# Skills Import > Import skills from external repositories like anthropics/skills. Use when adding new skills. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/skills-import` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/skills-import` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/skills-import/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector CAUTION) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/skills-import --- # /skills-import ## Usage ```bash /skills-import # Interactive browse and import /skills-import --list # List available skills without importing /skills-import --preview pdf # View full SKILL.md content before installing /skills-import --refresh # Force refresh cached skill listings ``` ## Description Browse and import skills from the official `anthropics/skills` GitHub repository into `system-configs/.claude/skills/`. Skills provide focused domain expertise for specific file formats and workflows. ## Expected Output ### List Mode ```text /skills-import --list Available Skills from anthropics/skills (16 skills): # Name Description - ---------------------- ----------------------------------------- 1 algorithmic-art Create algorithmic and generative art 2 brand-guidelines Apply brand guidelines to content 3 docx Create and edit Word documents ... Run /skills-import to select and install skills ``` ### Preview Mode ```text /skills-import --preview pdf Skill Preview: pdf ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: anthropics/skills Files: SKILL.md, REFERENCE.md, LICENSE.txt (3 files) [Full SKILL.md content displayed] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To install: /skills-import, then select "pdf" ``` ### Interactive Import ```text /skills-import Fetching skills from anthropics/skills... Available Skills: 1. algorithmic-art Create algorithmic and generative art 2. docx Create and edit Word documents [installed] 3. pdf Process and create PDF files ... Enter skill numbers (comma-separated, or 'all'): 2,3 Skills to import: - docx: Create and edit Word documents - pdf: Process and create PDF files Downloading docx... Installed docx (3 files) Downloading pdf... Installed pdf (4 files) Validating imported skills... All 2 imported skills validated Next steps: 1. Review: system-configs/.claude/skills/ 2. Run /sync to deploy to ~/.claude/ ``` ## Behavior ### Execution Flow ```yaml Phase 1 - Fetch Skills: 1. Check cache: .tmp/skills-cache/anthropics-skills.json - If exists and < 1 hour old: use cache - Else: fetch from GitHub API 2. Fetch skill listing: gh api repos/anthropics/skills/contents/skills 3. For each skill directory, fetch SKILL.md for description 4. Store in cache with timestamp Phase 2 - Display & Select (interactive mode): 1. Display numbered list with [installed] tags 2. Prompt for selection (comma-separated or 'all') 3. Confirm overwrite for already-installed skills Phase 3 - Download & Install: 1. For each selected skill: - Create: system-configs/.claude/skills/{name}/ - Download all files recursively via GitHub API - Handle subdirectories (reference/, scripts/, etc.) 2. Run validation: python scripts/validate-skills.py 3. Output next steps ``` ### Flag Handling | Flag | Action | |------|--------| | `--list` | Display available skills, exit without importing | | `--preview ` | Show full SKILL.md content for specified skill | | `--refresh` | Delete cache, force fresh fetch from GitHub | | (no flags) | Interactive browse and import workflow | ### GitHub API Commands ```bash # List all skills gh api