skillsdeck CLI

Search, install, and update Agent Skills (SKILL.md) from the skillsdeck catalog. Vendor-neutral — installs into whatever directory your agent reads (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and others).

Usage

No install required — run it with npx:

npx skillsdeck search testing
npx skillsdeck search testing --json      # machine-readable, ranked results
npx skillsdeck list --category writing
npx skillsdeck info uat-tdd-e2e

Or install it globally:

npm install -g skillsdeck
skillsdeck search testing

Commands

| Command | What it does | | --- | --- | | search [query] [--json] | List skills matching a query, ranked by relevance (name > tags > description). | | list [--category <cat>] [--json] | List all skills, optionally filtered by category. | | info <name> | Show a skill's details and install commands. | | install <name...> | Copy skills into an agent's skills directory. | | update (--all \| <name...>) | Re-install recorded skills whose version is newer. | | marketplace | Print Claude Code's native claude plugin commands. | | mcp serve | Run a read-only MCP server (stdio) exposing the catalog as tools. |

Install scope

# Global — available in all your projects (default)
skillsdeck install code-comments --global

# Project — into the agent's project dir, shareable with your team
skillsdeck install project-conventions tighten-prose --project .

# A different agent by name
skillsdeck install code-comments --agent codex    # → ~/.agents/skills
skillsdeck install code-comments --agent gemini   # → ~/.gemini/skills

# Any other agent — install straight into its skills directory
skillsdeck install code-comments --dir ~/.config/agent/skills

--agent maps to a known agent's skills directory; use --dir <path> for anything else:

| --agent | User directory | Project directory | Agent | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | claude (default) | ~/.claude/skills | <project>/.claude/skills | Claude Code | | codex | ~/.agents/skills | <repo>/.agents/skills | OpenAI Codex | | gemini | ~/.gemini/skills | <project>/.gemini/skills | Gemini CLI |

update re-installs any recorded skill whose catalog version is newer than what you have:

skillsdeck update --all
skillsdeck update code-comments

After installing, reload your agent so it picks up new skills.

Relationship to Claude Code's native marketplace

This CLI is vendor-neutral and works with any agent that reads a skills directory. For Claude Code specifically, it complements the built-in plugin marketplace rather than replacing it. Run skillsdeck marketplace to get the equivalent claude plugin marketplace add … / claude plugin install … commands if you prefer the native path (which also handles updates via git pull semantics).

Use as an MCP server

skillsdeck mcp serve runs a small Model Context Protocol server over stdio so MCP clients (Claude Code/Desktop, Cursor, …) can browse the catalog directly. It is read-only — it exposes four tools and never writes to disk (install skills with skillsdeck install):

| Tool | Returns | | --- | --- | | list_skills | All skills, optionally filtered by category. | | search_skills | Skills matching a query, ranked by relevance. | | get_skill_info | One skill's full catalog entry. | | read_skill | A skill's full SKILL.md instructions. |

Add it to Claude Code:

claude mcp add skillsdeck -- npx -y skillsdeck mcp serve

The server needs the optional @modelcontextprotocol/sdk package; a global or npx install of skillsdeck pulls it in automatically, and the rest of the CLI works without it.

Environment variables

| Variable | Purpose | | --- | --- | | SKILLSDECK_REGISTRY | Path or URL to a registry.json to use instead of the default. | | SKILLSDECK_SOURCE_DIR | Local checkout to copy skills from (skips the git clone). | | SKILLSDECK_REPO | Git URL to clone skills from. |

Installed versions are recorded in ~/.skillsdeck/installed.json.