skim

name	skim
description	Interact with skim code review sessions. Use when the user says "/skim", "review with skim", "add skim comment", "reply to skim comment", "skim session", or needs to: - Review code changes in a running skim TUI - Add comments to specific lines in a diff - Reply to a comment the reviewer left for you - List or manage review comments - Get diff context to understand changes

Skim Code Review Integration

Skim is a keyboard-driven TUI for code reviews. You can join a running session to read the diff, leave comments on lines, and answer comments the reviewer addressed to you.

A comment is a conversation, not a drop box. Each comment carries an author and a thread of replies. When the reviewer asks you something on a line, reply on that comment rather than opening a new one — that keeps the question and the answer in the same place.

Interface Selection

Try MCP first, fall back to CLI:

1. Check if mcp__skim__list_sessions exists
2. If yes: use MCP tools (direct, no shell needed)
3. If no or it fails: use CLI commands via Bash

This guide also ships inside the skim binary, so you can re-read it at any time without this file: mcp__skim__get_skill over MCP, or skim skill in a shell. Both take a topic — overview (default), mcp, cli, workflow.

Quick Reference

Step 1: Find Sessions

MCP:

mcp__skim__list_sessions {}

CLI:

skim session list

Output example:

Running sessions (1):

  PID:   12345
  CWD:   /path/to/project
  Diff:  working
  Files: 3

The PID is the session_id other tools take. With exactly one session running you can omit it.

If no sessions: tell the user to start skim (skim, skim --staged, skim main..feature).

Step 2: Get the Diff (REQUIRED before commenting)

MCP:

mcp__skim__get_diff {
  "session_id": "12345",
  "file": "src/app.zig"
}

CLI:

skim session diff --file src/app.zig

Output format:

=== src/app.zig ===

@@ Hunk 0: -10,5 +10,6 @@
+       42 | const x = 1;        <- Added line: line_type="new", line=42
-  41      | const old = 2;      <- Deleted line: line_type="old", line=41
   41   42 | unchanged           <- Context: line_type="new", line=42

Step 3: Add Comments

MCP:

mcp__skim__add_comment {
  "session_id": "12345",
  "file": "src/app.zig",
  "line": 42,
  "line_type": "new",
  "text": "Consider adding error handling here",
  "author": "claude"
}

CLI:

skim session comment add \
  --file src/app.zig \
  --line 42 \
  --line-type new \
  --author claude \
  "Consider adding error handling here"

Step 4: Read and Answer the Reviewer

list_comments returns every comment with its author and its replies. A comment whose latest message is from the reviewer and asks something is one you should answer.

MCP:

mcp__skim__list_comments { "session_id": "12345" }
mcp__skim__reply_to_comment {
  "session_id": "12345",
  "index": 0,
  "text": "It is memoized inside foo(), so the second call is free.",
  "author": "claude"
}

CLI:

skim session comment list
skim session comment reply -i 0 -a claude "It is memoized inside foo()."

Always pass author. It is the label the reviewer sees next to your reply; without it your reply is attributed to them.

index comes from list_comments and is positional — deleting a comment shifts every index above it. List again if you have deleted anything, or if enough time has passed that the reviewer may have.

Line Type Rules

Diff marker	line_type	Use line from
+ (added)	"new"	NEW column
- (deleted)	"old"	OLD column
(context)	"new"	NEW column

For More Details

• mcp.md - Full MCP tool reference with all parameters
• cli.md - Full CLI command reference
• workflow.md - Step-by-step review workflow