Skills CLI

Use this skill to help users work with the open Agent Skills ecosystem through the

skills

Overview

The

skills

Examples below use

bunx skills

npx skills

Always prefer the current CLI syntax:

bunx skills add <source> --skill <name>

Do not use older

owner/repo@skill-name

When to Use

Use this skill when the user:

• asks "find a skill for X", "is there a skill for X", or "how do I do X" and X sounds like a reusable workflow
• asks "can you do X" and X sounds like a specialized capability that may already exist as a skill
• wants help with

  bunx skills

  ,

  npx skills

  ,

  skills.sh

  , skill package installation, or

  skills-lock.json

• wants to install a skill for a specific agent such as Codex or OpenCode
• wants to list, check, update, remove, restore, sync, back up, or initialize installed skills
• wants help searching for workflows, tools, templates, or domain-specific capabilities such as design, testing, deployment, documentation, or code review

Do not use this skill when the user already has a local skill and wants help writing or improving its contents. In that case, use a skill-authoring workflow instead.

Discovery Workflow

When a user needs a skill, follow this sequence:

1. Identify the domain and task. Examples: React performance, PR review, changelog generation, PDF extraction. Also judge whether the task is common enough that a reusable skill is likely to exist.
2. Check skills.sh first. Prefer well-known, well-installed skills when the domain is already covered there.
3. If the leaderboard does not clearly answer the need, search with:

bunx skills find <query>

1. Verify quality before recommending anything:
   • install count: prefer skills with 1K+ installs and be cautious with anything under 100
   • source reputation: prefer official or well-established maintainers such as

     openai

     ,

     anthropics

     ,

     microsoft

     , or similarly trusted publishers
   • repository quality: check the source repository and treat skills from repos with fewer than 100 stars skeptically
2. Present the options clearly. Include the skill name, what it helps with, the install count and source, why it looks trustworthy, the install command, and a link to learn more on

   skills.sh

   .
3. Offer installation help if the user wants to proceed.
4. If nothing fits, say so directly, help with the task using your general capabilities, and mention that the user can create their own package with

   bunx skills init

   .

Installation Quick Reference

Common sources

# GitHub shorthand
bunx skills add xixu-me/skills

# Full GitHub URL
bunx skills add https://github.com/xixu-me/skills

# Direct path to one skill inside a repo
bunx skills add https://github.com/xixu-me/skills/tree/main/skills/skills-cli

# GitLab URL
bunx skills add https://gitlab.com/org/repo

# Any git URL
bunx skills add git@github.com:owner/repo.git

# Local package path
bunx skills add ./my-local-skills

Common install patterns

# List skills in a package without installing
bunx skills add <source> --list

# Install one skill
bunx skills add <source> --skill skills-cli

# Install multiple skills
bunx skills add <source> --skill pr-review --skill commit

# Install globally
bunx skills add <source> --skill skills-cli -g -y

# Install to a specific agent
bunx skills add <source> --skill skills-cli -a codex -y

# Install all skills to all agents
bunx skills add <source> --all

# Install all skills to one agent
bunx skills add <source> --skill '*' -a codex -y

# Copy files instead of symlinking
bunx skills add <source> --skill skills-cli -a codex --copy -y

Installation methods

When the user is choosing how to install:

• symlink is the default and usually the best choice because updates stay centralized

• --copy

  creates independent copies and is the fallback when symlinks are unsupported or inconvenient

If the user only asks to install a skill, prefer the default symlink workflow unless they mention CI packaging, portability, filesystem restrictions, or explicitly ask for copies.

Important flags

--skill <name>

-a, --agent <agent>

codex

-g, --global

-y, --yes

--list

--copy

--all

Managing Installed Skills

Use these commands for ongoing maintenance:

# List installed skills
bunx skills ls
bunx skills ls -g
bunx skills ls -a codex
bunx skills ls --json

# Check for updates
bunx skills check

# Update installed skills
bunx skills update

# Remove installed skills
bunx skills remove my-skill
bunx skills remove my-skill -a codex
bunx skills remove -g my-skill
bunx skills remove --all

# Initialize a new skill package
bunx skills init
bunx skills init my-skill

# Restore from skills-lock.json
bunx skills experimental_install

# Sync node_modules skills into agent directories
bunx skills experimental_sync
bunx skills experimental_sync -a codex -y

When the user asks to initialize a skill, explain whether they want:

• bunx skills init

  to create

  SKILL.md

  in the current directory

• bunx skills init <name>

  to create a new subdirectory containing

  SKILL.md

Related Tool: Skills Vault

If the user wants declarative backup and restore of installed skills across machines or teams, use Skills Vault.

Skills Vault is a separate CLI companion for the

skills

skills add

Common companion commands:

# Back up installed skills into skvlt.yaml
bunx skvlt backup

# Preview a restore
bunx skvlt restore --dry-run

# Restore everything from the manifest
bunx skvlt restore --all

# Diagnose the local environment
bunx skvlt doctor

Prefer this tool over

skills experimental_*

Recommendation Format

When recommending a skill, keep the answer concrete and installable.

Use a structure like this:

I found a skill that should fit.

Skill: <skill-name>
Why it matches: <one sentence>
Source: <owner/repo or URL>
Quality check: <install count / source reputation / repository confidence note>
Install:
bunx skills add <source> --skill <skill-name> [optional flags]
Learn more: https://skills.sh/<publisher>/<package>/<skill-name>

If you want, I can install it for <agent-or-scope>.

If the user mentions a target agent or scope, include it in the command. Examples:

bunx skills add <source> --skill <skill-name> -a codex -y
bunx skills add <source> --skill <skill-name> -g -y

Example:

I found a skill that might help.

Skill: screenshot
Why it matches: it focuses on OS-level desktop and window screenshot capture.
Source: openai/skills
Quality check: high install volume, trusted publisher, and a widely used source repository.
Install:
bunx skills add openai/skills --skill screenshot
Learn more: https://skills.sh/openai/skills/screenshot

Common Skill Categories

When the user's wording is vague, map it to likely categories:

react

nextjs

typescript

css

tailwind

testing

jest

playwright

e2e

deploy

docker

kubernetes

ci-cd

docs

readme

changelog

api-docs

review

lint

refactor

best-practices

ui

ux

design-system

accessibility

workflow

automation

git

Search Tips

• Use specific keywords.

  react testing

  is better than just

  testing

  .
• Try alternative terms. If

  deploy

  fails, try

  deployment

  or

  ci-cd

  .
• Check popular sources first. Many strong skills come from established publishers.
• If the first search is too broad, narrow by domain plus task.

Common Mistakes

• Recommending a skill from search results without checking whether it looks established.
• Forgetting to specify

  -a <agent>

  when the user asked for one particular agent.
• Treating

  bunx skills find --help

  like a real help command. Use

  bunx skills --help

  for command help instead.
• Assuming no skill exists after one weak search term. Try a more specific or adjacent query first.

Troubleshooting

If the user hits an error or confusing result:

• "No skills found" - suggest a better query, check skills.sh, or help directly and mention

  bunx skills init

• interactive prompts in automation or CI - add

  -y

• wrong installation scope - switch between project install and

  -g

• symlink issues - retry with

  --copy

• uncertainty about available package contents - run

  bunx skills add <source> --list

• uncertainty about installed state - run

  bunx skills ls

  or

  bunx skills ls --json

• portable backup or restore across machines - mention Skills Vault and its

  backup

  /

  restore --dry-run

  workflow

When you are unsure about exact flags, use:

bunx skills --help