CLI Options Reference

Complete reference for all Skills CLI commands and options

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: [e-mail]: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

List available skills

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

npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill frontend-design

npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills -a claude-code -a cursor

npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill pr-review -g -y

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

npx skills add ./my-custom-skills -g

---

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

Interactive removal

npx skills remove

npx skills remove my-skill

npx skills remove --global frontend-design

npx skills remove --agent cursor my-skill

npx skills remove --all

---

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

List all skills

npx skills list

npx skills ls -g

npx skills ls -a claude-code -a cursor

---

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

Interactive search

npx skills find

npx skills find typescript

npx skills find react

---

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

Create in current directory

npx skills init

npx skills init my-awesome-skill

---

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

Interactive sync

npx skills experimental_sync

npx skills experimental_sync -y

npx skills experimental_sync -a claude-code -y

---

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

Related Documentation

Skill Format

Learn how to create SKILL.md files

Agent Config

Agent configuration reference

Compatibility

Agent feature compatibility

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions