Install Skills
A meta-skill for discovering, browsing, and installing Agent Skills from online repositories. This skill helps you find and install community-created skills to enhance your capabilities.
When to Use This Skill
- User asks to "install a skill", "add a skill", or "get a skill"
- User mentions needing capabilities that might exist as community skills
- User wants to browse available skills from known repositories
- User wants to install a skill from a specific GitHub repository
- User asks "what skills are available?"
Supported Skill Sources
Primary Repositories
| Repository | Description |
|---|---|
anthropics/skills | Official Anthropic skills collection |
github/awesome-copilot | GitHub's community-curated skills in skills/ directory |
microsoft/agent-skills | Skills for Microsoft AI SDKs and Azure services in .github/skills/ directory |
Custom Repositories
Any GitHub repository with skills in one of these structures:
skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md.github/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md
Installation Locations
Skills can be installed to:
| Location | Scope | Path |
|---|---|---|
| Project | Current repo only | .github/skills/<skill-name>/ |
| Personal | All projects | ~/.copilot/skills/<skill-name>/ |
Default: Project skills (.github/skills/) - only install to personal profile if user explicitly requests it
Workflow: Browse Available Skills
Step 1: List Skills from Known Repositories
Use the scripts/list-skills.sh script:
# List skills from default repository (anthropics/skills)
./scripts/list-skills.sh
# List skills from a specific repository
./scripts/list-skills.sh anthropics/skills
./scripts/list-skills.sh github/awesome-copilotStep 2: Display Skills to User
Present skills in a table format:
| Skill Name | Repository | Description |
|---|---|---|
| skill-name | source/repo | Brief description from SKILL.md |
Step 3: Get Skill Details
Fetch and display the SKILL.md content for any skill the user is interested in.
Workflow: Install a Skill
IMPORTANT: Always use the scripts in scripts/ folder to install skills. Do NOT manually fetch and write skill files.
Step 1: Identify the Skill Source
Parse the user's request to determine:
- Skill name
- Source repository (default to searching known repos)
- Installation scope (project by default, personal only if user explicitly requests)
Step 2: Run the Install Script
Use the scripts/install-skill.sh script to install the skill:
# For project installation (DEFAULT)
./scripts/install-skill.sh <skill-name> <source-repo> .github/skills
# For personal installation (only if user explicitly requests)
./scripts/install-skill.sh <skill-name> <source-repo> ~/.copilot/skillsThe script handles:
- Creating the destination directory
- Fetching the skill via sparse checkout
- Trying multiple skill locations (skills/,.github/skills/,.claude/skills/)
- Copying all skill files (SKILL.md, scripts/, references/, assets/, templates/, etc.)
- Displaying the skill description
Step 3: Confirm Installation
The script will output:
- Skill name installed
- Installation location
- Brief description of what the skill does
Workflow: Search for Skills
When the user describes a capability they need:
- Search known repositories for skills with matching keywords
- Read SKILL.md descriptions to find relevant matches
- Present options to the user
- Install the selected skill
Workflow: Install from Custom Repository
When given a GitHub URL or owner/repo reference:
- Parse the repository reference
- Check for skills in standard locations:
- skills/ - .github/skills/ - .claude/skills/
- List available skills
- Install selected skill(s)
Example Commands
| User Says | Action |
|---|---|
| "Install the webapp-testing skill" | Run ./scripts/install-skill.sh webapp-testing <repo>.github/skills |
| "What skills are available?" | Run ./scripts/list-skills.sh for known repos |
| "Install pdf skill from anthropics/skills" | Run ./scripts/install-skill.sh pdf anthropics/skills.github/skills |
| "I need help with image manipulation" | Search for relevant skills with list script, suggest matches |
| "Add the github-issues skill to this project" | Run ./scripts/install-skill.sh github-issues <repo>.github/skills |
| "Install skill to my personal profile" | Run ./scripts/install-skill.sh <skill> <repo> ~/.copilot/skills |
| "Install all skills from anthropics/skills" | Batch install using the install script for each |
Installation Scripts
This skill includes helper scripts in scripts/ that MUST be used for all installation operations:
scripts/install-skill.sh
# Usage: ./scripts/install-skill.sh <skill-name> [source-repo] [install-path]
# Install to project (default)
./scripts/install-skill.sh webapp-testing anthropics/skills .github/skills
# Install to personal profile (only when user explicitly requests)
./scripts/install-skill.sh webapp-testing anthropics/skills ~/.copilot/skillsscripts/list-skills.sh
# Usage: ./scripts/list-skills.sh [source-repo]
./scripts/list-skills.sh # Lists from anthropics/skills
./scripts/list-skills.sh github/awesome-copilot # Lists from specific repoTroubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Skill not found | Check spelling, try searching with keywords |
| Permission denied | Ensure write access to installation path |
| Skill conflicts | Check for existing skill with same name |
| Missing dependencies | Read skill's prerequisites section |
Post-Installation
After installing a skill:
- Restart the CLI to load the new skill (exit and reopen your terminal session)
- Once restarted, Copilot will automatically load it when relevant based on the description
Uninstalling Skills
To remove an installed skill:
# Personal skill
rm -rf ~/.copilot/skills/<skill-name>
# Project skill
rm -rf .github/skills/<skill-name>