skill-import

Import Claude Code skills from .skill, .zip, SKILL.md, or a folder — no installation required.

Requirements

You need Node.js installed on your system. Claude Code already requires Node.js, so if you're using Claude Code you're all set.

• Check if Node is installed: node --version (should print v18 or higher)
• Install Node.js: Download from nodejs.org — choose the LTS version
• npx comes bundled with Node.js (npm v5.2+), no separate install needed

Usage

No installation required — just run with npx:

npx skill-import my-skill.skill
npx skill-import my-skill.zip
npx skill-import SKILL.md
npx skill-import ./my-skill-folder/

The tool will:

1. Detect the input type automatically
2. Prompt you to confirm (or change) the skill name
3. Check for conflicts — prompts to rename or cancel if the skill already exists
4. Copy the skill to ~/.claude/skills/<name>/

Claude Code auto-discovers skills in ~/.claude/skills/, so no further setup is needed after import.

Supported Input Formats

| Format | Description | Default name | |--------|-------------|--------------| | .skill | A zip archive containing a SKILL.md | Filename without extension | | .zip | Same as .skill, different extension | Filename without extension | | SKILL.md | A bare skill file | You will be prompted | | Directory | A folder containing a SKILL.md | Folder name |

Skill Name Rules

Skill names may only contain letters, numbers, hyphens (-), and underscores (_).

Examples of valid names: my-skill, MySkill, skill_v2

Creating a .skill File

A .skill file is just a .zip archive with a SKILL.md inside. You can create one with any zip tool.

Structure:

my-skill/
  SKILL.md          ← required
  helpers/
    prompt.md       ← optional supporting files

Create with zip (Linux/Mac):

zip -r my-skill.skill my-skill/

Create with PowerShell (Windows):

Compress-Archive -Path my-skill\* -DestinationPath my-skill.skill

Create with 7-Zip (Windows): Right-click the folder → 7-Zip → Add to archive → rename to .skill

What is a SKILL.md?

A SKILL.md is a Markdown file that defines a Claude Code skill — a set of instructions that Claude follows when invoked via /skill-name. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md and are auto-discovered by Claude Code.

For GitHub Users

Sharing a skill from your repo

If your repository contains a skill folder, users can install it directly:

# Clone and import
git clone https://github.com/you/your-skill-repo
npx skill-import ./your-skill-repo/

# Or just download the SKILL.md
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/you/your-skill-repo/main/SKILL.md
npx skill-import SKILL.md

Publishing a .skill file with a GitHub Release

1. Create your skill folder with a SKILL.md
2. Zip it: zip -r my-skill.skill my-skill/
3. Create a GitHub Release and attach my-skill.skill as an asset
4. Users can then download and run: npx skill-import my-skill.skill

Adding a badge to your README

[![Install with skill-import](https://img.shields.io/badge/install-skill--import-blue)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/skill-import)

Contributing

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/claude-code-skill-importer
cd claude-code-skill-importer
npm install
npm test        # run tests
npm run build   # compile TypeScript

PRs welcome. Please add tests for any new behaviour.

License

MIT