Skill

Skill Management CLI

Meta-skill for managing oh-my-codex skills via CLI-like commands.

Subcommands

/skill list

Show all local skills organized by scope.

Behavior:

1. Scan user skills at ~/.codex/skills/
2. Scan project skills at .codex/skills/
3. Parse YAML frontmatter for metadata
4. Display in organized table format:

USER SKILLS (~/.codex/skills/):
| Name              | Triggers           | Quality | Usage | Scope |
|-------------------|--------------------|---------|-------|-------|
| error-handler     | fix, error         | 95%     | 42    | user  |
| api-builder       | api, endpoint      | 88%     | 23    | user  |

PROJECT SKILLS (.codex/skills/):
| Name              | Triggers           | Quality | Usage | Scope   |
|-------------------|--------------------|---------|-------|---------|
| test-runner       | test, run          | 92%     | 15    | project |

Fallback: If quality/usage stats not available, show "N/A"

/skill add [name]

Interactive wizard for creating a new skill.

Behavior:

1. Ask for skill name (if not provided in command)
   • Validate: lowercase, hyphens only, no spaces
2. Ask for description
   • Clear, concise one-liner
3. Ask for triggers (comma-separated keywords)
   • Example: "error, fix, debug"
4. Ask for argument hint (optional)
   • Example: " [options]"
5. Ask for scope:
   • user → ~/.codex/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
   • project → .codex/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
6. Create skill file with template:

---
name: <name>
description: <description>
triggers:
  - <trigger1>
  - <trigger2>
argument-hint: "<args>"
---

# <Name> Skill

## Purpose

[Describe what this skill does]

## When to Activate

[Describe triggers and conditions]

## Workflow

1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step 3]

## Examples

/oh-my-codex: example-arg

## Notes

[Additional context, edge cases, gotchas]

7. Report success with file path
8. Suggest: "Edit /skill edit <name> to customize content"

Example:

User: /skill add custom-logger
Assistant: Creating new skill 'custom-logger'...

Description: Enhanced logging with structured output
Triggers (comma-separated): log, logger, logging
Argument hint (optional): <level> [message]
Scope (user/project): user

✓ Created skill at ~/.codex/skills/custom-logger/SKILL.md
→ Edit with: /skill edit custom-logger

/skill remove

Remove a skill by name.

Behavior:

1. Search for skill in both scopes:
   • ~/.codex/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
   • .codex/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
2. If found:
   • Display skill info (name, description, scope)
   • Ask for confirmation: "Delete '' skill from ? (yes/no)"
3. If confirmed:
   • Delete entire skill directory (e.g., ~/.codex/skills/<name>/)
   • Report: "✓ Removed skill '' from "
4. If not found:
   • Report: "✗ Skill '' not found in user or project scope"

Safety: Never delete without explicit user confirmation.

Example:

User: /skill remove old-logger
Assistant: Found skill 'old-logger' in user scope:
  Description: Legacy logging utility
  Scope: user (~/.codex/skills/)

Delete 'old-logger' skill? (yes/no)

User: yes
Assistant: ✓ Removed skill 'old-logger' from user scope

/skill edit

Edit an existing skill interactively.

Behavior:

1. Find skill by name (search both scopes)
2. Read current content via Read tool
3. Display current values:

   Current skill 'custom-logger':
   - Description: Enhanced logging with structured output
   - Triggers: log, logger, logging
   - Argument hint: <level> [message]
   - Scope: user
   

4. Ask what to change:
   • description - Update description
   • triggers - Update trigger keywords
   • argument-hint - Update argument hint
   • content - Edit full markdown content
   • rename - Rename skill (move file)
   • cancel - Exit without changes
5. For selected field:
   • Show current value
   • Ask for new value
   • Update YAML frontmatter or content
   • Write back to file
6. Report success with summary of changes

Example:

User: /skill edit custom-logger
Assistant: Current skill 'custom-logger':
  - Description: Enhanced logging with structured output
  - Triggers: log, logger, logging
  - Argument hint: <level> [message]

What would you like to edit? (description/triggers/argument-hint/content/rename/cancel)

User: triggers
Assistant: Current triggers: log, logger, logging
New triggers (comma-separated): log, logger, logging, trace

✓ Updated triggers for 'custom-logger'

/skill search

Search skills by content, triggers, name, or description.

