iskill

A flexible skill installation tool with custom path support. iskill allows you to install, manage, and organize agent skills from various sources to any directory you specify.

Features

• Flexible Path Management: Install skills to any custom path
• Multiple Source Formats: Support for GitHub shorthand, URLs, Git repositories, and local paths
• Installation Methods: Choose between symlink (recommended) or copy installation
• Skill Management: List, search, install, update, and remove skills
• Skills Compatibility: Fully compatible with the Agent Skills specification
• Configuration Support: Project and global configuration files

Installation

No installation required! Use directly with npx:

npx iskill <command>

If you prefer to install globally:

npm install -g iskill

Quick Start

Install Skills

Install skills from a GitHub repository to a custom path:

npx iskill add vercel-labs/agent-skills --path ./my-skills

Install specific skills:

npx iskill add vercel-labs/agent-skills --path ./my-skills --skill frontend-design

List available skills without installing:

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

List Installed Skills

npx iskill list --path ./my-skills

Search Skills

Search interactively:

npx iskill find

Search by keyword:

npx iskill find typescript

Remove Skills

Remove a specific skill:

npx iskill remove frontend-design --path ./my-skills

Remove all skills:

npx iskill remove --all --path ./my-skills

Update Skills

Check for updates:

npx iskill check --path ./my-skills

Update all skills:

npx iskill update --path ./my-skills

Create a New Skill

npx iskill init my-skill

Commands

npx iskill add / npx iskill install

Install skills from a source to a specified path.

npx iskill add <source> [options]

Arguments:

• <source>: Skill source (GitHub shorthand, URL, or local path)

Options:

• -p, --path <path>: Target installation path (required)
• -s, --skill <skills...>: Install specific skills (use * for all)
• -l, --list: List available skills without installing
• -y, --yes: Skip confirmation prompts
• -m, --method <method>: Installation method: symlink or copy (default: symlink)

Examples:

# Install all skills from a repository
npx iskill add vercel-labs/agent-skills --path ./skills

# Install specific skills
npx iskill add vercel-labs/agent-skills --path ./skills --skill frontend-design backend-helper

# List available skills
npx iskill add vercel-labs/agent-skills --list

# Use copy method instead of symlink
npx iskill add vercel-labs/agent-skills --path ./skills --method copy

# Install from local path
npx iskill add ./local-skills --path ./installed-skills --method copy

npx iskill list / npx iskill ls

List installed skills in a specified path.

npx iskill list [options]

Options:

• -p, --path <path>: Path to list skills from (required)

Example:

npx iskill list --path ./skills

npx iskill find / npx iskill search

Search for skills interactively or by keyword.

npx iskill find [query]

Arguments:

• [query]: Search keyword (optional for interactive mode)

Examples:

# Interactive search
npx iskill find

# Search by keyword
npx iskill find typescript

npx iskill remove / npx iskill rm

Remove installed skills from a specified path.

npx iskill remove [skills...] [options]

Arguments:

• [skills...]: Skills to remove (optional if using --all)

Options:

• -p, --path <path>: Path to remove skills from (required)
• -s, --skill <skills...>: Specify skills to remove
• -y, --yes: Skip confirmation prompts
• --all: Remove all skills

Examples:

# Remove specific skill
npx iskill remove frontend-design --path ./skills

# Remove multiple skills
npx iskill remove frontend-design backend-helper --path ./skills

# Remove all skills
npx iskill remove --all --path ./skills

npx iskill check

Check for available skill updates.

npx iskill check [options]

Options:

• -p, --path <path>: Path to check for updates (required)

Example:

npx iskill check --path ./skills

npx iskill update

Update installed skills to their latest versions.

npx iskill update [options]

Options:

• -p, --path <path>: Path to update skills in (required)

Example:

npx iskill update --path ./skills

npx iskill init

Create a new skill template.

npx iskill init [name]

Arguments:

• [name]: Skill name (optional)

Examples:

# Create skill in current directory
npx iskill init

# Create skill in subdirectory
npx iskill init my-skill

Source Formats

GitHub Shorthand

npx iskill add vercel-labs/agent-skills --path ./skills

Full GitHub URL

npx iskill add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills --path ./skills

Direct Path to Skill

npx iskill add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/tree/main/skills/web-design-guidelines --path ./skills

