Skill Installer

Skill Installer

Helps install skills. By default these are from https://github.com/openai/skills/tree/main/skills/.curated, but users can also provide other locations. Experimental skills live in https://github.com/openai/skills/tree/main/skills/.experimental and can be installed the same way.

Use the helper scripts based on the task:

• List skills when the user asks what is available, or if the user uses this skill without specifying what to do. Default listing is .curated, but you can pass --path skills/.experimental when they ask about experimental skills.
• Install from the curated list when the user provides a skill name.
• Install from another repo when the user provides a GitHub repo/path (including private repos).

Install skills with the helper scripts.

Communication

When listing skills, output approximately as follows, depending on the context of the user's request. If they ask about experimental skills, list from .experimental instead of .curated and label the source accordingly: """ Skills from {repo}:

1. skill-1
2. skill-2 (already installed)
3. ... Which ones would you like installed? """

After installing a skill, tell the user: "Restart your agent to pick up new skills."

Scripts

All of these scripts use network, so when running in the sandbox, request escalation when running them.

• scripts/list-skills.py (prints skills list with installed annotations)
• scripts/list-skills.py --format json
• scripts/list-skills.py --agent claude (installed annotations from ~/.claude/skills)
• Example (experimental list): scripts/list-skills.py --path skills/.experimental
• scripts/install-skill-from-github.py --repo <owner>/<repo> --path <path/to/skill> [<path/to/skill> ...]
• scripts/install-skill-from-github.py --agent claude --repo <owner>/<repo> --path <path/to/skill>
• scripts/install-skill-from-github.py --url https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/tree/<ref>/<path>
• Example (experimental skill): scripts/install-skill-from-github.py --repo openai/skills --path skills/.experimental/<skill-name>

Behavior and Options

• Defaults to direct download for public GitHub repos.
• If download fails with auth/permission errors, falls back to git sparse checkout.
• Aborts if the destination skill directory already exists.
• Installs into selected agent home: --agent codex uses $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills), --agent claude uses $CLAUDE_HOME/skills (default ~/.claude/skills).
• Multiple --path values install multiple skills in one run, each named from the path basename unless --name is supplied.
• Options: --ref <ref> (default main), --agent codex|claude, --dest <path>, --method auto|download|git.

When To Use

• User asks to list available or installable skills (curated or experimental)
• User requests installation of a skill by name from the curated/experimental catalog
• User provides a GitHub repo path or URL to install a skill from an external source
• User asks what skills are already installed

Boundaries

• Not for creating or authoring new skills (use skill-creator instead)
• Not for validating or packaging existing skills
• Skip when the user asks about .system preinstalled skills (explain they are already present)
• Do not overwrite an existing skill directory unless the user explicitly insists

Output

• A formatted list of available skills with installed/not-installed annotations
• Skill files installed into the correct agent skills directory (~/.codex/skills or ~/.claude/skills)
• Post-install message telling the user to restart their agent

Verification

• scripts/list-skills.py exits cleanly and lists skills with correct annotations
• Installed skill directory contains a valid SKILL.md with required frontmatter
• No existing skill directories were overwritten without explicit user confirmation
• Network errors are reported clearly rather than silently swallowed

Notes

• Curated listing is fetched from https://github.com/openai/skills/tree/main/skills/.curated via the GitHub API. If it is unavailable, explain the error and exit.
• Private GitHub repos can be accessed via existing git credentials or optional GITHUB_TOKEN/GH_TOKEN for download.
• Git fallback tries HTTPS first, then SSH.
• The skills at https://github.com/openai/skills/tree/main/skills/.system are preinstalled, so no need to help users install those. If they ask, just explain this. If they insist, you can download and overwrite.
• Installed annotations come from the selected agent home ($CODEX_HOME/skills or $CLAUDE_HOME/skills) unless --dest is provided.

Sibling skills

Part of the skill-management toolchain.

• find-skills — upstream. Use to discover what's available before installing.
• audit-skill — security gate. Run before installing any third-party or untrusted skill.
• skill-standardizer — downstream. After installing across multiple homes, use this to consolidate copies and avoid duplicate catalog entries.