How to install Claude Code skills

Where skills live

Project folders are shared with whoever uses the repo; commit them. User folders apply to all your projects. If two skills share a name, Claude Code uses the enterprise one over a personal one, and a personal one over a project one. For the other tools see Cursor and Codex and Gemini CLI.

Way 1: the ProSkills CLI

npx proskills-cli add humanizer
npx proskills-cli add grill-me hook-lab
npx proskills-cli add humanizer --global

Each skill becomes one folder with its SKILL.md, a profile.md and any files the skill reads. Without --agent it picks Claude Code if it finds a .claude/ folder, else .agents/skills if that exists, else Claude Code. Use --agent claude|cursor|codex|gemini|all to choose, --global for your home folder and --force to replace an existing folder. Paid skills need --order with the id from your receipt. It writes only inside the skills folder and makes no other network calls. Find the id on any skill page, or run npx proskills-cli list.

Way 2: npx skills

npx skills add yungprimer/proskills
npx skills add yungprimer/proskills --skill humanizer --agent claude-code
npx skills add yungprimer/proskills --skill humanizer -g

skills is an open command line tool for agent skills, published at github.com/vercel-labs/skills and tied to the skills.sh directory. Per its README, -g installs to your user folder, --agent targets specific agents, --skill picks skills by name, and -y skips prompts. The source is a GitHub owner/repo, any git URL or a local path. The public ProSkills repository holds the free skills in a skills/ folder. We took this syntax from the tool's README on 16 October 2026; run npx skills --help if it has changed.

Way 3: copy the folder

# a skill for this project
cp -r humanizer .claude/skills/

# a skill for every project
cp -r humanizer ~/.claude/skills/

A ProSkills download is a zip of skill folders with a README. Unzip it and copy each folder, the one that holds SKILL.md, into the folder for your agent. Keep the folder name equal to the name in the file. On Windows, use File Explorer or Copy-Item -Recurse.

If it does not load

Work through why a skill is not triggering for the longer list, and scan the folder with npx proskills-cli scan or the scanner before you trust it.

Sources

• Claude Code: skills (locations, precedence, live reload)
• skills: the open agent skills CLI (README)
• ProSkills CLI: README

Questions

Where do Claude Code skills go?

In .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md inside a project, or ~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md for every project on your machine. A nested .claude/skills folder below your working directory loads when Claude works in that subfolder.

Do I have to restart Claude Code?

Claude Code's docs say it watches skill folders and picks up changes in the current session. If you create a top-level skills folder that did not exist when the session started, run /reload-skills or start a new session.

Is npx skills add safe?

It copies a skill folder from the source you name. The command does not review what it copies, so treat any skill as code from its author: scan it, read it, and use sources you trust.

Can I install the same skill in Cursor and Codex?

Yes. A folder in .agents/skills/ is read by Cursor, Codex and Gemini CLI. Claude Code reads .claude/skills/, so add a copy there too, or use the CLI with --agent all.

Keep reading

• Skill ScannerScore any skill in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
• SKILL.md format referenceEvery field, its limit, the folder layout and the errors people hit.
• Cursor skillsWhere Cursor reads SKILL.md, from its docs, and how to install one.
• Codex and Gemini CLI skillsWhere each tool looks for skills, from their docs, and one folder for both.
• All guidesEvery guide, grouped by what you are trying to do.