CLI Options Reference

Commands Overview

The Skills CLI provides commands for managing agent skills across your projects.

skills <command> [options]

Core Commands

`add`

Install skills from git repositories, URLs, or local paths.

skills add <package> [options]

package

string

required

Source to install skills from. Supports:

GitHub shorthand: owner/repo
Full GitHub URL: https://github.com/owner/repo
Direct skill path: https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/main/skills/my-skill
GitLab URL: https://gitlab.com/org/repo
Any git URL: [email protected]:owner/repo.git
Local path: ./my-local-skills

Options

-g, --global

boolean

Install to user directory (~/<agent>/skills/) instead of project directory (./<agent>/skills/)

-a, --agent

string[]

Target specific agents for installation. Use '*' to target all installed agents.Examples:

-a claude-code
-a claude-code cursor
--agent '*'

-s, --skill

string[]

Install specific skills by name. Use '*' to install all skills from the source.Examples:

-s frontend-design
--skill pr-review commit-helper
--skill '*'

-l, --list

boolean

List available skills in the repository without installing them.

--copy

boolean

Copy files instead of creating symlinks. Use when symlinks aren’t supported (e.g., Windows without Developer Mode).

-y, --yes

boolean

Skip all confirmation prompts. Useful for CI/CD and automated installations.

--all

boolean

Shorthand for --skill '*' --agent '*' -y. Installs all skills to all agents without prompts.

--full-depth

boolean

Search all subdirectories even when a root SKILL.md exists. Useful for repositories with skills at multiple levels.

Examples

npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --list

`remove`

Remove installed skills from agents.

skills remove [skills...] [options]

skills

string[]

Optional skill names to remove. If omitted, shows interactive selection menu.

Options

-g, --global

boolean

Remove from global scope (~/<agent>/skills/) instead of project scope.

-a, --agent

string[]

Remove from specific agents. Use '*' to remove from all agents.

-s, --skill

string[]

Specify skills to remove. Use '*' to remove all skills.

-y, --yes

boolean

Skip confirmation prompts.

--all

boolean

Shorthand for --skill '*' --agent '*' -y. Removes all skills from all agents.

Examples

npx skills remove

`list`

List all installed skills.

skills list [options]

Aliases: ls

Options

-g, --global

boolean

List only global skills. By default, lists both project and global skills.

-a, --agent

string[]

Filter results by specific agents.

Examples

npx skills list

`find`

Search for skills interactively or by keyword.

skills find [query]

Aliases: search, f, s

query

string

Optional search keyword. If omitted, opens interactive search (fzf-style).

Examples

npx skills find

`check`

Check for available skill updates.

skills check

Compares installed skills against their latest versions on GitHub. Only checks skills with version tracking (installed after lock file v3).

Skills installed from local paths cannot be checked for updates automatically. You’ll see a message indicating which skills were skipped.

`update`

Update all installed skills to their latest versions.

skills update

Aliases: upgrade Automatically checks for and installs updates for all trackable skills.

This command reinstalls skills globally. Project-specific customizations may be lost.

`init`

Create a new skill template.

skills init [name]

name

string

Optional skill name. If omitted, creates SKILL.md in current directory. If provided, creates <name>/SKILL.md.

Examples

npx skills init

`experimental_install`

Restore skills from skills-lock.json.

skills experimental_install

Aliases: i, install (when no arguments provided) Restores project skills from the lock file, similar to npm install. Useful for:

Setting up a new development environment
Ensuring team members have consistent skills
CI/CD environments

The skills-lock.json file should be committed to version control to track project skill dependencies.

`experimental_sync`

Sync skills from node_modules into agent directories.

skills experimental_sync [options]

Crawls node_modules for skills and installs them to agent directories.

Options

-a, --agent

string[]

Specify agents to sync to. Use '*' for all agents.

-y, --yes

boolean

Skip confirmation prompts.

Examples

npx skills experimental_sync

Global Options

These options work with any command:

--help, -h

boolean

Show help message for the command.

--version, -v

boolean

Show CLI version number.

Installation Scope

Scope	Flag	Location	Use Case
Project	(default)	`./<agent>/skills/`	Committed with project, shared with team
Global	`-g`	`~/<agent>/skills/`	Available across all projects

Installation Methods

When installing interactively, choose between:

Method	Description	When to Use
Symlink (Recommended)	Creates symlinks from agent directories to canonical copy in `.agents/skills/`	Default choice, easy updates
Copy	Creates independent copies for each agent	When symlinks not supported (e.g., Windows)

Use --copy flag to force copy mode: npx skills add <repo> --copy

Environment Variables

The CLI respects these environment variables:

Variable	Description
`INSTALL_INTERNAL_SKILLS`	Set to `1` or `true` to show skills marked as `internal: true`
`DISABLE_TELEMETRY`	Disable anonymous usage telemetry
`DO_NOT_TRACK`	Alternative way to disable telemetry
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	GitHub token for higher API rate limits
`CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR`	Custom Claude Code config directory (default: `~/.claude`)
`CODEX_HOME`	Custom Codex home directory (default: `~/.codex`)

Examples by Use Case

Setting up a new project

# Install skills for your project
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill frontend-design

# Team members restore from lock file
npx skills experimental_install

Installing for multiple agents

# Install to specific agents
npx skills add owner/repo -a claude-code -a cursor

# Install to all detected agents
npx skills add owner/repo --agent '*'

CI/CD automation

# Non-interactive installation
npx skills add owner/repo --skill my-skill -g -y

# Restore from lock file
npx skills experimental_install

Keeping skills updated

# Check for updates
npx skills check

# Update all skills
npx skills update

Managing global skills

# Install globally
npx skills add owner/repo -g

# List global skills
npx skills ls -g

# Remove global skill
npx skills remove my-skill --global

Skill Format

Learn how to create SKILL.md files

Agent Config

Agent configuration reference

Compatibility

Agent feature compatibility

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions

CLI Reference

CLI Options Reference

Commands Overview

Core Commands

`add`

Options

Examples

`remove`

Options

Examples

`list`

Options

Examples

`find`

Examples

`check`

`update`

`init`

Examples

`experimental_install`

`experimental_sync`

Options

Examples

Global Options

Installation Scope

Installation Methods

Environment Variables

Examples by Use Case

Skill Format

Agent Config

Compatibility

Troubleshooting

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

CLI Reference

​Commands Overview

​Core Commands

​add

​Options

​Examples

​remove

​Options

​Examples

​list

​Options

​Examples

​find

​Examples

​check

​update

​init

​Examples

​experimental_install

​experimental_sync

​Options

​Examples

​Global Options

​Installation Scope

​Installation Methods

​Environment Variables

​Examples by Use Case

​Related Documentation

Skill Format

Agent Config

Compatibility

Troubleshooting

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Commands Overview

Core Commands

`add`

Options

Examples

`remove`

Options

Examples

`list`

Options

Examples

`find`

Examples

`check`

`update`

`init`

Examples

`experimental_install`

`experimental_sync`

Options

Examples

Global Options

Installation Scope

Installation Methods

Environment Variables

Examples by Use Case

Related Documentation