Use This SkillTo install a skill from GitHub in one command, copy its whole folder into your agent's skills directory: npx degit owner/repo/path/to/skill .claude/skills/skill-name for Claude Code. GitHub CLI 2.90.0 and later can do the same with gh skill install owner/repo skill-name. Check the folder before it runs, and pin a commit if you want the same version tomorrow.
Every one of the 2,056 skills in the Use This Skill directory (crawl of October 26, 2026) has this command ready on its page, with a safety scan next to it. Here is the one for tdd, which sits three folders deep in its repository:
npx degit mattpocock/skills/skills/engineering/tdd .claude/skills/tdd
Which one-line command should I use?
Four tools install a skill from a GitHub repository in one line. They differ in where the files go, whether you can pin a version, and whether they keep track of what you installed.
| Tool | Command | Where it installs | Pin a version | Keeps track for updates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| degit (any agent) | npx degit owner/repo/path .claude/skills/name |
The folder you name | Add #tag or #commit to the source |
No |
| GitHub CLI | gh skill install owner/repo name |
Project by default; --scope user for your home folder; --agent picks the agent |
--pin with a tag or commit SHA |
Yes: repository, ref and tree SHA are written to the SKILL.md front matter; gh skill update |
| skills CLI | npx skills add owner/repo --skill name |
The agents it detects (Vercel's docs say 18+ agents) | Not covered in Vercel's docs | Not covered in Vercel's docs |
| Claude Code plugin | /plugin install name@marketplace, after /plugin marketplace add owner/repo |
The plugin's own folder; skills appear as /plugin-name:skill-name |
Not covered on the skills page | Through the plugin |
Each row checked on the tool's official page on October 29, 2026; links in the sources below. The plugin route works only when the repository is published as a plugin marketplace. Codex has a built-in $skill-installer skill that installs curated skills and, per the Codex docs, can download skills from other repositories when you ask.
degit is what the install commands on this site use, because it needs nothing but Node and works for every agent: you choose the destination. gh skill is the better choice if you want versions tracked. It was announced in public preview on April 16, 2026, and its --agent flag accepts claude-code, cursor, codex, gemini-cli, opencode and more than forty others.
Why do I need the path, not just the repository?
Most skill repositories hold many skills, at different depths. In the October 26 crawl, 2,040 of the 2,056 skills came from repositories with more than one skill, and 568 sat three or more folders deep, like skills/engineering/tdd above. owner/repo alone copies the whole repository; owner/repo/path copies one skill.
| Where the skill folders sit | Repositories (of 48) |
|---|---|
Under a folder named skills/ |
42 |
Under .claude/skills/ |
3 |
Under .agents/skills/ |
2 |
Somewhere else (marketing/, employees/, composio-skills/, the repository root) |
8 |
From data/skills.json (crawl of October 26, 2026), counted by script on October 29, 2026. A repository can use more than one layout, so the column adds up to more than 48.
The easiest way to get the path is the GitHub link to the folder that holds SKILL.md: everything after /tree/main/ is the path. Or search the directory, where every listing shows the full command.
Why copy the whole folder and not only SKILL.md?
Because many skills need their other files. 922 of the 2,056 skill folders hold more than one text file, and 181 hold ten or more: reference notes, templates and scripts that SKILL.md tells the agent to read or run. skill-creator has 16 text files; tdd has 4. Copy only SKILL.md and the agent will follow instructions that point at files that are not there. degit, gh skill and the skills CLI all copy the folder.
Where does the folder go for each agent?
Change the last part of the degit command to match your agent. The other tools pick the folder for you.
| Agent | Project folder | Personal folder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | .claude/skills/name |
~/.claude/skills/name |
In the current session; run /reload-skills if the skills folder is new |
| Codex | .agents/skills/name |
$HOME/.agents/skills/name |
Automatically; restart Codex if it does not appear |
| Cursor | .agents/skills/name or .cursor/skills/name |
~/.agents/skills/name or ~/.cursor/skills/name |
Also loads .claude/skills and .codex/skills, so a skill installed for Claude Code or Codex works here too |
Checked on code.claude.com, learn.chatgpt.com and cursor.com on October 29, 2026. Gemini CLI and OpenCode paths are on How to use an agent skill.
How do I check a skill before I install it?
Read it, or have it read for you, before the agent does. GitHub's own announcement says skills installed with gh skill "are not verified by GitHub and may contain prompt injections, hidden instructions, or malicious scripts", and suggests gh skill preview to look first. Claude Code's documentation adds that a project skill's allowed-tools applies even in a folder you have never trusted, so review it in any repository you clone.
Three free ways to check, all running the same nine rules described on the safety page:
- Paste the GitHub link at /scan. Any public skill folder or whole repository is fetched and scanned in a few seconds, with the file, line and matched text for each finding.
- Run the scanner locally:
npx github:nodegenie/awesome-agent-skills scanchecks every SKILL.md folder in the current repository. - Let your agent ask. With the Use This Skill connector added, an agent calls
check_skillon the URL and tells you the result before it installs anything.
In the October 26 scan of the directory, 1,982 skills were clear, 59 needed review and 15 were flagged. Most flags were official installers that pipe a download into a shell, which is common and still worth reading; Are agent skills safe? goes through each one. A clear result means none of the patterns appeared, not that the skill is harmless.
How do I pin a skill to one version?
Add a ref. With degit, put # and a tag or commit after the source: npx degit owner/repo/path#v1.2.0 .claude/skills/name. Without one, degit takes the repository's default branch as it is at that moment. With gh skill, use --pin v1.2.0 or a commit SHA; pinned skills are skipped by gh skill update, so you upgrade on purpose.
Pinning matters most for skills you commit to a team repository: the skill everyone reviewed is the one everyone runs. To see whether a skill changes the output enough to be worth pinning at all, look for it on the proven list, where the same brief is run three times without the skill and three times with it.
How we got these numbers
Use This Skill crawls public skill repositories and keeps every SKILL.md that has a name and a description. The crawl of October 26, 2026 found 2,056 skills in 48 repositories. The scan of the same day read every text file in each skill folder; the file counts above are that scan's counts. The layout table groups each skill by the folder its path sits under. Licenses come from the file at each repository's root: 1,051 skills come from MIT, Apache-2.0 or BSD repositories, 99 from another license, and 906 from repositories with no license file at the root, so read the license in the folder or repository before you copy a skill into a product.
Related: How to write a SKILL.md description that triggers and AGENTS.md vs CLAUDE.md vs SKILL.md vs Cursor rules.