Behavior:

1. Scan all skills in both scopes
2. Match query (case-insensitive) against:
   • Skill name
   • Description
   • Triggers
   • Full markdown content
3. Display matches with context:

Found 3 skills matching "typescript error":

1. typescript-fixer (user)
   Description: Fix common TypeScript errors
   Match: "typescript error handling patterns"

2. error-handler (user)
   Description: Generic error handling utilities
   Match: "Supports TypeScript and JavaScript errors"

3. lint-fix (project)
   Description: Auto-fix linting errors
   Match: "TypeScript ESLint error resolution"

Ranking: Prioritize matches in name/triggers over content matches

Example:

User: /skill search api endpoint
Assistant: Found 2 skills matching "api endpoint":

1. api-builder (user)
   Description: Generate REST API endpoints
   Triggers: api, endpoint, rest

2. backend-scaffold (project)
   Description: Scaffold backend services
   Match: "Creates API endpoint boilerplate"

/skill info

Show detailed information about a skill.

Behavior:

1. Find skill by name (search both scopes)
2. Parse YAML frontmatter and content
3. Display complete details:

Skill: custom-logger
Scope: user (~/.codex/skills/custom-logger/)
Description: Enhanced logging with structured output
Triggers: log, logger, logging
Argument Hint: <level> [message]
Quality: 95% (if available)
Usage Count: 42 times (if available)
File Path: /home/user/.codex/skills/custom-logger/SKILL.md

--- FULL CONTENT ---
[entire markdown content]

If not found: Report error with suggestion to use /skill search

Example:

User: /skill info custom-logger
Assistant: Skill: custom-logger
Scope: user
Description: Enhanced logging with structured output
Triggers: log, logger, logging
File: ~/.codex/skills/custom-logger/SKILL.md

--- CONTENT ---
# Custom Logger Skill

## Purpose
Enhanced logging with structured JSON output...
[rest of content]

/skill sync

Sync skills between user and project scopes.

Behavior:

1. Scan both scopes:
   • User skills: ~/.codex/skills/
   • Project skills: .codex/skills/
2. Compare and categorize:
   • User-only skills (not in project)
   • Project-only skills (not in user)
   • Common skills (in both)
3. Display sync opportunities:

SYNC REPORT:

User-only skills (5):
  - error-handler
  - api-builder
  - custom-logger
  - test-generator
  - deploy-helper

Project-only skills (2):
  - test-runner
  - backend-scaffold

Common skills (3):
  - design
  - frontend-ui-ux (deprecated; use design or visual-ralph)
  - git-master
  - planner

Options:
  [1] Copy user skill to project
  [2] Copy project skill to user
  [3] View differences
  [4] Cancel

4. Handle user choice:
   • Option 1: Select skill(s) to copy to project
   • Option 2: Select skill(s) to copy to user
   • Option 3: Show side-by-side diff for common skills
   • Option 4: Exit

Safety: Never overwrite without confirmation

Example:

User: /skill sync
Assistant: Found 5 user-only skills and 2 project-only skills.

Copy 'error-handler' from user to project? (yes/no/skip)
User: yes
Assistant: ✓ Copied 'error-handler' to .codex/skills/

Copy 'api-builder' from user to project? (yes/no/skip)
User: skip
...

/skill setup

Interactive wizard for setting up and managing local skills (formerly local-skills-setup).

