skillmds

Tools for working with Agent Skills (SKILL.md) from the SkillMD registry. One package, two binaries:
skillmd — a CLI to lint, scan, search, install, and publish skills.
skillmds — an MCP server exposing the registry to MCP clients (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, …).
Both validate SKILL.md with the same engine (@skillmds/core), so the CLI and the registry apply identical rules. Source lives at github.com/skillmds/skillmd.
Install
npm i -g skillmds
This installs both the skillmd and skillmds commands. To run the CLI without installing:
npx skillmds lint .
npx skillmds <command> runs the CLI; npx skillmds with no command starts the MCP server.
CLI: skillmd
skillmd lint [path] (check) | Validate SKILL.md files; print diagnostics and a quality score. |
skillmd scan [path] | Report scripts, network calls, and secret access. |
skillmd rules [id] | List lint rules, or show one. |
skillmd init [name] | Create a SKILL.md from a template. |
skillmd search <query> | Search the registry. |
skillmd add <source> | Install a skill (registry slug, GitHub repo, or local path). Lints before writing. |
skillmd list (ls) | List installed skills. |
skillmd remove <names...> (rm) | Remove installed skills. |
skillmd update [names...] | Update installed skills from the registry. |
skillmd publish [path] (submit) | Publish to the registry. Exits non-zero on lint errors. |
skillmd login / logout | Store or remove a token. |
All commands accept --json.
lint
skillmd lint ./my-skill
skillmd lint . --format sarif > skillmd.sarif
skillmd lint . --strict
skillmd lint . --fix
Formats: text (default), json, sarif (GitHub Code Scanning), github (Actions annotations).
Exit codes: 0 clean, 1 errors (or warnings with --strict / --fail-on-warning), 2 usage error.
add
skillmd add anthropic/pdf
skillmd add owner/repo
skillmd add ./path
skillmd add anthropic/pdf -a claude-code -g
skillmd add some/skill --deny executes_scripts
skillmd add some/skill --skip-lint
publish
skillmd login
skillmd publish ./my-skill
skillmd publish ./my-skill --dry-run
skillmd publish ./my-skill --force
MCP server: skillmds
Claude Code:
claude mcp add skillmd -- npx -y skillmds
Other MCP clients:
{
"mcpServers": {
"skillmd": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "skillmds"] }
}
}
Tools: skillmd_search, skillmd_get, skillmd_install, skillmd_trending, skillmd_recommend, skillmd_list_saved, skillmd_lint. skillmd_install writes a skill's SKILL.md and never executes scripts.
Remote server (no install)
SkillMD also hosts a remote MCP server over streamable HTTP — point any client that supports remote servers at:
https://api.skillmd.com/mcp
No auth required. It exposes skillmd_search, skillmd_get, skillmd_download, skillmd_trending, and skillmd_recommend (skillmd_download returns file contents for the client to write, instead of writing to disk).
Find skills on skillmd.com
The registry behind these tools is skillmd.com: 25,000+ Agent Skills, each linted, security-scanned and content-pinned.
Configuration
Resolution order, highest first:
| Token | --token → SKILLMD_TOKEN → ~/.skillmd/config.json |
| API base | --api → SKILLMD_API → default registry |
SKILLMD_TOKEN enables skillmd_list_saved, personalized recommendations, and publishing.
License
MIT