diff --git a/.github/scripts/package-skills.sh b/.github/scripts/package-skills.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..06a2ff7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/package-skills.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Package each Skyflow skill directory into a portable zip.
+#
+# Each zip extracts to <skill-name>/SKILL.md so it can be dropped straight into
+# ~/.claude/skills/ (or a project's .claude/skills/) or handed to any harness
+# that understands the Agent Skills format. Repo-only cruft is excluded so the
+# artifact is clean.
+#
+# Output: dist/<skill-name>.zip for every skill, plus dist/SHA256SUMS.txt.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SKILLS_DIR="skyflow-skills-plugin/skills"
+OUT_DIR="dist"
+
+# Files that exist for repo/contributor purposes and don't belong in a
+# portable, runtime-facing skill artifact.
+EXCLUDES=(
+  '*/.DS_Store'
+  '*/CONTRIBUTING.md'
+  '*.tmp'
+  '*.log'
+)
+
+if [[ ! -d "$SKILLS_DIR" ]]; then
+  echo "error: $SKILLS_DIR not found (run from repo root)" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+rm -rf "$OUT_DIR"
+mkdir -p "$OUT_DIR"
+OUT_ABS="$(cd "$OUT_DIR" && pwd)"
+
+shopt -s nullglob
+count=0
+for skill_path in "$SKILLS_DIR"/*/; do
+  skill="$(basename "$skill_path")"
+  echo "Packaging $skill ..."
+  # Zip from inside SKILLS_DIR so archive paths are <skill>/... (no leading dirs).
+  ( cd "$SKILLS_DIR" && zip -r -q "$OUT_ABS/$skill.zip" "$skill" -x "${EXCLUDES[@]}" )
+  count=$((count + 1))
+done
+
+if [[ "$count" -eq 0 ]]; then
+  echo "error: no skills found under $SKILLS_DIR" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Integrity manifest (paths relative to dist/).
+( cd "$OUT_DIR" && sha256sum ./*.zip > SHA256SUMS.txt )
+
+echo
+echo "Packaged $count skill(s) into $OUT_DIR/:"
+ls -1 "$OUT_DIR"
diff --git a/.github/scripts/validate-skills.py b/.github/scripts/validate-skills.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d15eb5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/validate-skills.py
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Validate Skyflow skill directories before packaging.
+
+Each skill under skyflow-skills-plugin/skills/<name>/ must contain a SKILL.md
+with YAML frontmatter whose `name` matches the directory and whose
+`description` is present. Rules mirror the Agent Skills spec so that every
+published zip is a valid, portable skill.
+
+Exit code 0 = all valid, 1 = one or more problems (details printed).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import yaml
+
+SKILLS_DIR = Path("skyflow-skills-plugin/skills")
+FRONTMATTER_RE = re.compile(r"^---\r?\n(.*?)\r?\n---\r?\n", re.DOTALL)
+NAME_RE = re.compile(r"^[a-z0-9]+(-[a-z0-9]+)*$")
+NAME_MAX = 64
+DESC_MAX = 1024
+
+
+def parse_frontmatter(text: str) -> dict | None:
+    """Parse the leading --- fenced YAML block into a dict.
+
+    Uses a full YAML parser so multi-line values (block scalars, quoted
+    strings spanning lines) are handled correctly. Returns None if there is
+    no frontmatter block or it is not a YAML mapping.
