home / skills / mikekelly / managing-skills / managing-skills

managing-skills skill

/SKILL.md

This skill helps manage agent capabilities by installing, finding, updating, and listing skills via a CLI, with project scope and targeted agents.

npx playbooks add skill mikekelly/managing-skills --skill managing-skills

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (1)
SKILL.md
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---
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."
---

<objective>
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.
</objective>

<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>

<context>
<agent_type>
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>
</context>

<operations>

<operation name="install">
<trigger>User says: install, add, get, set up a skill</trigger>
<steps>
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.
</steps>
<examples>
"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`
</examples>
</operation>

<operation name="find">
<trigger>User says: find, search, discover, look for, browse skills</trigger>
<steps>
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.
</steps>
</operation>

<operation name="check">
<trigger>User says: check for updates, are my skills up to date</trigger>
<steps>
Run:
```bash
npx skills check --yes
```
Report which skills have updates available. Offer to update if any are found.
</steps>
</operation>

<operation name="update">
<trigger>User says: update skills, upgrade skills</trigger>
<steps>
Run:
```bash
npx skills update --yes
```
Report what was updated.
</steps>
</operation>

<operation name="list">
<trigger>User says: list skills, show installed skills, what skills do I have</trigger>
<steps>
Run:
```bash
npx skills add --list --yes
```
</steps>
</operation>

</operations>

<guidelines>
- 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.
</guidelines>

<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>

Overview

This skill manages agent skills using the npx skills CLI. It installs, finds, checks, updates, lists, and removes skills from GitHub repos, directory URLs, local paths, or .skill zip files. Use it to install skills into a project or globally and to keep installed skills up to date.

How this skill works

Commands are executed via npx skills with --yes to skip confirmations. Install uses npx skills add {source} --yes --agent {agent-type} (add -g for global and -s to pick a specific skill in a repo). Find, check, update, and list operations map to npx skills find, check, update, and add --list respectively.

When to use it

  • Add a new skill from a GitHub repo, directory URL, or local path to your current project
  • Search for a skill by keyword before installing
  • Check whether installed skills have updates available
  • Update one or all installed skills to the latest versions
  • List installed skills in the current project

Best practices

  • Always include --yes to skip interactive confirmations in automated flows
  • Default to project scope; specify -g only when you explicitly want global installation
  • Detect and pass the correct --agent flag (e.g., claude-code, opencode) for your current agent
  • Use -s skill-name to cherry-pick a single skill from a multi-skill repo
  • If a command fails, capture the error output and verify the source URL, network access, and agent selection

Example use cases

  • Install all skills from vercel-labs/skills into the current Claude Code project: npx skills add vercel-labs/skills --yes --agent claude-code
  • Install only managing-skills from a multi-skill repo: npx skills add vercel-labs/skills --yes -s managing-skills --agent claude-code
  • Search for a formatter skill: npx skills find formatter --yes, then install the chosen result
  • Check for updates across installed skills: npx skills check --yes and then run npx skills update --yes to apply updates
  • List installed skills in the project: npx skills add --list --yes

FAQ

How do I install a skill globally?

Add the -g flag to the install command: npx skills add owner/repo --yes -g --agent {agent-type}

How do I target multiple agents in one install?

Include multiple --agent flags: npx skills add owner/repo --yes --agent claude-code --agent opencode