Reskill Usage

reskill Usage Guide

reskill is a Git-based package manager for AI agent skills. It provides declarative configuration (skills.json + skills.lock), flexible versioning, and multi-agent support for installing, managing, and sharing skills across projects and teams.

Requirements: Node.js >= 18.0.0

CLI usage: If reskill is installed globally, use it directly. Otherwise use npx reskill@latest:

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npm install -g reskill        # Global install
npx reskill@latest <command>  # Or use npx directly (no install needed)

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user:

• Wants to install, update, or manage AI agent skills
• Mentions skills.json, skills.lock, or reskill-related concepts
• Wants to publish a skill to a registry
• Asks about supported install formats (GitHub, GitLab, HTTP, OSS, registry, etc.)
• Encounters reskill-related errors or needs troubleshooting
• Wants to set up a project for skill management
• Asks about multi-agent skill installation (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, etc.)

AI Agent Execution Rules

AI agents cannot respond to interactive prompts mid-command. Always add -y to commands that support confirmation prompts (install, uninstall, publish) to prevent the command from hanging.

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# Correct — will not hang
reskill install github:user/skill -y
reskill uninstall skill-name -y
reskill publish -y

# Wrong — will hang waiting for confirmation
reskill install github:user/skill
reskill uninstall skill-name

Quick Start

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# Initialize a new project
npx reskill@latest init

# Install a skill
npx reskill@latest install github:anthropics/skills/skills/frontend-design@latest

# List installed skills
npx reskill@latest list

Commands

¹ Registry commands (group, publish, login, logout, whoami) require a private registry deployment. Not available for public use yet.

Run reskill <command> --help for complete options and detailed usage.

Common Options

Source Formats

reskill supports installing skills from multiple sources:

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# GitHub shorthand
npx reskill@latest install github:user/skill@v1.0.0

# GitLab shorthand
npx reskill@latest install gitlab:group/skill@latest

# Full Git URL (HTTPS)
npx reskill@latest install https://github.com/user/skill.git

# Full Git URL (SSH)
npx reskill@latest install git@github.com:user/skill.git

# GitHub/GitLab web URL (with branch and subpath)
npx reskill@latest install https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/tree/main/skills/web-design-guidelines

# Custom registry (self-hosted GitLab, etc.)
npx reskill@latest install gitlab.company.com:team/skill@v1.0.0

# HTTP/OSS archives
npx reskill@latest install https://example.com/skills/my-skill-v1.0.0.tar.gz
npx reskill@latest install oss://bucket/path/skill.tar.gz
npx reskill@latest install s3://bucket/path/skill.zip

# Registry-based (requires registry deployment)
npx reskill@latest install @scope/skill-name@1.0.0
npx reskill@latest install skill-name

# Install multiple skills at once
npx reskill@latest install github:user/skill1 github:user/skill2@v1.0.0

Monorepo Support

For repositories containing multiple skills, you can install a specific skill by path or install all skills from a parent directory:

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# Shorthand format with subpath
npx reskill@latest install github:org/monorepo/skills/planning@v1.0.0
npx reskill@latest install gitlab:company/skills/frontend/components@latest

# URL format with subpath
npx reskill@latest install https://github.com/org/monorepo.git/skills/planning@v1.0.0
npx reskill@latest install git@gitlab.company.com:team/skills.git/backend/apis@v2.0.0

# GitHub web URL automatically extracts subpath
npx reskill@latest install https://github.com/org/monorepo/tree/main/skills/planning

# Point to a parent directory — auto-detects and installs all child skills
npx reskill@latest install https://github.com/org/monorepo/tree/main/skills

When the target directory has no root SKILL.md but contains subdirectories with SKILL.md files, reskill automatically discovers and installs all child skills. Each skill is saved separately in skills.json.

HTTP/OSS URL Support

Skills can be installed directly from HTTP/HTTPS URLs pointing to archive files:

Supported archive formats: .tar.gz, .tgz, .zip, .tar

Version Formats

Configuration

skills.json

The project configuration file, created by reskill init:

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{
  "skills": {
    "planning": "github:user/planning-skill@v1.0.0",
    "internal-tool": "internal:team/tool@latest"
  },
  "registries": {
    "internal": "https://gitlab.company.com"
  },
  "defaults": {
    "installDir": ".skills",
    "targetAgents": ["cursor", "claude-code"],
    "installMode": "symlink"
  }
}

• skills — Installed skill references (name → source ref)
• registries — Custom Git registry aliases
• defaults.installDir — Where skills are stored (default: .skills)
• defaults.targetAgents — Default agents to install to
• defaults.installMode — symlink (default, recommended) or copy

Environment Variables

Multi-Agent Support

Skills are installed to .skills/ by default and can be integrated with any agent:

Use --agent to target specific agents, or --all to install to all detected agents:

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# Install to specific agents
reskill install github:user/skill -a cursor claude-code

# Install to all detected agents
reskill install github:user/skill --all

# List skills installed to a specific agent
reskill list -a cursor
reskill list -a claude-cowork-3p

Publishing

Note: Publishing requires a private registry deployment.

Authentication

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# Login with a token (obtain from the registry web UI)
reskill login --registry <url> --token <token>

# Check current login status
reskill whoami

# Logout
reskill logout

Tokens are stored in ~/.reskillrc. You can also use the RESKILL_TOKEN environment variable (takes precedence, useful for CI/CD).

Registry URL resolution priority:

1. --registry CLI option
2. RESKILL_REGISTRY environment variable
3. defaults.publishRegistry in skills.json

Publishing a Skill

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# Validate without publishing (recommended first step)
reskill publish --dry-run

# Publish the skill
reskill publish

# Publish from a specific directory
reskill publish ./path/to/skill

# Skip confirmation
reskill publish -y

The skill directory must contain a valid SKILL.md with name, version, and description in its frontmatter.

Common Workflows

First-Time Project Setup

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# 1. Initialize the project
reskill init -y

# 2. Install skills your project needs
reskill install github:user/skill1@v1.0.0 github:user/skill2@latest -y

# 3. Verify installation
reskill list

# 4. Commit skills.json and skills.lock to version control
# (These files ensure team members get the same skill versions)

Team Collaboration

When a teammate clones the project, they run:

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# Reinstall all skills from skills.json (like npm install)
reskill install

This reads skills.json + skills.lock and installs the exact same versions.

Checking and Updating Skills

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# Check which skills have newer versions
reskill outdated

# Update all skills
reskill update

# Update a specific skill
reskill update skill-name

Global vs Project-Level Installation

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# Project-level (default)
reskill install github:user/skill

# Global (personal, all projects)
reskill install github:user/skill -g

# Install to Claude Cowork 3P (always global)
reskill install github:user/skill -a claude-cowork-3p

# Personal project-level (not saved to skills.json)
reskill install github:user/skill --no-save

Diagnosing Issues

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# Run environment diagnostics
reskill doctor

# JSON output for programmatic use
reskill doctor --json

The doctor command checks: reskill version, Node.js version, Git availability, cache directory, skills.json validity, skills.lock sync, installed skills integrity, and network connectivity.

Troubleshooting

Private Repositories

reskill uses your existing git credentials (SSH keys or credential helper). For CI/CD environments:

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# GitLab CI
git config --global url."https://gitlab-ci-token:${CI_JOB_TOKEN}@gitlab.company.com/".insteadOf "https://gitlab.company.com/"