Skills Manager

Skills Manager

This skill helps you Get, list, install, uninstall and update agent skills.

Skill Metadata Format

Skills use YAML frontmatter in Skill.md with the following structure:

---
name: skill-name              # Required
description: Brief description # Required
license: Apache-2.0           # Optional
metadata:                     # Optional
  author: example-org
  version: "1.0"
---

If version is not specified, the system uses the file's last modified time as the version identifier.

Skills Storage Locations

Skills can be stored at two levels:

1. Machine-Level Cache (Centralized)

All downloaded skills are cached in: %USERPROFILE%\.skill\{skill-name}\

Cache Structure:

~/.skill/{skill-name}/
├── origin/           # Original files downloaded from remote repo
├── parsed/           # Processed skill files ready for installation
└── metadata.json     # Skill metadata

metadata.json format:

{
  "name": "skill-name",
  "description": "Skill description",
  "version": "1.0",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "source": {
    "repoUrl": "https://github.com/owner/repo",
    "relativePath": "skills/my-skill",
    "branch": "main"
  }
}

2. Agent-Level Storage

Skills are installed to agent-specific paths based on scope:

Default behavior:

• If user doesn't specify agent preference: use Copilot paths (.github/skills or ~/.copilot/skills)
• If user doesn't specify scope: default to project scope

Instructions

1. List Skills

List all installed skills across all scopes.

Steps:

1. Scan all skill storage locations (project and personal)
2. Read the Skill.md file from each skill folder to extract name and description
3. Display results in a table format

Script: list-skills.ps1

2. Get Skill Details

Get detailed information about a specific skill by name.

Steps:

1. Search for the skill in all installed locations
2. Parse the Skill.md file to extract name and full description
3. Display skill details including path and files

Script: get-skill.ps1 -SkillName "name"

3. Install Skills

Install a skill from a git repository URL.

Steps:

Step 3.1: Parse the Git Repository URL

When the user provides a git repository link, parse it to extract:

• Repository URL: The base git repo URL (e.g., https://github.com/owner/repo)
• Relative Path: The path to the skill folder within the repo (e.g., skills/my-skill)
• Branch (optional): If specified, use it; otherwise default to main or master

Supported URL formats:

• https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/branch/path/to/skill
• https://github.com/owner/repo/path/to/skill
• https://dev.azure.com/org/project/_git/repo?path=/path/to/skill
• Raw git URL + relative path provided separately

Step 3.2: Download to Machine Cache

1. Create cache structure: ~/.skill/{skill-name}/origin/ and ~/.skill/{skill-name}/parsed/
2. Clone/download files to origin/ folder
3. Validate skill structure (must contain Skill.md or SKILL.md)
4. Parse skill metadata and copy processed files to parsed/ folder
5. Create metadata.json with name, description, version (from frontmatter or last modified time), and source info

Script: download-skill.ps1 -SkillName "name" -RepoUrl "url" -RelativePath "path" [-Branch "branch"]

Step 3.3: Ask User for Installation Scope

Prompt the user to choose:

Where would you like to install this skill?

1. Project scope - Available only in this repository (default)
2. Personal scope - Available across all your projects

Which scope do you prefer? (1 or 2, default: 1)

Step 3.4: Copy to Agent Path

Based on user's choice, copy from ~/.skill/{skill-name}/parsed/ to the appropriate agent path.

Script: install-skill.ps1 -SkillName "name" -Scope "project|personal" -Agent "copilot|claude"

Step 3.5: Confirm Installation

Success message:

✅ Skill "{skill-name}" installed successfully!

📁 Location: {target-path}
📄 Skill file: {target-path}/Skill.md
📦 Version: {version}

To use this skill, simply ask me about topics related to: {skill-description}

4. Upgrade Skills

Update an existing skill to the latest version from its source repository.

Steps:

Step 4.1: Read Metadata

1. Read ~/.skill/{skill-name}/metadata.json to get source repo info
2. If metadata not found, prompt user for repo URL

Step 4.2: Update Origin Files

1. Pull latest changes to ~/.skill/{skill-name}/origin/
2. Re-parse skill files to ~/.skill/{skill-name}/parsed/
3. Update metadata.json with new version info

Step 4.3: Compare and Update Installed Locations

1. Compare version in cache with installed locations
2. Copy updated files from parsed/ to all installed locations if newer
3. Remind user to reopen chat for changes to take effect

Script: upgrade-skill.ps1 -SkillName "name"

Step 4.4: Confirm Upgrade

Success message:

✅ Skill "{skill-name}" upgraded successfully!

📦 New Version: {version}
Updated locations:
  - {location-1}
  - {location-2}

5. Uninstall Skills

Remove an installed skill from a specific scope.

Steps:

Step 5.1: Locate the Skill

1. Search for the skill in all installed locations
2. Display where the skill is installed

Step 5.2: Ask User What to Remove

Prompt the user:

The skill "{skill-name}" is installed in the following locations:

1. .github/skills/{skill-name} (project)
2. ~/.copilot/skills/{skill-name} (personal)
3. ~/.skill/{skill-name} (machine cache)

Which would you like to remove? (1/2/3/all)

Step 5.3: Remove the Skill

Script: uninstall-skill.ps1 -SkillName "name"

Step 5.4: Confirm Removal

Success message:

✅ Skill "{skill-name}" uninstalled from {location}.

Example Usage

User request examples:

• "List all installed skills"
• "Get details about sfi-handler skill"
• "Install the skill from https://github.com/myorg/skills/tree/main/sfi-handler"
• "Install skill from https://github.com/user/repo path: skills/my-skill to personal scope"
• "Upgrade my sfi-handler skill"
• "Uninstall the old-skill from my personal skills"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Git not installed: Ensure git is available in PATH
2. Permission denied: Run with appropriate permissions
3. Invalid skill structure: Skill folder must contain Skill.md or SKILL.md
4. Network issues: Check internet connectivity and repository access

Validation Checklist

• Repository URL is accessible
• Skill folder contains Skill.md or SKILL.md
• Target directory is writable
• No naming conflicts with existing skills