Skill Finder

The smartest way to discover and install skills from skills.sh.

Trigger Phrases

• /skill-finder
• /skill-finder [description]
• "find a skill for..."
• "is there a skill for..."
• "what skill should I use for..."

Process Overview

User Request
     │
     ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ 0. Check Installed      │ ← Don't recommend what user already has
└─────────────────────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Detect Agent         │ ← Auto-detect Claude Code, Cursor, etc.
└─────────────────────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ 2. Parse Intent         │ ← Extract keywords, map to search terms
└─────────────────────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ 3. Targeted Search      │ ← Search with specific keywords + categories
└─────────────────────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ 4. Context Check        │ ← Only if needed for disambiguation
└─────────────────────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ 5. Rank & Compare       │ ← Quality signals + comparison mode
└─────────────────────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ 6. Recommend            │ ← Present with quality badges
└─────────────────────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ 7. Install              │ ← Global or project, auto-detect agent
└─────────────────────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ 8. Related Skills       │ ← Suggest complementary skills
└─────────────────────────┘

Step 0: Check Already Installed Skills

Before searching, check what's already installed:

# Check common skill locations
ls -la .claude/skills/ 2>/dev/null
ls -la .cursor/rules/ 2>/dev/null
ls -la .agents/skills/ 2>/dev/null
ls -la ~/.claude/skills/ 2>/dev/null  # Global

If the skill user needs is already installed:

You already have **{skill-name}** installed at `{path}`.

→ Want me to invoke it now, or find alternatives?

If outdated version is installed:

You have **{skill-name}** installed, but there may be updates.

→ Want me to check for updates, or use the current version?

Step 1: Detect Agent

Auto-detect which AI agent the user is using:

Store detected agent for installation step.

If multiple detected or none detected:

• Default to claude-code in Claude Code context
• Or ask user which agent they're using

Step 2: Parse Intent & Extract Keywords

From user request, extract:

• Primary topic (e.g., "payments", "authentication", "testing")
• Specific technologies mentioned (e.g., "Stripe", "Supabase", "Playwright")
• Action type (e.g., "add", "build", "improve", "debug")

Map to search keywords:

Step 3: Targeted Search

IMPORTANT: Use the CLI search command first to get proper skill references:

npx skills search {keyword} --limit 10

This returns skills in the correct format: author/repo@skill-name

Understanding the format:

• author/repo@skill-name - Full skill reference from search results
• author/repo - What you pass to npx skills add (installs all skills in that repo)

For WebFetch fallback (if CLI unavailable):

WebFetch: https://skills.sh/?search={primary_keyword}
Prompt: List matching skills with:
        - Full reference (author/repo@skill-name format)
        - Install count
        - Description
        Focus on skills matching: {specific_technologies_mentioned}

If user request is vague (just "/skill-finder"):

• Ask: "What are you trying to accomplish?"
• Wait for response before searching

Step 4: Context Check (Only If Needed)

Skip context gathering if:

• User specified exact technology (e.g., "Stripe", "Playwright")
• Search returned one clear winner
• User request is unambiguous

Gather context if:

• Multiple similar skills found (need stack to disambiguate)
• User request is generic (e.g., "database best practices")
• Need to verify compatibility

Quick context check:

Summarize as: Stack: {framework}, {language}, {key_dependencies}

Step 5: Rank with Quality Signals

Quality indicators to factor into ranking:

Official/Verified Authors (show ⭐ badge):

• stripe/ - Stripe official
• anthropics/ - Anthropic official
• vercel/ or vercel-labs/ - Vercel official
• supabase/ - Supabase official
• resend/ - Resend official
• remotion-dev/ - Remotion official
• better-auth/ - Better Auth official
• callstackincubator/ - Callstack (React Native experts)
• cloudai-x/ - Three.js skills
• trailofbits/ - Security experts

Step 5b: Comparison Mode

When multiple skills are similarly relevant, show comparison:

## Comparing {Category} Skills

| Feature | {skill-1} | {skill-2} | {skill-3} |
|---------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Installs | {count} | {count} | {count} |
| Official | ⭐ Yes | No | No |
| Your Stack | ✅ Match | ✅ Match | ❌ Different |
| Focus | {focus} | {focus} | {focus} |

**Recommendation:** {skill-name} ({reason})

→ Want details on any of these, or should I install the recommendation?

