library
Private skill distribution system. Use when the user wants to install, use, add, push, remove, sync, list, or search for skills, agents, or prompts from their private library catalog. Triggers on /library commands or mentions of library, skill distribution, or agentic management.
git clone https://github.com/disler/the-library
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/disler/the-library ~/.claude/skills/disler-the-library-library
SKILL.mdThe Library
A meta-skill for private-first distribution of agentics (skills, agents, and prompts) across agents, devices, and teams.
Variables
Update these after forking and cloning the library repo.
- LIBRARY_REPO_URL:
<your forked repo url> - LIBRARY_YAML_PATH:
~/.claude/skills/library/library.yaml - LIBRARY_SKILL_DIR:
~/.claude/skills/library/
How It Works
The Library is a catalog of references to your agentics. The
library.yaml file points to where skills, agents, and prompts live (local filesystem or GitHub repos). Nothing is fetched until you ask for it.
The
is a catalog, not a manifest. Entries define what's available — not what gets installed. You pull specific items on demand with library.yaml
/library use <name>.
Commands
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
| First-time setup: fork, clone, configure |
| Register a new entry in the catalog |
| Pull from source (install or refresh) |
| Push local changes back to source |
| Remove from catalog and optionally local |
| Show full catalog with install status |
| Re-pull all installed items from source |
| Find entries by keyword |
Cookbook
Each command has a detailed step-by-step guide. Read the relevant cookbook file before executing a command.
| Command | Cookbook | Use When |
|---|---|---|
| install | cookbook/install.md | First-time setup on a new device |
| add | cookbook/add.md | User wants to register a new skill/agent/prompt in catalog |
| use | cookbook/use.md | User wants to pull or refresh a skill from the catalog |
| push | cookbook/push.md | User improved a skill locally and wants to update the source |
| remove | cookbook/remove.md | User wants to remove an entry from the catalog |
| list | cookbook/list.md | User wants to see what's available and what's installed |
| sync | cookbook/sync.md | User wants to refresh all installed items at once |
| search | cookbook/search.md | User is looking for a skill but doesn't know the exact name |
When a user invokes a
command, read the matching cookbook file first, then execute the steps./library
Source Format
The
source field in library.yaml supports these formats (auto-detected):
— local filesystem/absolute/path/to/SKILL.md
— GitHub browser URLhttps://github.com/org/repo/blob/main/path/to/SKILL.md
— GitHub raw URLhttps://raw.githubusercontent.com/org/repo/main/path/to/SKILL.md
Both GitHub URL formats are supported. Parse org, repo, branch, and file path from the URL structure. For private repos, use SSH or
GITHUB_TOKEN for auth automatically.
Important: The source points to a specific file (SKILL.md, AGENT.md, or prompt file). We always pull the entire parent directory, not just the file.
Source Parsing Rules
Local paths start with
/ or ~:
- Use the path directly. Copy the parent directory of the referenced file.
GitHub browser URLs match
https://github.com/<org>/<repo>/blob/<branch>/<path>:
- Parse:
,org
,repo
,branchfile_path - Clone URL:
https://github.com/<org>/<repo>.git - File location within repo:
<path>
GitHub raw URLs match
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/<org>/<repo>/<branch>/<path>:
- Parse:
,org
,repo
,branchfile_path - Clone URL:
https://github.com/<org>/<repo>.git - File location within repo:
<path>
GitHub Workflow
When working with GitHub sources, prefer
gh api for accessing single files (e.g., reading a SKILL.md to check metadata). For pulling entire skill directories, clone into a temp dir per the steps below.
Fetching (use):
- Clone the repo with
into a temporary directorygit clone --depth 1 <clone_url> - Navigate to the parent directory of the referenced file
- Copy that entire directory to the target local directory
- The temporary directory is cleaned up automatically
Pushing (push):
- Clone the repo with
into a temporary directorygit clone --depth 1 <clone_url> - Overwrite the skill directory in the clone with the local version
- Stage only the relevant changes:
git add <skill_directory_path> - Commit with message:
library: updated <skill name> <what changed> - Push to remote
- The temporary directory is cleaned up automatically
Typed Dependencies
The
requires field uses typed references to avoid ambiguity:
— references a skill in the library catalogskill:name
— references an agent in the library catalogagent:name
— references a prompt in the library catalogprompt:name
When resolving dependencies: look up each reference in
library.yaml, fetch all dependencies first (recursively), then fetch the requested item.
Target Directories
By default, items are installed to the default directory from
library.yaml:
default_dirs: skills: - default: .claude/skills/ - global: ~/.claude/skills/ agents: - default: .claude/agents/ - global: ~/.claude/agents/ prompts: - default: .claude/commands/ - global: ~/.claude/commands/
- If the user says "global" or "globally", use the
directory.global - If the user specifies a custom path, use that path.
- Otherwise, use the
directory.default
Library Repo Sync
The library skill itself lives in
<LIBRARY_SKILL_DIR> as a cloned git repo. When running add (which modifies library.yaml), always:
in the library directory first to get latestgit pull- Make the changes
git add library.yaml && git commit && git push
This keeps the catalog in sync across devices.
Example Filled Library File
default_dirs: skills: - default: .claude/skills/ - global: ~/.claude/skills/ agents: - default: .claude/agents/ - global: ~/.claude/agents/ prompts: - default: .claude/prompts/ - global: ~/.claude/prompts/ library: skills: - name: firecrawl description: Scrape, crawl, and search websites using Firecrawl CLI source: /Users/me/projects/tools/skills/firecrawl/SKILL.md - name: meta-skill description: Creates new Agent Skills following best practices source: /Users/me/projects/tools/skills/meta-skill/SKILL.md - name: diagram-kroki description: Generate diagrams via Kroki HTTP API supporting 28+ languages source: https://github.com/myorg/private-skills/blob/main/skills/diagram-kroki/SKILL.md requires: [skill:firecrawl] - name: green-screen-captions description: Generate and burn AI-powered captions onto green screen videos source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/myorg/video-tools/main/skills/green-screen-captions/SKILL.md requires: [agent:video-processor, prompt:caption-style] agents: - name: video-processor description: Processes video files with ffmpeg and whisper transcription source: /Users/me/projects/tools/agents/video-processor/AGENT.md - name: code-reviewer description: Reviews code for quality, security, and performance source: https://github.com/myorg/agent-configs/blob/main/agents/code-reviewer/AGENT.md prompts: - name: caption-style description: Style guide for generating video captions source: /Users/me/projects/content/prompts/caption-style.md - name: commit-message description: Standardized commit message format for all projects source: https://github.com/myorg/team-prompts/blob/main/prompts/commit-message.md