managing-skills

name	managing-skills
description	Install, find, update, and manage agent skills. Use when the user wants to add a new skill, search for skills that do something, check if skills are up to date, or update existing skills. Triggers on: install skill, add skill, get skill, find skill, search skill, update skill, check skills, list skills.

Manage agent skills via the `npx skills` CLI. Handle installing skills from GitHub repos, searching for available skills, checking for updates, and updating installed skills.

<quick_start> Determine which operation the user wants and run the appropriate command. Always include --yes to skip confirmations. Default to project-level install and the current agent type unless told otherwise.

Primary commands:

npx skills add {source} --yes --agent {agent-type}
npx skills find {keyword} --yes
npx skills check --yes
npx skills update --yes
npx skills add --list --yes

</quick_start>

Detect the agent you are running as. Map to the correct `--agent` flag value:

Agent	Flag value
Amp	amp
Claude Code	claude-code
Cline	cline
Codex	codex
Continue	continue
Cursor	cursor
Gemini CLI	gemini-cli
GitHub Copilot	github-copilot
Goose	goose
Kilo Code	kilo
Kiro CLI	kiro-cli
OpenCode	opencode
Qwen Code	qwen-code
Roo Code	roo
Trae	trae
Windsurf	windsurf

If unsure, check for config directories (e.g., .claude/, .codex/, .cursor/). Only include additional agent types if the user explicitly requests it (e.g., "install for all agents" or "also install for codex"). </agent_type>

<install_scope>

• Project (default): Installs to ./<agent>/skills/ in the current project.
• Global (-g): Installs to ~/<agent>/skills/. Only use when the user says "global", "globally", or "for all projects". </install_scope>

User says: install, add, get, set up a skill 1. Identify the skill source. Accepts: - `owner/repo` — installs all skills from the repo - Full GitHub/GitLab URL to a repo, directory, or SKILL.md file (e.g., `https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/main/skills/foo`) - Local filesystem path - Use `-s skill-name` to cherry-pick a specific skill by name from a multi-skill repo 2. Determine scope: project (default) or global (`-g`). 3. Determine agent type(s) to target. 4. Run: ```bash npx skills add {source} --yes --agent {agent-type} ``` Add `-g` if global. Add multiple `--agent` flags if targeting multiple agents. "Install the vercel-labs/skills skill" → `npx skills add vercel-labs/skills --yes --agent claude-code`

"Install just the managing-skills skill from that repo" → npx skills add vercel-labs/skills --yes -s managing-skills --agent claude-code

"Install this skill: github.com/owner/repo/tree/main/skills/foo" → npx skills add https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/main/skills/foo --yes --agent claude-code

"Globally install foo/bar for all agents" → npx skills add foo/bar --yes -g --all

User says: find, search, discover, look for, browse skills 1. If user gave a keyword, pass it directly. 2. Run: ```bash npx skills find {keyword} --yes ``` 3. Present results to the user. If they pick one, follow the install operation. User says: check for updates, are my skills up to date Run: ```bash npx skills check --yes ``` Report which skills have updates available. Offer to update if any are found. User says: update skills, upgrade skills Run: ```bash npx skills update --yes ``` Report what was updated. User says: list skills, show installed skills, what skills do I have Run: ```bash npx skills add --list --yes ``` - Always use `--yes` to skip confirmation prompts. - Default to project scope unless the user explicitly says global. - Default to the current agent type only. Add others only if the user asks. - If a command fails, show the error output and suggest fixes (e.g., check the source URL, network). - After installing, confirm success and mention where the skill was installed.

<success_criteria>

• The requested skill operation completed successfully.
• Output was shown to the user confirming what happened.
• Scope and agent targeting matched user intent (project/global, correct agent). </success_criteria>