Trigger comparison mode when:

• Top 2-3 skills have similar relevance scores
• User asks "what's the difference between..."
• Skills serve same purpose but different approaches

Safety Checks

Before recommending any skill, verify:

1. Author Verification

✅ TRUSTED - Official/Verified authors (install without warning):
   stripe/, anthropics/, vercel/, vercel-labs/, supabase/, resend/,
   remotion-dev/, better-auth/, callstackincubator/, trailofbits/

⚠️ COMMUNITY - Other authors (show warning before install):
   "This skill is from a community author. Review before installing."

2. Typosquatting Check

Before recommending, verify skill name doesn't look like a typo of a popular skill:

• stripe-best-pracitces → suspicious (typo of stripe-best-practices)
• react-best-prctices → suspicious
• supabase-postgers → suspicious

If suspicious: Don't recommend, or warn user explicitly.

3. Install Confirmation

Always show before installing:

**About to install:** {skill-name}
**Author:** {author}
**Source:** https://github.com/{author}/{repo}

⚠️ Installing skills runs code on your machine.
   Review the source if you don't trust the author.

→ Proceed with installation? (y/n)

4. Link to Source

Always provide GitHub link so user can review:

📂 **View source:** https://github.com/{author}/{repo}/blob/main/skills/{skill}/SKILL.md

Step 6: Present Recommendations

Format with quality badges:

## Recommended Skills

Based on your {stack} project and goal to {userIntent}:

1. **{skill-name}** by {author} ({installs} installs) ⭐ Official
   {Why this matches - be specific about the fit}

2. **{skill-name}** ({installs} installs)
   {Why this is relevant, any trade-offs vs #1}

3. **{skill-name}** ({installs} installs)
   {When you'd choose this instead}

→ Want me to install any of these?

Quality badges:

• ⭐ = Official/Verified author
• 🔥 = Trending (high installs)
• ✅ = Perfect stack match

Step 7: Installation

CRITICAL: The CLI uses author/repo format, NOT author/skill-name!

From search results like jezweb/claude-skills@tanstack-query:

• jezweb/claude-skills = the repo (use this for install)
• tanstack-query = specific skill name in that repo

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Installing a repo installs ALL skills in it!

Some repos contain many skills:

• jezweb/claude-skills has 90+ skills (probably too many)
• vercel-labs/next-skills has 3 skills (focused)

Prefer focused repos with fewer skills relevant to user's need.

If a large repo is the only option:

1. Warn the user: "This repo contains {N} skills. Install anyway?"
2. Suggest browsing: https://skills.sh/{author}/{repo} to see all skills
3. After install, suggest removing unneeded skills

Ask about installation scope:

Install **{skill-name}** from `{author}/{repo}` to:
1. **This project** (./agents/skills/) - Recommended
2. **Globally** (all your projects)

→ Which do you prefer? (default: this project)

⚠️ Note: This will install {N} skills from this repo.

Installation commands:

# Project-level (default) - uses author/repo, NOT skill name
npx skills add {author}/{repo} -a {detected_agent} -y

# Global installation
npx skills add {author}/{repo} -a {detected_agent} -y -g

After successful installation:

✓ Installed skills from **{author}/{repo}** to {install_path}

Agent: {detected_agent}
Scope: {project|global}
Skills installed: {list of skill names}

Step 8: Suggest Related Skills

After installing, suggest complementary skills:

Format:

**You might also need:**
- **{related-skill-1}** - {why relevant to what they just installed}
- **{related-skill-2}** - {why relevant}

→ Want me to install any of these too?

Step 9: Check for Updates (Optional)

When user has skills installed, offer update check:

npx skills check

If updates available:

📦 **Updates Available**

| Skill | Current | Latest | Changes |
|-------|---------|--------|---------|
| stripe-integration | 1.0.0 | 1.2.0 | New webhook patterns |
| react-best-practices | 2.1.0 | 2.3.0 | React 19 support |

→ Want me to update these?

Update command:

npx skills update

Error Handling

No Matches Found

I couldn't find skills that directly match "{user_request}".