GitLab URL

npx iskill add https://gitlab.com/org/repo --path ./skills

Git URL

npx iskill add git@github.com:vercel-labs/agent-skills.git --path ./skills

Local Path

npx iskill add ./local-skills --path ./installed-skills --method copy

Installation Methods

Symlink (Recommended)

Creates symbolic links to the skill source. This is the default method and provides:

• Single source of truth
• Easy updates
• Minimal disk space usage

npx iskill add vercel-labs/agent-skills --path ./skills --method symlink

Copy

Creates independent copies of each skill. Use when:

• Symlinks aren't supported
• You need offline copies
• You want to modify skills independently

npx iskill add vercel-labs/agent-skills --path ./skills --method copy

Configuration

Configuration Files

iskill supports both project-level and global configuration files.

Project Configuration

Create .iskillrc.json in your project root:

{
  "defaultPath": "./skills",
  "paths": ["./skills", "./custom-skills"],
  "installMethod": "symlink",
  "autoUpdate": false,
  "telemetry": false
}

Global Configuration

Create ~/.iskill/config.json:

{
  "defaultPath": "~/skills",
  "paths": [],
  "installMethod": "symlink",
  "autoUpdate": false,
  "telemetry": true
}

Configuration Options

Option	Type	Description	Default
defaultPath	string	Default installation path	"./skills"
paths	string[]	Multiple skill paths	[]
installMethod	string	Default installation method (symlink/copy)	"symlink"
autoUpdate	boolean	Whether to automatically check for updates	false
telemetry	boolean	Whether to enable telemetry	true

Configuration Priority

1. Command line arguments (highest priority)
2. Project-level configuration
3. Global-level configuration
4. Default values (lowest priority)

Skill Format

Skills are defined in SKILL.md files with YAML frontmatter:

---
name: my-skill
description: What this skill does and when to use it
---

# My Skill

Instructions for the agent to follow when this skill is activated.

## When to Use

Describe the scenarios where this skill should be used.

## Steps

1. First, do this
2. Then, do that

Required Fields

• name: Unique identifier (lowercase, hyphens allowed)
• description: Brief explanation of what the skill does

Optional Fields

• version: Skill version
• metadata.internal: Set to true to hide from normal discovery

Skill Discovery

iskill searches for skills in these locations within a repository:

• Root directory (if it contains SKILL.md)
• skills/
• skills/.curated/
• skills/.experimental/
• skills/.system/
• .agents/skills/
• .agent/skills/
• .claude/skills/
• And many more agent-specific directories

Troubleshooting

"No skills found"

Ensure the repository contains valid SKILL.md files with both name and description in the frontmatter.

Permission errors

Ensure you have write access to the target directory.

Symlink creation fails

On Windows, you may need to enable Developer Mode or run as administrator. Alternatively, use the --method copy option.

Git clone fails

Ensure you have git installed and have network access to the repository.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
DISABLE_TELEMETRY	Disable anonymous usage telemetry
DO_NOT_TRACK	Alternative way to disable telemetry

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT

Related Links

• Agent Skills Specification
• Skills Directory
• Vercel Agent Skills Repository

Acknowledgments

This project is inspired by and compatible with the skills CLI tool.

Deployment

This project uses GitHub Actions for automated CI/CD:

CI Pipeline

Continuous Integration runs on:

• Push to main or develop branches
• Pull Requests targeting main or develop

The CI pipeline:

• Runs tests across Node.js versions 18.x, 20.x, and 21.x
• Executes linting and type checking
• Builds the project

Automated Releases

Releases are automated via GitHub Actions:

# Patch release (1.0.0 -> 1.0.1)
npm run release:patch

# Minor release (1.0.0 -> 1.1.0)
npm run release:minor

# Major release (1.0.0 -> 2.0.0)
npm run release:major

These commands will:

1. Update the version in package.json
2. Commit the version change
3. Push to GitHub
4. Trigger the release workflow
5. Publish to npm
6. Create a GitHub Release

For detailed deployment instructions, see DEPLOYMENT.md.

Manual Release

To manually trigger a release:

# Update version
npm version 1.0.1

# Create and push tag
git tag v1.0.1
git push origin v1.0.1

This will automatically trigger the release workflow.