|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +name: find-skills |
| 3 | +description: Helps users discover and install agent skills when they ask questions like "how do I do X", "find a skill for X", "is there a skill that can...", or express interest in extending capabilities. This skill should be used when the user is looking for functionality that might exist as an installable skill. |
| 4 | +--- |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | +# Find Skills |
| 7 | + |
| 8 | +This skill helps you discover and install skills from the open agent skills ecosystem. |
| 9 | + |
| 10 | +## When to Use This Skill |
| 11 | + |
| 12 | +Use this skill when the user: |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +- Asks "how do I do X" where X might be a common task with an existing skill |
| 15 | +- Says "find a skill for X" or "is there a skill for X" |
| 16 | +- Asks "can you do X" where X is a specialized capability |
| 17 | +- Expresses interest in extending agent capabilities |
| 18 | +- Wants to search for tools, templates, or workflows |
| 19 | +- Mentions they wish they had help with a specific domain (design, testing, deployment, etc.) |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +## What is the Skills CLI? |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +The Skills CLI (`npx skills`) is the package manager for the open agent skills ecosystem. Skills are modular packages that extend agent capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, and tools. |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +**Key commands:** |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +- `npx skills find [query]` - Search for skills interactively or by keyword |
| 28 | +- `npx skills add <package>` - Install a skill from GitHub or other sources |
| 29 | +- `npx skills check` - Check for skill updates |
| 30 | +- `npx skills update` - Update all installed skills |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +**Browse skills at:** https://skills.sh/ |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +## How to Help Users Find Skills |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +### Step 1: Understand What They Need |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +When a user asks for help with something, identify: |
| 39 | + |
| 40 | +1. The domain (e.g., React, testing, design, deployment) |
| 41 | +2. The specific task (e.g., writing tests, creating animations, reviewing PRs) |
| 42 | +3. Whether this is a common enough task that a skill likely exists |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +### Step 2: Check the Leaderboard First |
| 45 | + |
| 46 | +Before running a CLI search, check the [skills.sh leaderboard](https://skills.sh/) to see if a well-known skill already exists for the domain. The leaderboard ranks skills by total installs, surfacing the most popular and battle-tested options. |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | +For example, top skills for web development include: |
| 49 | +- `vercel-labs/agent-skills` — React, Next.js, web design (100K+ installs each) |
| 50 | +- `anthropics/skills` — Frontend design, document processing (100K+ installs) |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | +### Step 3: Search for Skills |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +If the leaderboard doesn't cover the user's need, run the find command: |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | +```bash |
| 57 | +npx skills find [query] |
| 58 | +``` |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +For example: |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +- User asks "how do I make my React app faster?" → `npx skills find react performance` |
| 63 | +- User asks "can you help me with PR reviews?" → `npx skills find pr review` |
| 64 | +- User asks "I need to create a changelog" → `npx skills find changelog` |
| 65 | + |
| 66 | +### Step 4: Verify Quality Before Recommending |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +**Do not recommend a skill based solely on search results.** Always verify: |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | +1. **Install count** — Prefer skills with 1K+ installs. Be cautious with anything under 100. |
| 71 | +2. **Source reputation** — Official sources (`vercel-labs`, `anthropics`, `microsoft`) are more trustworthy than unknown authors. |
| 72 | +3. **GitHub stars** — Check the source repository. A skill from a repo with <100 stars should be treated with skepticism. |
| 73 | + |
| 74 | +### Step 5: Present Options to the User |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | +When you find relevant skills, present them to the user with: |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +1. The skill name and what it does |
| 79 | +2. The install count and source |
| 80 | +3. The install command they can run |
| 81 | +4. A link to learn more at skills.sh |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +Example response: |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +``` |
| 86 | +I found a skill that might help! The "react-best-practices" skill provides |
| 87 | +React and Next.js performance optimization guidelines from Vercel Engineering. |
| 88 | +(185K installs) |
| 89 | +
|
| 90 | +To install it: |
| 91 | +npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills@react-best-practices |
| 92 | +
|
| 93 | +Learn more: https://skills.sh/vercel-labs/agent-skills/react-best-practices |
| 94 | +``` |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | +### Step 6: Offer to Install |
| 97 | + |
| 98 | +If the user wants to proceed, you can install the skill for them: |
| 99 | + |
| 100 | +```bash |
| 101 | +npx skills add <owner/repo@skill> -g -y |
| 102 | +``` |
| 103 | + |
| 104 | +The `-g` flag installs globally (user-level) and `-y` skips confirmation prompts. |
| 105 | + |
| 106 | +## Common Skill Categories |
| 107 | + |
| 108 | +When searching, consider these common categories: |
| 109 | + |
| 110 | +| Category | Example Queries | |
| 111 | +| --------------- | ---------------------------------------- | |
| 112 | +| Web Development | react, nextjs, typescript, css, tailwind | |
| 113 | +| Testing | testing, jest, playwright, e2e | |
| 114 | +| DevOps | deploy, docker, kubernetes, ci-cd | |
| 115 | +| Documentation | docs, readme, changelog, api-docs | |
| 116 | +| Code Quality | review, lint, refactor, best-practices | |
| 117 | +| Design | ui, ux, design-system, accessibility | |
| 118 | +| Productivity | workflow, automation, git | |
| 119 | + |
| 120 | +## Tips for Effective Searches |
| 121 | + |
| 122 | +1. **Use specific keywords**: "react testing" is better than just "testing" |
| 123 | +2. **Try alternative terms**: If "deploy" doesn't work, try "deployment" or "ci-cd" |
| 124 | +3. **Check popular sources**: Many skills come from `vercel-labs/agent-skills` or `ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills` |
| 125 | + |
| 126 | +## When No Skills Are Found |
| 127 | + |
| 128 | +If no relevant skills exist: |
| 129 | + |
| 130 | +1. Acknowledge that no existing skill was found |
| 131 | +2. Offer to help with the task directly using your general capabilities |
| 132 | +3. Suggest the user could create their own skill with `npx skills init` |
| 133 | + |
| 134 | +Example: |
| 135 | + |
| 136 | +``` |
| 137 | +I searched for skills related to "xyz" but didn't find any matches. |
| 138 | +I can still help you with this task directly! Would you like me to proceed? |
| 139 | +
|
| 140 | +If this is something you do often, you could create your own skill: |
| 141 | +npx skills init my-xyz-skill |
| 142 | +``` |
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