install#

Download a skill from the registry and write it to the local skills directory.

Synopsis#

skillsctl install NAME[@VERSION] [--digest sha256:...] [--skills-dir DIR]

If @VERSION is omitted, the latest published version is installed.

Flags#

Examples#

Install the latest version of a skill:

skillsctl install git-conventional

Installed git-conventional@1.2.0 to /home/you/.claude/skills/git-conventional.md

Install a specific version:

skillsctl install git-conventional@1.1.0

Installed git-conventional@1.1.0 to /home/you/.claude/skills/git-conventional.md

Install with digest verification:

skillsctl install git-conventional --digest sha256:abc123...

If the digest does not match, the install is aborted and no file is written.

Install to a custom directory:

skillsctl install git-conventional --skills-dir /tmp/test-skills

Installed git-conventional@1.2.0 to /tmp/test-skills/git-conventional.md

How it works#

1. The CLI fetches the skill content from GetSkillContent (unauthenticated).
2. If --digest is provided, the downloaded content is hashed and compared before writing.
3. The file is written atomically: content is written to a temporary file, then renamed into place.

Common errors#

Error: skill “NAME” not found No skill with that name exists in the registry. Use skillsctl explore to list available skills.

Error: version “X” not found for skill “NAME” The requested version does not exist. Use skillsctl explore show NAME to list available versions.

Error: digest mismatch: expected sha256:X, got sha256:Y The downloaded content does not match the expected digest. The file was not written. Check that the digest value is correct.

Error: skills directory does not exist: … The target directory is missing. Create it manually or set a valid path with skillsctl config set skills_dir PATH.