Getting Started

skillshare init --no-copy --all-targets --git --skill  # Fresh global setup
skillshare init -p --targets "claude,cursor"            # Fresh project setup
skillshare init --copy-from claude --all-targets --git  # Import from existing CLI
skillshare init --discover --select "windsurf"          # Add new AI tool later

Installing Skills

skillshare install user/repo -s pdf,commit       # Select specific skills
skillshare install user/repo --all               # Install everything
skillshare install user/repo --into frontend     # Place in subdirectory
skillshare install gitlab.com/team/repo          # Any Git host
skillshare install user/repo --track             # Enable `update` later
skillshare install user/repo -b develop --all    # Install from branch
skillshare install user/repo --track -b develop  # Track specific branch
skillshare install user/repo -s pdf -p           # Install to project
skillshare install                               # Rehydrate remote skills/tracked repos
skillshare sync                                  # Always sync after install

Extras (Rules, Commands, Prompts)

skillshare extras init rules --target ~/.claude/rules --target ~/.cursor/rules
skillshare extras init commands --target ~/.claude/commands --mode copy
skillshare extras init rules --target ~/.claude/rules --source ~/shared/rules  # custom source (global only)
skillshare extras init rules --target ~/.cursor/rules --force                  # overwrite existing
skillshare extras init                               # Interactive TUI wizard (incl. source step)
skillshare extras source                             # Show current extras_source
skillshare extras source ~/shared/extras             # Set global extras_source
skillshare extras list                               # Show status per target
skillshare extras list --json                        # JSON with source_type field
skillshare extras collect rules                      # Pull local files into source
skillshare extras remove rules                       # Remove from config (source preserved)
skillshare extras init agents --target ~/.claude/agents --flatten  # Flatten subdirs into root
skillshare extras rules --mode copy                  # Change sync mode of a target
skillshare extras agents --flatten                   # Enable flatten on existing target
skillshare extras rules --add-target ~/.cursor/rules            # Add a target to an existing extra
skillshare extras rules --remove-target ~/.cursor/rules --prune # Remove a target (--prune deletes synced files)
skillshare sync extras                               # Sync all extras to targets
skillshare sync extras --dry-run --force             # Preview / overwrite conflicts
skillshare sync --all                                # Sync skills + extras together

Project extras always read from <sources.extras>/<name> (default .skillshare/extras/<name>); per-extra source and extras source are global-only. For project agents, prefer target agents: unless you need extras-only flatten/extension.

A target can set an extension: field in config.yaml to transform each source file during sync (e.g. markdown → TOML for Gemini/Codex); implies copy mode. See extras.md for details.

Extensions (Content Transformation)

# Extension is a directory at .skillshare/extensions/<name>/
# extension.yaml controls: run command, output_ext, description
# Official extensions: https://github.com/runkids/skillshare/tree/main/extensions

extension.yaml format:

run: ["node", "convert.js"]   # or ["python3", "convert.py"] etc.
output_ext: toml              # renames output file extension
description: "MD → Codex TOML"

Add extension to an extras target in config.yaml:

extras:
  - name: agents
    targets:
      - path: .claude/agents          # plain copy/merge
      - path: .codex/agents
        extension: codex-agents       # transform + rename to .toml

Caveats:

extension: is only supported on extras targets — native agents targets ignore it
Implies copy mode; merge/symlink won't apply
Claude Code sets NODE_OPTIONS that break node extensions — use env -u NODE_OPTIONS node convert.js in run
Files missing required frontmatter fields fail validation and are skipped

Creating & Discovering Skills

skillshare new my-skill                          # Create with interactive pattern selection
skillshare new my-skill -P reviewer              # Use reviewer pattern directly
skillshare search "react testing"                # Search GitHub for skills
skillshare collect                               # Pull target-local changes back to source

Removing Skills

skillshare uninstall my-skill                    # Remove one (moves to trash)
skillshare uninstall skill-a skill-b             # Remove multiple
skillshare uninstall -G frontend                 # Remove entire group
skillshare sync                                  # Always sync after uninstall

Enable / Disable Skills

skillshare disable draft-*                       # Hide from sync (adds to .skillignore)
skillshare enable draft-*                        # Restore (removes from .skillignore)
skillshare disable my-skill -p                   # Project mode
skillshare disable my-skill --dry-run            # Preview
# TUI: press E in `skillshare list` to toggle
skillshare sync                                  # Always sync after toggle

Team / Organization

# Creator: init project (see Getting Started) → add skills → commit .skillshare/
skillshare install -p && skillshare sync                  # Member: clone → install → sync
skillshare install github.com/team/repo --track -p        # Track shared repo
skillshare commit -m "Update skill"                       # Local checkpoint, no push
skillshare push                                           # Cross-machine: push on A
skillshare pull                                           # Cross-machine: pull on B