repos/anthropics/skills/contents/skills # Get skill directory contents gh api repos/anthropics/skills/contents/skills/pdf # Download file content (base64 encoded) gh api repos/anthropics/skills/contents/skills/pdf/SKILL.md | jq -r '.content' | base64 -d ``` ### Cache Strategy ```yaml Location: .tmp/skills-cache/anthropics-skills.json TTL: 1 hour Structure: timestamp: ISO 8601 skills: - name: pdf description: Process and create PDF files files: [SKILL.md, REFERENCE.md] ``` ### Error Handling | Scenario | Action | |----------|--------| | Rate limit (403) | Display message, suggest `gh auth status` | | Network failure | Abort with clear error | | Skill not found | Skip with warning, continue others | | Invalid skill format | Skip with warning, continue others | ### Output Locations ```yaml Installed Skills: system-configs/.claude/skills/{name}/ Cache: .tmp/skills-cache/anthropics-skills.json ``` ## Implementation Execute these phases in order: ### Parse Arguments ```bash # Determine mode from $ARGUMENTS MODE="interactive" # default SKILL_NAME="" if [[ "$ARGUMENTS" == *"--list"* ]]; then MODE="list" elif [[ "$ARGUMENTS" == *"--preview"* ]]; then MODE="preview" # Extract skill name after --preview SKILL_NAME=$(echo "$ARGUMENTS" | sed 's/.*--preview[[:space:]]\+//' | awk '{print $1}') elif [[ "$ARGUMENTS" == *"--refresh"* ]]; then rm -rf .tmp/skills-cache/ echo "Cache cleared, fetching fresh data..." fi ``` ### Phase 1: Fetch Available Skills ```bash # Create cache directory mkdir -p .tmp/skills-cache # Check cache freshness (1 hour = 3600 seconds) CACHE_FILE=".tmp/skills-cache/anthropics-skills.json" CACHE_AGE=3600 if [[ -f "$CACHE_FILE" ]]; then FILE_AGE=$(($(date +%s) - $(stat -f %m "$CACHE_FILE" 2>/dev/null || stat -c %Y "$CACHE_FILE"))) if [[ $FILE_AGE -lt $CACHE_AGE ]]; then echo "Using cached skill list ($(($CACHE_AGE - $FILE_AGE))s until refresh)" else FETCH_FRESH=true fi else FETCH_FRESH=true fi if [[ "$FETCH_FRESH" == "true" ]]; then echo "Fetching skills from anthropics/skills..." # Fetch skill directories SKILLS_RAW=$(gh api repos/anthropics/skills/contents/skills 2>&1) if [[ $? -ne 0 ]]; then echo "Failed to fetch skills: $SKILLS_RAW" echo "Check: gh auth status" exit 1 fi # Parse skill names SKILL_NAMES=$(echo "$SKILLS_RAW" | jq -r '.[] | select(.type == "dir") | .name') # Build cache with descriptions echo '{"timestamp":"'$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)'","skills":[' > "$CACHE_FILE" FIRST=true for SKILL in $SKILL_NAMES; do # Fetch SKILL.md for description SKILL_MD=$(gh api "repos/anthropics/skills/contents/skills/$SKILL/SKILL.md" 2>/dev/null) if [[ $? -eq 0 ]]; then CONTENT=$(echo "$SKILL_MD" | jq -r '.content' | base64 -d 2>/dev/null) DESC=$(echo "$CONTENT" | grep -A1 "^description:" | tail -1 | sed 's/description:[[:space:]]*//' | head -c 60) if [[ -z "$DESC" ]]; then DESC="No description available" fi FILES=$(gh api "repos/anthropics/skills/contents/skills/$SKILL" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.[].name' | tr '\n' ',' | sed 's/,$//') if [[ "$FIRST" != "true" ]]; then echo "," >> "$CACHE_FILE" fi FIRST=false echo "{\"name\":\"$SKILL\",\"description\":\"$DESC\",\"files\":\"$FILES\"}" >> "$CACHE_FILE" fi done echo ']}' >> "$CACHE_FILE" fi ``` ### Phase 2: Display Skills ```bash # Read from cache SKILLS_JSON=$(cat "$CACHE_FILE") SKILL_COUNT=$(echo "$SKILLS_JSON" | jq '.skills | length') # Check which are installed INSTALLED_DIR="system-configs/.claude/skills" echo "" echo "Available Skills from anthropics/skills ($SKILL_COUNT skills):" echo "" printf " %-4s %-24s %s\n" "#" "Name" "Description" printf " %-4s %-24s %s\n" "-" "------------------------" "-----------------------------------------" IDX=1 echo "$SKILLS_JSON" | jq -r '.skills[] | "\(.name)|\(.description)"' | while IFS='|' read -r NAME DESC; do INSTALLED="" if [[ -d "$INSTALLED_DIR/$NAME" ]]; then INSTALLED=" [installed]" fi printf " %-4s %-24s %s%s\n" "$IDX" "$NAME" "$DESC" "$INSTALLED" IDX=$((IDX + 1)) done ``` ### Phase 3: Interactive Selection and Download ```bash if [[ "$MODE" == "list" ]]; then echo "" echo "Run /skills-import to select and install skills" exit 0 fi if [[ "$MODE" == "preview" ]]; then if [[ -z "$SKILL_NAME" ]]; then echo "Error: --preview requires a skill name" echo "Usage: /skills-import --preview " exit 1 fi # Check if skill exists in cache SKILL_EXISTS=$(echo "$SKILLS_JSON" | jq -r --arg name "$SKILL_NAME" '.skills[] | select(.name == $name) | .name') if [[ -z "$SKILL_EXISTS" ]]; then echo "Error: Skill '$SKILL_NAME' not found. Run /skills-import --list to see available skills." exit 1 fi echo "" echo "Preview: $SKILL_NAME" echo "---" # Fetch and display SKILL.md content SKILL_MD=$(gh api "repos/anthropics/skills/contents/skills/$SKILL_NAME/SKILL.md" 2>/dev/null) if [[ $? -eq 0 ]]; then echo "$SKILL_MD" | jq -r '.content' | base64 -d else echo "Error: Failed to fetch skill content" exit 1 fi echo "" echo "---" echo "Install with: /skills-import $SKILL_NAME" exit 0 fi # Interactive mode - use AskUserQuestion for selection # Download each selected skill to system-configs/.claude/skills/{name}/ INSTALLED_DIR="system-configs/.claude/skills" mkdir -p "$INSTALLED_DIR" for SKILL in $SKILL_NAMES; do echo "" echo "Downloading $SKILL..." mkdir -p "$INSTALLED_DIR/$SKILL" FILES=$(gh api "repos/anthropics/skills/contents/skills/$SKILL" 2>/dev/null) echo "$FILES" | jq -r '.[] | "\(.name)|\(.type)|\(.path)"' | while IFS='|' read -r NAME TYPE PATH; do if [[ "$TYPE" == "file" ]]; then CONTENT=$(gh api "repos/anthropics/skills/contents/$PATH" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.content' | base64 -d) echo "$CONTENT" > "$INSTALLED_DIR/$SKILL/$NAME" elif [[ "$TYPE" == "dir" ]]; then mkdir -p "$INSTALLED_DIR/$SKILL/$NAME" SUBFILES=$(gh api "repos/anthropics/skills/contents/$PATH" 2>/dev/null) echo "$SUBFILES" | jq -r '.[] | select(.type == "file") | "\(.name)|\(.path)"' | while IFS='|' read -r SUBNAME SUBPATH; do SUBCONTENT=$(gh api "repos/anthropics/skills/contents/$SUBPATH" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.content' | base64 -d) echo "$SUBCONTENT" > "$INSTALLED_DIR/$SKILL/$NAME/$SUBNAME" done fi done echo "Installed $SKILL" done # Validation echo "" echo "Validating imported skills..." if [[ -f "scripts/validate-skills.py" ]]; then python scripts/validate-skills.py fi echo "" echo "Next steps:" echo " 1. Review: system-configs/.claude/skills/" echo " 2. Run /sync to deploy to ~/.claude/" ``` ## Prerequisites - `gh` CLI authenticated with GitHub (`gh auth status`) - `jq` for JSON parsing - Network access to GitHub API ## Notes - **Cache location**: `.tmp/skills-cache/anthropics-skills.json` - **1-hour cache TTL**: Use `--refresh` to force update - **Preserves original format**: Does not transform skills to local template - **Subdirectory support**: Downloads entire skill directory including references/, scripts/ - **Integration**: Run `/sync` after import to deploy skills to `~/.claude/` --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/damilola-elegbede-org) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.