Behavior:

Step 1: Directory Check and Setup

First, check if skill directories exist and create them if needed:

# Check and create user-level skills directory
USER_SKILLS_DIR="$HOME/.codex/skills"
if [ -d "$USER_SKILLS_DIR" ]; then
  echo "User skills directory exists: $USER_SKILLS_DIR"
else
  mkdir -p "$USER_SKILLS_DIR"
  echo "Created user skills directory: $USER_SKILLS_DIR"
fi

# Check and create project-level skills directory
PROJECT_SKILLS_DIR=".codex/skills"
if [ -d "$PROJECT_SKILLS_DIR" ]; then
  echo "Project skills directory exists: $PROJECT_SKILLS_DIR"
else
  mkdir -p "$PROJECT_SKILLS_DIR"
  echo "Created project skills directory: $PROJECT_SKILLS_DIR"
fi

Step 2: Skill Scan and Inventory

Scan both directories and show a comprehensive inventory:

# Scan user-level skills
echo "=== USER-LEVEL SKILLS (~/.codex/skills/) ==="
if [ -d "$HOME/.codex/skills" ]; then
  USER_COUNT=$(find "$HOME/.codex/skills" -name "*.md" 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
  echo "Total skills: $USER_COUNT"

  if [ $USER_COUNT -gt 0 ]; then
    echo ""
    echo "Skills found:"
    find "$HOME/.codex/skills" -name "*.md" -type f -exec sh -c '
      FILE="$1"
      NAME=$(grep -m1 "^name:" "$FILE" 2>/dev/null | sed "s/name: //")
      DESC=$(grep -m1 "^description:" "$FILE" 2>/dev/null | sed "s/description: //")
      MODIFIED=$(stat -c "%y" "$FILE" 2>/dev/null || stat -f "%Sm" "$FILE" 2>/dev/null)
      echo "  - $NAME"
      [ -n "$DESC" ] && echo "    Description: $DESC"
      echo "    Modified: $MODIFIED"
      echo ""
    ' sh {} \;
  fi
else
  echo "Directory not found"
fi

echo ""
echo "=== PROJECT-LEVEL SKILLS (.codex/skills/) ==="
if [ -d ".codex/skills" ]; then
  PROJECT_COUNT=$(find ".codex/skills" -name "*.md" 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
  echo "Total skills: $PROJECT_COUNT"

  if [ $PROJECT_COUNT -gt 0 ]; then
    echo ""
    echo "Skills found:"
    find ".codex/skills" -name "*.md" -type f -exec sh -c '
      FILE="$1"
      NAME=$(grep -m1 "^name:" "$FILE" 2>/dev/null | sed "s/name: //")
      DESC=$(grep -m1 "^description:" "$FILE" 2>/dev/null | sed "s/description: //")
      MODIFIED=$(stat -c "%y" "$FILE" 2>/dev/null || stat -f "%Sm" "$FILE" 2>/dev/null)
      echo "  - $NAME"
      [ -n "$DESC" ] && echo "    Description: $DESC"
      echo "    Modified: $MODIFIED"
      echo ""
    ' sh {} \;
  fi
else
  echo "Directory not found"
fi

# Summary
TOTAL=$((USER_COUNT + PROJECT_COUNT))
echo "=== SUMMARY ==="
echo "Total skills across all directories: $TOTAL"

Step 3: Quick Actions Menu

After scanning, use the AskUserQuestion tool to offer these options:

Question: "What would you like to do with your local skills?"

Options:

1. Add new skill - Start the skill creation wizard (invoke /skill add)
2. List all skills with details - Show comprehensive skill inventory (invoke /skill list)
3. Scan conversation for patterns - Analyze current conversation for skill-worthy patterns
4. Import skill - Import a skill from URL or paste content
5. Done - Exit the wizard

Option 3: Scan Conversation for Patterns

Analyze the current conversation context to identify potential skill-worthy patterns. Look for:

• Recent debugging sessions with non-obvious solutions
• Tricky bugs that required investigation
• Codebase-specific workarounds discovered
• Error patterns that took time to resolve

Report findings and ask if user wants to extract any as skills (invoke /learner if yes).