+    """
+    m = FRONTMATTER_RE.match(text)
+    if not m:
+        return None
+    try:
+        data = yaml.safe_load(m.group(1))
+    except yaml.YAMLError:
+        return None
+    return data if isinstance(data, dict) else None
+
+
+def validate_skill(skill_dir: Path) -> list[str]:
+    errors: list[str] = []
+    skill_md = skill_dir / "SKILL.md"
+    if not skill_md.is_file():
+        return [f"{skill_dir.name}: missing SKILL.md"]
+
+    fm = parse_frontmatter(skill_md.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    if fm is None:
+        return [f"{skill_dir.name}: SKILL.md has no valid --- YAML frontmatter block"]
+
+    name = fm.get("name")
+    if not name or not isinstance(name, str):
+        errors.append(f"{skill_dir.name}: frontmatter missing `name`")
+    else:
+        if name != skill_dir.name:
+            errors.append(
+                f"{skill_dir.name}: frontmatter name `{name}` does not match directory"
+            )
+        if len(name) > NAME_MAX:
+            errors.append(f"{skill_dir.name}: name exceeds {NAME_MAX} chars")
+        if not NAME_RE.match(name):
+            errors.append(
+                f"{skill_dir.name}: name `{name}` must be lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens"
+            )
+
+    desc = fm.get("description")
+    if not desc or not isinstance(desc, str) or not desc.strip():
+        errors.append(f"{skill_dir.name}: frontmatter missing `description`")
+    elif len(desc) > DESC_MAX:
+        errors.append(
+            f"{skill_dir.name}: description exceeds {DESC_MAX} chars ({len(desc)})"
+        )
+
+    return errors
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    if not SKILLS_DIR.is_dir():
+        print(f"error: {SKILLS_DIR} not found (run from repo root)", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+
+    skill_dirs = sorted(p for p in SKILLS_DIR.iterdir() if p.is_dir())
+    if not skill_dirs:
+        print(f"error: no skills found under {SKILLS_DIR}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+
+    all_errors: list[str] = []
+    for skill_dir in skill_dirs:
+        errs = validate_skill(skill_dir)
+        if errs:
+            all_errors.extend(errs)
+        else:
+            print(f"  ok  {skill_dir.name}")
+
+    if all_errors:
+        print("\nValidation failed:", file=sys.stderr)
+        for e in all_errors:
+            print(f"  - {e}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+
+    print(f"\nAll {len(skill_dirs)} skills valid.")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())
diff --git a/.github/workflows/package-skills.yml b/.github/workflows/package-skills.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6159fb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/package-skills.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+name: Package skills
+
+# Build portable, per-skill zips and publish them as GitHub Release assets.
+# Source of truth stays in skyflow-skills-plugin/skills/; the zips are pure
+# build output and never committed, so the plugin/marketplace install is
+# unaffected.
+#
+# Triggers:
+#   - push of a version tag (v*)         -> release for that tag
+#   - manual run (workflow_dispatch)     -> release for the provided tag,
+#                                           defaulting to v<plugin.json version>
+
+on:
+  push:
+    tags:
+      - "v*"
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      tag:
+        description: "Release tag (defaults to v<plugin.json version>)"
+        required: false
+        type: string
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+
+jobs:
+  package:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.x"
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: pip install pyyaml
+
+      - name: Validate skills
+        run: python3 .github/scripts/validate-skills.py
+
+      - name: Package skills
+        run: bash .github/scripts/package-skills.sh
+
+      - name: Resolve release tag
+        id: tag
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "push" ]; then
+            tag="${GITHUB_REF_NAME}"
+          elif [ -n "${{ inputs.tag }}" ]; then
+            tag="${{ inputs.tag }}"
+          else
+            version="$(python3 -c 'import json;print(json.load(open("skyflow-skills-plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json"))["version"])')"
+            tag="v${version}"
+          fi
+          echo "tag=${tag}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "Release tag: ${tag}"
+
+      - name: Publish release assets
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          TAG: ${{ steps.tag.outputs.tag }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          assets=(dist/*.zip dist/SHA256SUMS.txt)
+          if gh release view "$TAG" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "Release $TAG exists; uploading assets (clobber)."
+            gh release upload "$TAG" "${assets[@]}" --clobber
+          else
+            echo "Creating release $TAG."
+            gh release create "$TAG" "${assets[@]}" \
+              --title "Skyflow skills $TAG" \
+              --notes "Portable Skyflow skill packages. Download a skill's \`.zip\`, unzip it into \`~/.claude/skills/\` (or a project's \`.claude/skills/\`) or any Agent Skills-compatible harness. Verify downloads against \`SHA256SUMS.txt\`."
+          fi
diff --git a/.github/workflows/validate-skills.yml b/.github/workflows/validate-skills.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ae73034
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/validate-skills.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+name: Validate skills
+
+# Lightweight check: every skill under skyflow-skills-plugin/skills/ must have a
+# valid SKILL.md before it can be merged or packaged. No artifacts are produced.
