Find Skills

Find Skills

This skill helps you discover and install skills from the open agent skills ecosystem.

CRITICAL RULES

1. ALWAYS search first: When a user asks to install/​find/​add ANY skill, your FIRST action must be running skills find <query> in the sandbox.
2. NEVER create from scratch without searching: Even for simple-sounding skills like "hello-world", search first.
3. Use the CLI directly: The skills CLI is pre-installed globally in the sandbox. Use skills directly (NOT npx skills — npx causes unnecessary download prompts).
4. Install to session workspace: Use HOME=<workspace_dir> skills add ... -g -y --agent '*' so skills land in the current session's workspace (visible in the task file viewer).
5. Call propose_skill_save: After installing and testing a skill, ALWAYS call the propose_skill_save tool with the skill name so the user can choose to save it permanently.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user:

• Asks to install a skill (e.g., "install hello-world skill", "安装一个 skill")
• Asks to find or search for a skill (e.g., "find a skill for X", "找一个 skill")
• Mentions a skill by name (e.g., "hello-world skill", "react testing skill")
• Asks "how do I do X" where X might be a common task with an existing skill
• Says "find a skill for X" or "is there a skill for X"
• Asks "can you do X" where X is a specialized capability
• Expresses interest in extending agent capabilities
• Wants to search for tools, templates, or workflows

What is the Skills CLI?

The Skills CLI (skills) is pre-installed globally in the sandbox. It is the package manager for the open agent skills ecosystem.

IMPORTANT: Always use skills directly, NEVER use npx skills (npx will try to re-download and prompt for confirmation).

Key commands:

• skills find [query] - Search for skills by keyword (use this FIRST)
• HOME=<workspace_dir> skills add <package> -g -y --agent '*' - Install a skill to session workspace
• skills list -g - List installed skills
• skills check - Check for skill updates

Browse skills at: https://skills.sh/

How to Help Users Find Skills

Step 1: Check Locally Installed Skills FIRST

Before searching the online ecosystem, check if a matching skill is already installed locally. Locally installed skills are listed in your system prompt under "Available Skills" and live at /​skills/<name>/​SKILL.md.

• If the user mentions a skill by name (e.g., "hello-world") and it appears in your available skills list → use it directly. Read its SKILL.md for instructions. No need to search online.
• If the user wants to modify an existing local skill → skip find-skills entirely and go to skill-creator (phase 2 in the Skill Policy).
• Only proceed to Step 2 if no local skill matches.

Step 2: Understand What They Need

When no local skill matches, identify:

1. The domain (e.g., React, testing, design, deployment)
2. The specific task (e.g., writing tests, creating animations, reviewing PRs)
3. Whether this is a common enough task that a skill likely exists

Step 3: Search the Online Ecosystem

Run the find command with a relevant query:

skills find [query]

For example:

• User asks "how do I make my React app faster?" → skills find react performance
• User asks "can you help me with PR reviews?" → skills find pr review
• User asks "I need to create a changelog" → skills find changelog

The command will return results like:

Install with skills add <owner/​repo@skill>

vercel-labs/​agent-skills@vercel-react-best-practices
└ https://skills.sh/​vercel-labs/​agent-skills/​vercel-react-best-practices

Step 4: Present Options to the User

When you find relevant skills, present them to the user with:

1. The skill name and what it does
2. The install command they can run
3. A link to learn more at skills.sh

Example response:

I found a skill that might help! The "vercel-react-best-practices" skill provides
React and Next.js performance optimization guidelines from Vercel Engineering.

To install it:
skills add vercel-labs/​agent-skills@vercel-react-best-practices

Learn more: https://skills.sh/​vercel-labs/​agent-skills/​vercel-react-best-practices

Step 5: Install to Session Workspace

If the user wants to proceed, install the skill into the session workspace so it appears in the task file viewer. Use HOME=<workspace_dir> to redirect the global install path:

HOME=<workspace_dir> skills add <owner/​repo@skill> -g -y --agent '*'

Replace <workspace_dir> with your actual workspace directory (from the system prompt).

• HOME=<workspace_dir> — redirects -g install to <workspace_dir>/​.agents/​skills/
• -g installs globally (user-level, relative to HOME)
• -y skips confirmation prompts
• --agent '*' skips the interactive agent selection (REQUIRED in sandbox)

IMPORTANT: Never omit any of these flags. Without --agent '*' the command will hang waiting for interactive input.

Step 6: Test the Installed Skill

After installation, test the skill by reading its SKILL.md/​TEMPLATE.md and following its instructions.

• If it works → call propose_skill_save(skill_name="<skill-name>") to let the user save it permanently. Done!
• If it does NOT fit the user's needs → do NOT keep trying to fix or adapt it. Uninstall it and go back to Step 4 to try the next candidate from the search results.

Step 7: Bail-Out — When to Stop Searching

Stop searching and escalate to skill-creator (create from scratch) when ANY of these is true:

1. No results: skills find returned zero matches.
2. Exhausted candidates: You have tried 2–3 different skills and none fit.
3. Poor relevance: All search results are clearly unrelated to what the user needs.

When bailing out:

1. Briefly tell the user: "I couldn't find a suitable existing skill. I'll create one from scratch."
2. Read /​builtin-skills/​skill-creator/​SKILL.md and follow it to create the skill.
3. NEVER loop endlessly on an unsuitable skill. Move on.

Common Skill Categories

When searching, consider these common categories:

Tips for Effective Searches

1. Use specific keywords: "react testing" is better than just "testing"
2. Try alternative terms: If "deploy" doesn't work, try "deployment" or "ci-cd"
3. Check popular sources: Many skills come from vercel-labs/​agent-skills or ComposioHQ/​awesome-claude-skills

When No Skills Are Found

If no relevant skills exist after searching:

1. Acknowledge that no existing skill was found.
2. Immediately escalate to skill-creator: read /​builtin-skills/​skill-creator/​SKILL.md and follow it to create the skill from scratch.
3. Do NOT ask the user whether to proceed — just start creating. The user already expressed intent by asking for the skill.