Option 4: Import Skill

Ask user to provide either:

• URL: Download skill from a URL (e.g., GitHub gist)
• Paste content: Paste skill markdown content directly

Then ask for scope:

• User-level (~/.codex/skills/) - Available across all projects
• Project-level (.codex/skills/) - Only for this project

Validate the skill format and save to the chosen location.

/skill scan

Quick command to scan both skill directories (subset of /skill setup).

Behavior: Run the scan from Step 2 of /skill setup without the interactive wizard.

Skill Templates

When creating skills via /skill add or /skill setup, offer quick templates for common skill types:

Error Solution Template

---
id: error-[unique-id]
name: [Error Name]
description: Solution for [specific error in specific context]
source: conversation
triggers: ["error message fragment", "file path", "symptom"]
quality: high
---

# [Error Name]

## The Insight
What is the underlying cause of this error? What principle did you discover?

## Why This Matters
What goes wrong if you don't know this? What symptom led here?

## Recognition Pattern
How do you know when this applies? What are the signs?
- Error message: "[exact error]"
- File: [specific file path]
- Context: [when does this occur]

## The Approach
Step-by-step solution:
1. [Specific action with file/line reference]
2. [Specific action with file/line reference]
3. [Verification step]

## Example
\`\`\`typescript
// Before (broken)
[problematic code]

// After (fixed)
[corrected code]
\`\`\`

Workflow Skill Template

---
id: workflow-[unique-id]
name: [Workflow Name]
description: Process for [specific task in this codebase]
source: conversation
triggers: ["task description", "file pattern", "goal keyword"]
quality: high
---

# [Workflow Name]

## The Insight
What makes this workflow different from the obvious approach?

## Why This Matters
What fails if you don't follow this process?

## Recognition Pattern
When should you use this workflow?
- Task type: [specific task]
- Files involved: [specific patterns]
- Indicators: [how to recognize]

## The Approach
1. [Step with specific commands/files]
2. [Step with specific commands/files]
3. [Verification]

## Gotchas
- [Common mistake and how to avoid it]
- [Edge case and how to handle it]

Code Pattern Template

---
id: pattern-[unique-id]
name: [Pattern Name]
description: Pattern for [specific use case in this codebase]
source: conversation
triggers: ["code pattern", "file type", "problem domain"]
quality: high
---

# [Pattern Name]

## The Insight
What's the key principle behind this pattern?

## Why This Matters
What problems does this pattern solve in THIS codebase?

## Recognition Pattern
When do you apply this pattern?
- File types: [specific files]
- Problem: [specific problem]
- Context: [codebase-specific context]

## The Approach
Decision-making heuristic, not just code:
1. [Principle-based step]
2. [Principle-based step]

## Example
\`\`\`typescript
[Illustrative example showing the principle]
\`\`\`

## Anti-Pattern
What NOT to do and why:
\`\`\`typescript
[Common mistake to avoid]
\`\`\`

Integration Skill Template

---
id: integration-[unique-id]
name: [Integration Name]
description: How [system A] integrates with [system B] in this codebase
source: conversation
triggers: ["system name", "integration point", "config file"]
quality: high
---

# [Integration Name]

## The Insight
What's non-obvious about how these systems connect?

## Why This Matters
What breaks if you don't understand this integration?

## Recognition Pattern
When are you working with this integration?
- Files: [specific integration files]
- Config: [specific config locations]
- Symptoms: [what indicates integration issues]

## The Approach
How to work with this integration correctly:
1. [Configuration step with file paths]
2. [Setup step with specific details]
3. [Verification step]

## Gotchas
- [Integration-specific pitfall #1]
- [Integration-specific pitfall #2]

Error Handling

All commands must handle:

• File/directory doesn't exist
• Permission errors
• Invalid YAML frontmatter
• Duplicate skill names
• Invalid skill names (spaces, special chars)

Error format:

✗ Error: <clear message>
→ Suggestion: <helpful next step>

Usage Examples

# List all skills
/skill list

# Create a new skill
/skill add my-custom-skill

# Remove a skill
/skill remove old-skill

# Edit existing skill
/skill edit error-handler

# Search for skills
/skill search typescript error

# Get detailed info
/skill info my-custom-skill

# Sync between scopes
/skill sync

# Run setup wizard
/skill setup

# Quick scan
/skill scan

Usage Modes

Direct Command Mode

When invoked with an argument, skip the interactive wizard:

• /skill list - Show detailed skill inventory
• /skill add - Start skill creation (invoke learner)
• /skill scan - Scan both skill directories

Interactive Mode

When invoked without arguments, run the full guided wizard.

