Problem Addressed

SkillsMP

Research Date: 2026-02-23 Source URL: https://skillsmp.com/docs GitHub Repository: https://github.com/yan-labs/skillsmp Version at Research: npm skillsmp (JavaScript, no explicit version tag) License: MIT

Overview

SkillsMP is an open, independent marketplace hosting 66,500+ AI agent skills compatible with Claude Code, OpenAI Codex CLI, and ChatGPT. All skills use the unified SKILL.md format — a Markdown file with YAML frontmatter — ensuring cross-platform compatibility. The platform provides search, REST API access, MCP server integration, and a quality filter requiring a minimum 2-star GitHub reputation to appear in the index.

Problem Addressed

Key Statistics

Key Features

Unified SKILL.md Standard

• Skills defined as Markdown files with YAML frontmatter (name, description, optional author, version)
• Optional scripts section for executable supporting code
• Optional templates section for pre-built output structures
• Model-invoked design: the AI activates skills by context, not explicit user commands
• Compatible directory paths: ~/.claude/skills/ (Claude Code personal), .claude/skills/ (project), ~/.codex/skills/ (Codex CLI)

Marketplace Catalog

• 13 categories: Tools, Development, Data & AI, Business, DevOps, Testing & Security, Documentation, Content & Media, Lifestyle, Research, Databases, Blockchain, and other emerging categories
• Search by keyword, filter by category, sort by popularity or recency
• Minimum 2-star GitHub rating quality gate; all skills must be open-source
• Skills Timeline tool for visualizing skill publication growth over time

REST API

• Base: https://skillsmp.com/docs/api
• Key endpoint: GET /api/skills?query=<keyword>&category=<category>
• API key obtained from account settings; passed via SKILLSMP_API_KEY environment variable or Authorization header
• Supports keyword search and AI-powered semantic search
• Python helper scripts: search.py, ai_search.py, install_helper.py

MCP Server Integration

• Community MCP server at anilcancakir/skillsmp-mcp-server (TypeScript, MIT)
• Integrates with Claude Code, Cursor, Roo Code, and other MCP-compatible agents
• Enables "search, discover, install" workflow natively within the AI assistant session

Installation Patterns

• Manual: curl -O https://skillsmp.com/skills/<name>/SKILL.md && mv SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/<name>/
• npm package: npm install skillsmp
• Bulk install: marketplace.json configuration for one-command multi-skill setup
• Multiple skills can run simultaneously; Claude Code intelligently selects which to activate

Technical Architecture

SkillsMP is a web application (JavaScript front-end, REST API back-end) that crawls and indexes GitHub repositories containing valid SKILL.md files. The indexing pipeline applies quality filtering (≥2 GitHub stars, open-source license) before making entries searchable.

Skill format (SKILL.md):

---
name: my-skill
description: What this skill does and when to use it
author: github-username
version: 1.0.0
---

# My Skill

## When to Use
Use this skill when the user requests...

## Instructions
1. First, do this...
2. Then, do that...

API integration uses REST with optional SKILLSMP_API_KEY:

import requests

headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}"}
resp = requests.get(
    "https://skillsmp.com/api/skills",
    params={"query": "code review", "category": "development"},
    headers=headers,
)
skills = resp.json()

Installation & Usage

# Install the npm package
npm install skillsmp

# Manual single skill install (Claude Code)
curl -O https://skillsmp.com/skills/skill-name/SKILL.md
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/skill-name/
mv SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/skill-name/

# Or for a project-scoped install
mkdir -p .claude/skills/skill-name/
mv SKILL.md .claude/skills/skill-name/

MCP server setup (add to Claude Code or Cursor config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skillsmp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "skillsmp-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "SKILLSMP_API_KEY": "<your-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Publishing a skill to SkillsMP:

1. Create a GitHub repository with a SKILL.md at the root
2. Add a marketplace.json for one-command installation
3. Submit the repository URL to SkillsMP for indexing
4. Repository needs ≥2 GitHub stars to appear in results

Relevance to Claude Code Development

Applications

• Skill Discovery: SkillsMP is the largest public registry of SKILL.md-format skills. It is the primary external source for finding skills to import into this repository's .claude/skills/ directory or reference as inspiration for new plugins.
• Cross-Platform Benchmarking: Skills published here work across Claude Code, Codex CLI, and ChatGPT — examining top-rated skills reveals what patterns are considered best practice across the community.
• Distribution Channel: Publishing claude_skills plugins to SkillsMP would expose them to a large audience already searching for Claude Code skills.

Patterns Worth Adopting

• Model-Invoked Design Principle: SkillsMP's stance that skills should activate by AI context rather than explicit commands aligns with how SKILL.md descriptions should be written (trigger-phrase-driven descriptions).
• marketplace.json for Bulk Install: The concept of a marketplace.json for multi-skill one-command installs directly parallels this repo's .claude-plugin/marketplace.json approach.
• Quality Gate via Community Stars: Requiring a minimum star count before indexing is a lightweight signal for trust that could inform curation decisions.

Integration Opportunities

• MCP Server: Install the skillsmp-mcp-server to give Claude Code native search-and-install access to 66,500+ community skills without leaving the agent session.
• API-Driven Skill Scouting: Use the REST API (/api/skills) in a research or scout agent to periodically poll for new high-quality skills relevant to repository categories.
• Cross-Publish claude_skills Plugins: The .claude-plugin/marketplace.json format already produces SKILL.md-compatible artifacts; submitting selected plugins to SkillsMP for indexing would increase discoverability.

Competitive Analysis

References

• SkillsMP Documentation (accessed 2026-02-23)
• SkillsMP API Documentation (accessed 2026-02-23)
• SkillsMP Homepage (accessed 2026-02-23)
• GitHub: yan-labs/skillsmp (accessed 2026-02-23)
• GitHub: anilcancakir/skillsmp-mcp-server (accessed 2026-02-23)
• SkillsMP: The Open Marketplace for AI Agent Skills — VibeSparking (accessed 2026-02-23)
• SkillsMP Complete Guide 2026 — SmartScope (accessed 2026-02-23)

Freshness Tracking

Review Triggers:

• Skill count crosses 100K milestone
• Official versioned releases appear on yan-labs/skillsmp
• REST API gains write endpoints (skill submission via API)
• SkillsMP gains affiliation with Anthropic or OpenAI
• MCP server star count grows significantly