Use Findskill

Use Findskill

A meta skill that teaches AI agents how to discover, install, and use skills from the findskill.md ecosystem.

Description

This skill enables you to extend your capabilities by finding and installing specialized skills from the findskill.md registry. When a user asks you to do something you don't have a skill for, or when you need specialized functionality, use findskill to discover and install relevant skills.

When to Use Findskill

Use findskill when:

• A user asks you to perform a task that would benefit from a specialized skill
• You need domain-specific knowledge or workflows (git commits, code review, documentation, etc.)
• The user explicitly asks you to find or install a skill
• You want to check if there's a better way to accomplish a common task

Running Findskill

You have two options to run findskill commands:

Option 1: Use npx (no installation required)

Run commands directly without installing:

npx findskill <command>

Option 2: Install globally

Install once, then run without npx prefix:

npm install -g findskill
findskill <command>

Available Commands

All examples below use npx findskill. If you installed globally, omit the npx prefix.

Search for Skills

Find skills by name, description, or tags:

npx findskill search <query>

Example:

npx findskill search "git commit"
npx findskill search "documentation"
npx findskill search "review"

Get Skill Information

View detailed information about a specific skill before installing:

npx findskill info <skill-name>

This shows the author, description, tags, star count, and installation instructions.

Install a Skill

Install a skill to make it available for use:

npx findskill install <skill-name>

Skills are installed to ~/.claude/skills/ by default. Each skill contains a SKILL.md file with instructions you should read and follow.

List Installed Skills

See what skills are already available:

npx findskill list

Update Skills

Update installed skills to their latest versions:

npx findskill update           # Update all skills
npx findskill update <name>    # Update specific skill

Workflow for Agents

1. Assess the task: Determine if a specialized skill would help accomplish the user's goal more effectively.

2. Search for relevant skills:

   npx findskill search "<relevant keywords>"
   

3. Review skill details: Before installing, check what the skill does:

   npx findskill info <skill-name>
   

4. Install if appropriate: If the skill matches the user's needs:

   npx findskill install <skill-name>
   

5. Read the installed skill: After installation, read the SKILL.md to understand how to use it:

   cat ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md
   

6. Apply the skill: Follow the instructions in the skill's SKILL.md to complete the user's task.

Best Practices

• Check installed skills first: Run npx findskill list before searching to see what's already available.
• Read before using: Always read a skill's SKILL.md after installing to understand its capabilities and proper usage.
• Match skills to tasks: Don't install skills unnecessarily. Only install when there's a clear benefit for the current task.
• Inform the user: Let the user know when you're installing a new skill and why it will help with their request.

Example Interaction

User: "Help me write a good git commit message for my changes"

Agent thought process:

1. This is a common task that likely has a specialized skill
2. Search for relevant skills: npx findskill search "commit"
3. Found "commit" skill - check details: npx findskill info commit
4. Install it: npx findskill install commit
5. Read the skill instructions: cat ~/.claude/skills/commit/SKILL.md
6. Follow the skill's workflow to help the user craft a proper commit message

Environment Variables

• FINDSKILL_DIR: Custom installation directory (default: ~/.claude/skills/)
• FINDSKILL_API: Custom API endpoint (for self-hosted registries)

Tags

skills, meta, findskill, discovery, installation, package-manager, claude-skills