Skill Hubs

skillshare hub add https://example.com/hub.json          # Save a hub source
skillshare hub add https://example.com/hub.json --label my-hub  # With custom label
skillshare hub add git@ghe.corp.com:team/skills.git --label ghe  # SSH/private/GHE hub source
skillshare hub list                                      # List saved hubs
skillshare hub default my-hub                            # Set default hub
skillshare hub remove my-hub                             # Remove a hub
skillshare hub index --source ~/.config/skillshare/skills/ --full --audit  # Build hub index

Controlling Where Skills Go

# SKILL.md frontmatter: metadata.targets: [claude] → only syncs to Claude
skillshare target claude --add-include "team-*"   # glob filter
skillshare target claude --add-agent-include "team-*"  # agent glob filter
skillshare target claude --add-exclude "_legacy*"  # exclude pattern
skillshare target claude --agent-mode copy         # agents copy mode
skillshare target codex --mode copy && skillshare sync --force  # copy mode
# .skillignore — hide skills/dirs from discovery (gitignore syntax)
#   Root-level: <source>/.skillignore (affects all commands)
#   Repo-level: <source>/_repo/.skillignore (scoped to that repo)
#   .skillignore.local — local override (not committed), negation overrides base

See targets.md for details.

Updates & Maintenance

skillshare check                              # See what has updates
skillshare update my-skill && skillshare sync  # Update one
skillshare update --all && skillshare sync     # Update all
skillshare update --all --diff                 # Show what changed

Scripting & CI/CD

skillshare status --json                       # Full status as JSON
skillshare check --json                        # Update status as JSON
skillshare sync --json                         # Sync results as JSON
skillshare diff --json                         # Diff results as JSON
skillshare install user/repo --json            # Install result as JSON (implies --force --all)
skillshare update --all --json                 # Update results as JSON
skillshare uninstall my-skill --json           # Uninstall result as JSON (implies --force)
skillshare collect claude --json               # Collect result as JSON (implies --force)
skillshare target list --json                  # Target list as JSON
skillshare list --json                         # Skill list as JSON
skillshare search react --json                 # Search results as JSON
skillshare audit --format json                 # Audit results as JSON
skillshare doctor --json                       # Health check as JSON (exit 1 on errors)

Recovery & Troubleshooting

skillshare trash restore <name> && skillshare sync  # Undo delete
skillshare sync                                     # Skill missing? Re-sync
skillshare doctor && skillshare status              # Diagnose issues
skillshare install user/repo --force                 # Override audit block
skillshare install user/repo --skip-audit            # Bypass scan entirely

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for more.

Quick Lookup

Commands	Project?	`--json`?
`status`, `diff`, `list`, `doctor`	✓ (auto)	✓
`sync`, `collect`	✓ (auto)	✓
`install`, `uninstall`, `update`, `check`, `search`, `new`	✓ (`-p`)	✓ (except new)
`target`, `audit`, `analyze`, `trash`, `log`, `hub`	✓ (`-p`)	✓ (target list, audit, analyze, log)
`extras init/list/remove/collect/source` (+ `--mode`/`--add-target`/`--remove-target` flags on `extras <name>`)	✓ (`-p`, except source)	✓ (list, mode, targets)
`enable`, `disable`	✓ (auto)	✗
`commit`, `push`, `pull`, `backup`, `restore`	✗	✗
`tui`, `upgrade`	✗	✗
`ui`	✓ (`-p`)	✗

AI Caller Rules

Non-interactive — AI cannot answer prompts. Use --force, --all, -s, --targets, --no-copy, --all-targets, --yes.
Sync after mutations — install, uninstall, update, collect, target all need sync.
Audit — install auto-scans; CRITICAL blocks. --force to override, --skip-audit to bypass. Detects hardcoded secrets (API keys, tokens, private keys).
Uninstall safely — moves to trash (7 days). trash restore <name> to undo. NEVER rm -rf symlinks.
Output — --json for structured data (12 commands support it, see Quick Lookup). --no-tui for plain text on TUI commands (list, log, audit, analyze, diff, trash list, backup list, target list). tui off disables TUI globally. --dry-run to preview.
Node extensions in Claude Code — NODE_OPTIONS is preloaded by the Claude Code harness and causes node to crash when running extensions. Always use run: ["env", "-u", "NODE_OPTIONS", "node", "convert.js"] in extension.yaml when writing extensions that use Node.js.

References

Topic	File
Init flags	init.md
Sync/collect/commit/push/pull	sync.md
Install/update/uninstall/new	install.md
Status/diff/list/search/check	status.md
Security audit	audit.md
Trash	trash.md
Operation log	log.md
Targets	targets.md
Extras (rules/commands/prompts)	extras.md
Backup/restore	backup.md
Troubleshooting	TROUBLESHOOTING.md

skillshare

Skillshare CLI

Recipes