**Suggestions:**
- Try different keywords (e.g., "auth" instead of "login system")
- Be more specific (e.g., "Supabase auth" instead of "auth")
- Browse skills.sh directly: https://skills.sh/

**Popular categories you might explore:**
- Authentication: `better-auth`, `clerk-auth`, `supabase-auth`
- Testing: `playwright-skill`, `webapp-testing`
- Payments: `stripe-best-practices`

What would you like to try?

skills.sh Unreachable

I'm having trouble reaching skills.sh right now.

**Options:**
1. Try again in a moment
2. Browse directly: https://skills.sh/
3. Tell me what you need and I'll help without a skill

What would you like to do?

Installation Failed

Installation failed: {error_message}

**Try manually:**
```bash
npx skills add {author}/{skill-name}

Or browse the skill: https://skills.sh/{author}/{skill-name}

Common fixes:

• Run npm cache clean --force and retry
• Check your internet connection
• Try installing globally with -g flag

### Skill Already Installed

```markdown
**{skill-name}** is already installed at `{path}`.

**Options:**
1. Invoke it now for your current task
2. Check for updates
3. Find alternative skills
4. Reinstall (overwrite)

What would you like to do?

Examples

Fast Path (Clear Intent)

User: /skill-finder Stripe payments

Agent: Let me search for Stripe skills...
       [Runs: npx skills search stripe --limit 10]

       ## Recommended Skills

       Based on your goal to add Stripe payments:

       1. **stripe-best-practices** from `stripe/ai-skills` (354 installs) ⭐ Official
          Official Stripe patterns - checkout, webhooks, subscriptions
          Repo contains 2 skills (focused)

       2. **stripe-integration** from `wshobson/agents` (349 installs)
          End-to-end integration patterns
          ⚠️ Repo contains 15 skills

       → Want me to install any of these?

User: Install #1

Agent: Install from `stripe/ai-skills` to:
       1. This project (./agents/skills/) - Recommended
       2. Globally (all your projects)

       This repo contains 2 skills - both Stripe-related.

User: 1

Agent: [Runs: npx skills add stripe/ai-skills -a claude-code -y]

       ✓ Installed 2 skills from **stripe/ai-skills** to .agents/skills/

       Skills installed:
       - stripe-best-practices
       - stripe-webhooks

       → Want me to apply these to your current task?

With Comparison Mode

User: /skill-finder authentication

Agent: I found several auth skills. Here's a comparison:

       ## Comparing Authentication Skills

       | Feature | better-auth | clerk-auth | supabase-auth |
       |---------|-------------|------------|---------------|
       | Installs | 3,373 | 129 | 142 |
       | Official | ⭐ Yes | No | No |
       | Self-hosted | ✅ | ❌ Cloud | ✅ |
       | Social login | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
       | Your Stack | ✅ Next.js | ✅ Next.js | ⭐ You use Supabase |

       **Recommendation:** supabase-auth (best fit - you already use Supabase)

       → Want me to install supabase-auth, or details on another?

Already Installed

User: /skill-finder React testing

Agent: You already have **webapp-testing** installed at `.claude/skills/webapp-testing/`.

       **Options:**
       1. Invoke it now for your React testing needs
       2. Find additional/alternative testing skills
       3. Check for updates

       What would you like to do?

User: 2

Agent: ## Additional Testing Skills

       Since you have webapp-testing, here are complementary skills:

       1. **react-testing** (412 installs)
          React-specific testing patterns (RTL, hooks testing)

       2. **test-driven-development** (1,289 installs) ⭐ Popular
          TDD methodology and workflow

       → Want me to install any of these?

Update Check

User: /skill-finder --check-updates

Agent: 📦 **Checking your installed skills...**

       | Skill | Status |
       |-------|--------|
       | stripe-best-practices | ✅ Up to date |
       | webapp-testing | 🔄 Update available (1.2.0 → 1.3.0) |
       | react-best-practices | ✅ Up to date |

       → Want me to update webapp-testing?

Performance Tips

1. Be specific — "Stripe checkout" finds better matches than "payments"
2. Mention your stack — "React Native auth" narrows results
3. One topic at a time — Split "auth and payments" into two searches
4. Check installed first — Avoid duplicates with /skill-finder --installed
5. Use official skills — Look for the ⭐ badge for verified quality