How do I install Skillmd?

Copy the http config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Skillmd need an API key?

The publisher lists these environment variables: SKILLMD_TOKEN, SKILLMD_API.

When was Skillmd last checked?

Last checked 2026-11-11. Search, fetch, lint, and install Agent Skills (SKILL.md) from the SkillMD registry.

Skillmd MCP server

Power your agent

Add this server

The publisher's own URL. Not a PlugMCP endpoint.

Add to Cursor Add in Claude Add to VS Code Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server URL

https://api.skillmd.com/mcp

Credentials from the publisher

SKILLMD_TOKEN — SkillMD personal access token (enables skillmd_list_saved and personalized recommendations)
SKILLMD_API — Override the registry API base URL

The Claude button above opens Claude with the name and URL filled in. You still confirm it there.

shClaude Code

1claude mcp add --transport http com.skillmd-skillmd https://api.skillmd.com/mcp

Run in a terminal.

jsonClaude Desktop

1{2  "mcpServers": {3    "com.skillmd-skillmd": {4      "command": "npx",5      "args": [6        "-y",7        "mcp-remote",8        "https://api.skillmd.com/mcp"9      ]10    }11  }12}

claude_desktop_config.json

Remote · HTTPPublisher installStep-by-step: add this in Claude

Remote URL or a command on your machine? How the two installs differ

Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

A new server you create. It is not this listing's official endpoint. Use the publisher install when you want their URL and their credentials.

Launch

Server facts

Remote

Transport: http
Version: 1.3.11

Tools

No tool list yet. Remote servers get one after the first health check.

FAQ

Questions

What this is

An Agent Skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file: YAML frontmatter (name, description) plus Markdown instructions an agent loads on demand. Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf and dozens of other agents read the same format, which is what makes a shared registry worth having. If the format is new to you, start with What is an Agent Skill? and the anatomy of a SKILL.md file.

skillmd.com is the open registry of those skills: 1,000,000+ skills from 30,000+ publishers, every one of them linted against the format, security-scanned for what it can do, and pinned to a commit. Verdicts, capability flags and independent scanner results sit on every skill page. Installing writes files and does nothing else.

This repository is everything that runs on your machine or in your CI, MIT-licensed:

Package	What it is	Install
`skillmds`	One npm package, two binaries: the `skillmd` CLI and the `skillmds` MCP server	`npm i -g skillmds`
`@skillmds/core`	The SKILL.md engine: parser, lint rules, security scanner, quality score, SARIF / JSON / GitHub formatters	`npm i @skillmds/core`
`skillmds/skillmd/action`	GitHub Action: lint every skill in a repo, results in GitHub Code Scanning	`uses: skillmds/skillmd/action@v1`

The registry applies the same engine, so a skill that passes locally passes on publish.

Quick start

# Search the registry and install a skill into every agent on your machine
npx skillmds search "pdf"
npx skillmds add anthropic/pdf

# Lint your own skill before you share it
npx skillmds lint ./my-skill

Plugins

A plugin is a bundle of skills that installs as one unit. In Claude Code it becomes a real plugin — /plugin lists it, and enable, disable and uninstall work on the whole set — and on every other agent the skills are installed individually.

npx skillmds add plugin:skillmd/design

To browse them inside Claude Code's Plugins tab instead, add this repository as a marketplace: skillmds/skillmd. It carries the flagship plugins as real directories under plugins/, listed in .claude-plugin/marketplace.json and refreshed weekly. The tab only understands plugins that live in git, which is why the whole registry is not in there — every other plugin installs with the command above.

No account needed for any of the above. Skills land in each detected agent's own directory (.claude/skills/, .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, …). Per-agent walkthroughs: Claude Code · Cursor · Codex · Gemini CLI · GitHub Copilot · Windsurf · all agents.

The CLI: `skillmd`

npm i -g skillmds

Command	What it does
`skillmd lint [path]`	Validate `SKILL.md` files. Diagnostics, a 0–100 quality score, `--fix` for the mechanical ones.
`skillmd scan [path]`	What would this skill do? Reports scripts, network calls and secret access.
`skillmd rules [id]`	List the lint rules, or explain one.
`skillmd init [name]`	Scaffold a new skill from a template.
`skillmd search <query>`	Search the registry from the terminal.
`skillmd add <source>`	Install from a registry slug, a GitHub repo or a local path. Lints first, never executes scripts.
`skillmd list` / `remove` / `update`	Manage installed skills across agents.
`skillmd publish [path]`	Publish to skillmd.com. Blocked on lint errors.

skillmd lint . --format sarif > skillmd.sarif   # GitHub Code Scanning
skillmd lint . --strict                          # warnings fail too
skillmd add owner/repo -a claude-code -g         # one agent, global scope
skillmd add some/skill --deny executes_scripts   # refuse skills that run code

skillmd add detects 68 agents by their config directories: Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, Kiro, Warp, GitHub Copilot, Cline, Roo Code, Goose, Trae, Qwen Code, Amp, Zed, Continue, Devin, OpenHands, Replit and more. Agents that share the .agents/skills convention are written once. Running plain skillmd opens a guided menu.

