
3. ~/.claude/skills/*/SKILL.md (global skills, symlinked from ~/src/skills/)

The same name in any two sources creates a duplicate entry in the slash command list.

Names compared below are filesystem names; if a skill's frontmatter name: differs from its folder name, the registration follows the frontmatter — spot-check it before trusting a match or a miss.

Detection

Run from the project root:

import os

def names(path, strip_md=False):
    p = os.path.expanduser(path)
    if not os.path.isdir(p):          # missing dir = no registrations, not a crash
        return set()
    return set(f[:-3] if strip_md and f.endswith('.md') else f
               for f in os.listdir(p) if not f.startswith('.'))  # skip .DS_Store etc.

project_commands = names('.claude/commands/', strip_md=True)
project_skills   = names('.claude/skills/')
global_skills    = names('~/.claude/skills/')

print("Command + project skill:", sorted(project_commands & project_skills))
print("Command + global skill:", sorted(project_commands & global_skills))
print("Project skill + global skill:", sorted(project_skills & global_skills))

Resolution

Keep the skill, remove the command or global duplicate.

Duplicate type	Action
Command + skill (project or global)	rm .claude/commands/<name>.md
Project skill + global skill	Remove the symlink (see below); source removal is optional and gated

Removing a global skill symlink

target=$(readlink -f ~/.claude/skills/<name>)   # -f: absolute path — never rm a relative target
rm ~/.claude/skills/<name>                       # removing the symlink alone resolves the duplicate

Delete the source directory only as a separate, deliberate step — and only after git -C "$target" status shows it clean and pushed (or you know it is disposable scratch). rm -rf on the source of an unpushed skill destroys the only copy; the dedup never requires it.

Some source dirs are nested (e.g. ~/src/skills/subdir/<name>/) — that is why the resolved readlink -f path matters before any removal.

If ~/.claude/skills/<name> is a real directory (copied install, not a symlink), readlink prints nothing — the directory IS the source: apply the same git gate to it before removing.

Verify the fix: re-run the detection script — all three intersection lines must print empty — before restarting the session.

Restart the Claude Code session after cleanup for the list to refresh [behavior as of 2026-07 — verify on your harness version].