Benefits of Local Skills

Automatic Application: Codex detects triggers and applies skills automatically - no need to remember or search for solutions.

Version Control: Project-level skills (.codex/skills/) are committed with your code, so the whole team benefits.

Evolving Knowledge: Skills improve over time as you discover better approaches and refine triggers.

Reduced Token Usage: Instead of re-solving the same problems, Codex applies known patterns efficiently.

Codebase Memory: Preserves institutional knowledge that would otherwise be lost in conversation history.

Skill Quality Guidelines

Good skills are:

1. Non-Googleable - Can't easily find via search

   • BAD: "How to read files in TypeScript"
   • GOOD: "This codebase uses custom path resolution requiring fileURLToPath"

2. Context-Specific - References actual files/errors from THIS codebase

   • BAD: "Use try/catch for error handling"
   • GOOD: "The aiohttp proxy in server.py:42 crashes on ClientDisconnectedError"

3. Actionable with Precision - Tells exactly WHAT to do and WHERE

   • BAD: "Handle edge cases"
   • GOOD: "When seeing 'Cannot find module' in dist/, check tsconfig.json moduleResolution"

4. Hard-Won - Required significant debugging effort

   • BAD: Generic programming patterns
   • GOOD: "Race condition in worker.ts - Promise.all at line 89 needs await"

Related Skills

• /learner - Extract a skill from current conversation
• /note - Save quick notes (less formal than skills)

Example Session

> /skill list

Checking skill directories...
✓ User skills directory exists: ~/.codex/skills/
✓ Project skills directory exists: .codex/skills/

Scanning for skills...

=== USER-LEVEL SKILLS ===
Total skills: 3
  - async-network-error-handling
    Description: Pattern for handling independent I/O failures in async network code
    Modified: 2026-01-20 14:32:15

  - esm-path-resolution
    Description: Custom path resolution in ESM requiring fileURLToPath
    Modified: 2026-01-19 09:15:42

=== PROJECT-LEVEL SKILLS ===
Total skills: 5
  - session-timeout-fix
    Description: Fix for sessionId undefined after restart in session.ts
    Modified: 2026-01-22 16:45:23

  - build-cache-invalidation
    Description: When to clear TypeScript build cache to fix phantom errors
    Modified: 2026-01-21 11:28:37

=== SUMMARY ===
Total skills: 8

What would you like to do?
1. Add new skill
2. List all skills with details
3. Scan conversation for patterns
4. Import skill
5. Done

Tips for Users

• Run /skill list periodically to review your skill library
• After solving a tricky bug, immediately run learner to capture it
• Use project-level skills for codebase-specific knowledge
• Use user-level skills for general patterns that apply everywhere
• Review and refine triggers over time to improve matching accuracy

Implementation Notes

1. YAML Parsing: Use frontmatter extraction for metadata
2. File Operations: Use Read/Write tools, never Edit for new files
3. User Confirmation: Always confirm destructive operations
4. Clear Feedback: Use checkmarks (✓), crosses (✗), arrows (→) for clarity
5. Scope Resolution: Always check both user and project scopes
6. Validation: Enforce naming conventions (lowercase, hyphens only)

Related Skills

• /learner - Extract a skill from current conversation
• /note - Save quick notes (less formal than skills)

Future Enhancements

• /skill export <name> - Export skill as shareable file
• /skill import <file> - Import skill from file
• /skill stats - Show usage statistics across all skills
• /skill validate - Check all skills for format errors
• /skill template <type> - Create from predefined templates