Full reference: docs/cli.md · CLI docs on skillmd.com · How one SKILL.md works in every agent

The MCP server: `skillmds`

Give any MCP-capable agent the whole registry. It can search, inspect, lint and install skills mid-conversation.

# Claude Code
claude mcp add skillmd -- npx -y skillmds

// Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, … (examples/mcp/ has per-client files)
{ "mcpServers": { "skillmd": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "skillmds"] } } }

Or use the hosted remote server, zero install, streamable HTTP:

https://api.skillmd.com/mcp

Tool	What the agent gets
`skillmd_search`	Registry search with categories, ratings and install snippets
`skillmd_get`	Full skill detail: body, provenance, license, security flags
`skillmd_install`	Safe install: validated, SHA-256-verified, zip-slip-guarded, never executes scripts
`skillmd_trending` / `skillmd_recommend`	Leaderboard and similar-skill suggestions
`skillmd_list_saved`	Your saved skills (with `SKILLMD_TOKEN`)
`skillmd_lint`	Validate any SKILL.md content on the spot

Full reference: docs/mcp.md · MCP docs on skillmd.com · Using SkillMD over MCP · MCP registry entry: com.skillmd/skillmd

The engine: `@skillmds/core`

npm i @skillmds/core

import { lint } from "@skillmds/core";

const { ok, score, diagnostics, security } = lint(rawSkillMd, { slug: "my-skill" });

Nine lint rules, a line-aware security scanner, a 0–100 quality score and SARIF / JSON / GitHub-annotation formatters. ESM, typed, no runtime dependency beyond yaml, runs in Node, browsers and edge runtimes.

The scanner classifies every skill into capability flags you can filter or deny on install:

Flag	Meaning
`docs_only`	Nothing executable found. Pure instructions.
`network_calls`	Fetches, curls or otherwise talks to the network.
`executes_scripts`	Runs commands or bundled scripts.
`reads_secrets`	Touches env vars, tokens or credential files.
`untrusted_install`	Fetch-and-execute from a non-standard source.

Rules and scoring: docs/rules.md · Debugging skills: lint, scan, score · Common SKILL.md mistakes

CI for your skills

- uses: skillmds/skillmd/action@v1
  with:
    path: .

Lints every skill in the repo and uploads SARIF to GitHub Code Scanning, so findings show up in pull requests. Full example: examples/github-action.yml · action/README.md

Publishing a skill

skillmd login                   # token from your skillmd.com account
skillmd publish ./my-skill      # blocked on lint errors
skillmd publish ./my-skill --dry-run

Published skills get a page at skillmd.com/skills/<you>/<name>, a safety verdict, an install command for every agent, and a live README badge:

[](https://skillmd.com/skills/<you>/<name>)

Guides: Publishing a skill to the registry · Writing skills that get used · What a verified badge means · Skill packs

The registry API

Everything here is a thin client over the public API at api.skillmd.com (GET /v1/search?q=…, GET /v1/skills/<owner>/<name>, …). Described by docs/registry-api.md, skillmd.com/openapi.json and, for AI systems, skillmd.com/llms.txt. Every skill page also has a Markdown twin at …/<name>.md.

What's in the registry

Browse by category: Coding & Dev Tools · AI & ML · DevOps & Infra · Integrations & APIs · Security · Data & Analytics · Web & Frontend · Productivity · Docs & Writing · Design & Media

Or by publisher, official skills from verified publishers, the leaderboard, or what's new. Live counts: skillmd.com/stats.

Security model

Installing a skill writes files and does nothing else. No script execution, strict path containment (slug validation plus zip-slip guards), SHA-256 integrity verification against the registry's content-addressed store, and companion files pinned to GitHub raw hosts. Publishing runs the same lint and scan the CLI does, and every listed skill shows its verdict, capability flags and independent scanner results.

Details in SECURITY.md. Report vulnerabilities to [email protected].

Learn more

Development

npm ci
npm run build      # @skillmds/core, then skillmds
npm test           # vitest across both packages, incl. an MCP stdio smoke test
npm run typecheck  # strict tsc

See CONTRIBUTING.md for layout, PR guidelines and the release process, and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.

Skillmd

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Skillmd?

Does Skillmd need an API key?

What transport does Skillmd use?

When was Skillmd last checked?

Documentation

What this is

Quick start

Plugins

The CLI: `skillmd`

The MCP server: `skillmds`

The engine: `@skillmds/core`

CI for your skills

Publishing a skill

The registry API

What's in the registry

Security model

Learn more

Development

License

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Skillmd?

Does Skillmd need an API key?

What transport does Skillmd use?

When was Skillmd last checked?

Documentation

What this is

Quick start

Plugins

The CLI: skillmd

The MCP server: skillmds

The engine: @skillmds/core

CI for your skills

Publishing a skill

The registry API

What's in the registry

Security model

Learn more

Development

License

The CLI: `skillmd`

The MCP server: `skillmds`

The engine: `@skillmds/core`