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    paths:
+      - "skyflow-skills-plugin/skills/**"
+      - ".github/scripts/validate-skills.py"
+      - ".github/workflows/validate-skills.yml"
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+  validate:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.x"
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: pip install pyyaml
+      - name: Validate skill frontmatter
+        run: python3 .github/scripts/validate-skills.py
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 5ea00c6..dc4dc56 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -198,6 +198,34 @@ After creating a new skill, add it to the Skills section in the main [README.md]
 2. Write a paragraph describing what the skill does and its key features
 3. The table of contents will be updated automatically if using a markdown formatter
 
+## Packaging and Releasing Skills
+
+Skills are distributed two ways from a single source of truth (the directories under `skyflow-skills-plugin/skills/`):
+
+1. **Plugin** — installed via the marketplace (`/plugin install skyflow-skills@skyflow-marketplace`).
+2. **Standalone zips** — one portable `.zip` per skill, published as GitHub Release assets for use in other projects or harnesses.
+
+The zips are build artifacts. They are **not** committed to the repo (`dist/` is gitignored), so the plugin/marketplace install is never affected.
+
+### CI workflows
+
+- **`.github/workflows/validate-skills.yml`** — runs on pull requests that touch skills. It checks every `SKILL.md` has valid frontmatter (`name` matches the directory, lowercase-hyphen, ≤64 chars; `description` present, ≤1024 chars).
+- **`.github/workflows/package-skills.yml`** — runs on a pushed version tag (`v*`) or manual dispatch. It validates, zips each skill into `dist/<skill>.zip`, generates `dist/SHA256SUMS.txt`, and attaches everything to the matching GitHub Release.
+
+### Cutting a release
+
+1. Bump `version` in `skyflow-skills-plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json`.
+2. Tag and push: `git tag v0.6.0 && git push origin v0.6.0`. The package workflow creates the release and uploads the zips automatically.
+
+Alternatively, trigger the **Package skills** workflow manually (Actions tab → *Run workflow*); it defaults the tag to `v<plugin.json version>`.
+
+### Building locally
+
+```sh
+python3 .github/scripts/validate-skills.py   # validate frontmatter
+bash   .github/scripts/package-skills.sh      # build dist/*.zip + SHA256SUMS.txt
+```
+
 ## Learn More
 
 For complete documentation on Claude Code plugins, see the [Claude Code Plugins documentation](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins).
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index da623fd..fbac52e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ A Claude Code plugin marketplace that enables Skyflow's data privacy and protect
 - [Claude Code Plugins for Skyflow](#claude-code-plugins-for-skyflow)
   - [Plugins](#plugins)
   - [Quick Start](#quick-start)
+  - [Standalone Skill Downloads](#standalone-skill-downloads)
   - [Environment Variables Reference](#environment-variables-reference)
   - [Upgrading](#upgrading)
   - [Learn More](#learn-more)
@@ -64,6 +65,24 @@ Most users want `skyflow-skills` plus `skyflow-developer-mcp`. Add `skyflow-runt
    - [skyflow-developer-mcp setup](skyflow-developer-mcp-plugin/README.md#set-up-environment-variables)
    - [skyflow-runtime-mcp setup](skyflow-runtime-mcp-plugin/README.md#set-up-environment-variables)
 
+## Standalone Skill Downloads
+
+The `skyflow-skills` plugin is the easiest way to get the skills in Claude Code. If you instead want a single skill as a portable file — to drop into another project, share, or use with a different Agent Skills-compatible harness — each skill is also published as a standalone `.zip` on the [Releases page](https://github.com/SkyflowFoundry/claude/releases/latest).
+
+Each archive unzips to a self-contained skill folder (`<skill-name>/SKILL.md` plus its resources). To install one manually:
+
+```sh
+# Download the latest build of a skill (stable URL always points at the newest release)
+curl -L -O https://github.com/SkyflowFoundry/claude/releases/latest/download/create-vault.zip
+
+# Unzip into your user skills directory (or a project's .claude/skills/)
+unzip create-vault.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/
+```
+
+Available skills: `call-rest-apis`, `create-vault`, `migrate-sdk-v1-to-v2`, `plan-skyflow-implementation`, `quickstart-js-browser`, `quickstart-node`. A `SHA256SUMS.txt` is attached to each release so you can verify downloads.
+
+> These zips are build artifacts generated from the same skills in this repo — the plugin and the standalone downloads are always in sync.
+
 ## Environment Variables Reference
 
 These variables are read by the MCP plugins. See each plugin's README for step-by-step setup.