Install & Add

Install skills from marketplace, GitHub, private Git repos, npm registries, and local directories

installadd

`install` / `add`#

Install skill(s) from the marketplace, GitHub repos, private Git repos, npm registries, URLs, or local directories. Auto-detects platforms or lets you target specific agents.

Tip

Tip: You can use npx agent-skills-cli install instead of skills install if you haven't installed the CLI globally.

skills install [source] [options]
skills add [source] [options]
# Alias: skills i [source]

Option	Description
`-a, --agent <agents...>`	Install to specific agents (e.g. `cursor,claude`)
`--all`	Install to all 42 agents at once
`-g, --global`	Install globally (user-wide, home directory)
`-s, --skill <skills...>`	Install by marketplace skill name(s)
`-y, --yes`	Skip all prompts (agent selection + skill selection). Installs ALL found skills.
`--token <token>`	Authentication token for private Git repos
`--registry <url>`	npm registry URL (for `npm:` sources)

Install from Marketplace (`@scope/name`)#

The primary way to install skills. Uses the @author/skillname scoped format to find and install from the marketplace database (175,000+ skills).

# Auto-detect: prompts you to pick which agents to install to
skills install @facebook/verify

# Install to specific agents
skills install @facebook/verify -a cursor,claude

# Install to ALL 42 agents
skills install @facebook/verify --all

# Install globally
skills install @lobehub/typescript -g -a cursor

# Using the 'add' alias (identical behavior)
skills add @facebook/verify -a cursor

Output:

📦 Searching for "@facebook/verify"...

Found: verify by facebook
Stars: 242,799
URL: https://github.com/facebook/react/tree/main/.claude/skills/verify

Installing to: cursor, claude, copilot, ..., zed

✔ Downloaded verify
✔ Installed to .cursor/skills/verify
✔ Installed to .claude/skills/verify
✔ Installed to .github/skills/verify
... (42 agents)

✨ Successfully installed: verify
   Scoped name: @facebook/verify
   Platforms: cursor, claude, copilot, ..., zed

Install from GitHub (`owner/repo`)#

Clone a GitHub repo and install all skills found inside it.

# Clone and install all skills from a repo
skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills
skills install anthropics/courses -a cursor

# Install specific skill from a repo
skills add anthropic/skills@xlsx

# Full GitHub URL also works
skills install https://github.com/anthropics/courses -a cursor

Bulk Install from Repo (`-y` flag)#

Skip the skill selection prompt and install ALL skills from a repo with one command. Pair -y with -a to target specific agents.

# Install all 943 skills from ComposioHQ to claude (no prompt)
skills install @ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills -a claude -y

# Install all 45 skills to cursor and claude
skills add github/awesome-copilot -a cursor,claude -y

# All skills to all 42 agents, fully non-interactive
skills install @owner/repo --all -y

Output:

📦 Installing from https://github.com/ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills.git

✔ Cloned
ℹ Installing all 943 skills (--yes flag)

Installing skill-creator to Claude Code... ✔
Installing mcp-builder to Claude Code... ✔
...

✨ Installed 943 skill(s)

Warning

Warning: Some repos contain hundreds or thousands of skills. Using -y on a large repo will install every skill it finds. This takes time and disk space. If you only need specific skills, omit -y to get the interactive selection prompt, or use --skill to pick individual skills:

skills install @ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills --skill mcp-builder,skill-creator -a claude

Install from Private Git Repos#

Install from private or self-hosted Git repositories with automatic credential resolution.

# SSH (auto-detects SSH keys from ssh-agent or ~/.ssh/)
skills install git@github.com:team/private-repo.git
skills install git@gitlab.com:team/internal-skills.git

# HTTPS with explicit token
skills install https://git.company.com/team/repo --token=ghp_xxx

# Token from environment variables
GH_TOKEN=xxx skills install https://github.com/team/private-repo
GITLAB_TOKEN=xxx skills install https://gitlab.com/team/repo
BITBUCKET_TOKEN=xxx skills install https://bitbucket.org/team/repo

# Bitbucket
skills install https://bitbucket.org/team/skills-repo -a cursor

# Self-hosted Git instances
skills install https://git.company.com/team/skills --token=$COMPANY_TOKEN

Auth resolution order: --token flag → env vars → SSH keys → git credential helper → .netrc → none (public access)

Environment Variable	Provider
`GH_TOKEN` / `GITHUB_TOKEN`	GitHub
`GITLAB_TOKEN` / `GL_TOKEN`	GitLab
`BITBUCKET_TOKEN` / `BB_TOKEN`	Bitbucket
`GIT_TOKEN`	Any Git host

Install from npm Packages#

Install skills packaged as npm modules (public or private registries).

# Public npm packages
skills install npm:chalk
skills install npm:@anthropic/skills

# Scoped package with version or tag
skills install npm:@company/skills@1.1.1
skills install npm:@company/skills@latest

# Private npm registry
skills install npm:@company/skills --registry https://npm.company.com

Install by Skill Name (`-s` flag)#

skills install -s verify -a cursor
skills install -s xlsx,pdf -a cursor,claude

Install from Local Directory#

skills install ./my-local-skill -a cursor,claude
skills install . -a cursor   # Current directory as skill

Install from Lock File#

When you run skills install with no arguments and a skills.lock exists, it offers to reinstall all previously installed skills.

skills install   # Prompts: "Found N skills in lock file. Reinstall all?"

`.skillsrc` Configuration#

Create a .skillsrc or .skillsrc.json in your project root (or ~/.skillsrc globally) to pre-configure private sources:

{
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "company-gitlab",
      "type": "git",
      "url": "https://gitlab.company.com",
      "auth_env": "COMPANY_GIT_TOKEN"
    },
    {
      "name": "company-npm",
      "type": "npm",
      "registry": "https://npm.company.com",
      "scope": "@company"
    }
  ],
  "defaults": {
    "agent": "cursor",
    "global": false
  }
}

Config is loaded from: project .skillsrc → home ~/.skillsrc (first found wins).

Error Handling#

# Nonexistent scoped name — graceful error
skills install @nonexistent/skill-xyz
# ✖ Could not find "@nonexistent/skill-xyz" in marketplace

# Auth failure — helpful error with env var suggestions
skills install https://gitlab.com/team/private-repo
# ✖ Authentication failed for https://gitlab.com/team/private-repo
#   Set GITLAB_TOKEN or GL_TOKEN environment variable, or use --token flag.
#   For SSH, ensure your key is added: ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

# Nonexistent repo — git clone fails gracefully
skills install nonexistent-owner/nonexistent-repo
# Error: repository not found (exit 1)

Install & Add

install / add#

Install from Marketplace (@scope/name)#

Install from GitHub (owner/repo)#

Bulk Install from Repo (-y flag)#