Documentation

SkillsGate CLI & MCP

Everything you need to search, install, publish, and manage AI agent skills from the command line or through your AI coding assistant.

Getting started

Install the SkillsGate CLI globally to manage skills and auto-configure MCP for your AI tools.

bash

# Install globally
npm install -g skillsgate

# Auto-configure MCP for your AI tools
skillsgate setup

# Or use without installing
npx skillsgate search "seo audit"

After installing, run skillsgate setup to automatically detect and configure MCP for Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and other supported AI tools.

CLI commands

The CLI provides 13 commands for managing skills. All commands accept global flags listed in the options section.

Command	Description
skillsgate add <source>	Install skills from SkillsGate (@user/slug), GitHub (owner/repo), or local path
skillsgate remove [name]	Uninstall skills
skillsgate list	Show installed skills
skillsgate update [name]	Check and apply updates
skillsgate sync	Sync skills from node_modules
skillsgate search <query>	Search for skills (requires auth)
skillsgate publish [path]	Publish a skill to SkillsGate
skillsgate scan <source>	Security-scan skills before installing
skillsgate login	Authenticate with SkillsGate
skillsgate logout	Sign out
skillsgate whoami	Show current user
skillsgate setup	Configure MCP for AI tools
skillsgate mcp	Run as MCP server (stdio transport)

CLI options

Global flags available across commands.

Flag	Description
-g, --global	Use global scope (~/.agents/skills/)
-y, --yes	Skip confirmation prompts
-a, --agent <id>	Target specific agent(s)
--all	Select all skills/agents
--copy	Use copy mode instead of symlink
-s, --scanner	Force a specific coding agent (scan only)
--timeout <sec>	Agent timeout, default 120 (scan only)
--no-share	Don't share results with community (scan only)

MCP server setup

The fastest way to configure MCP is to run skillsgate setup, which auto-detects your installed AI tools and configures them. You can also set it up manually for each tool.

Claude Code

Add to ~/.claude.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skillsgate": {
      "command": "skillsgate",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skillsgate": {
      "command": "skillsgate",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.windsurf/mcp.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skillsgate": {
      "command": "skillsgate",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Auto-detect all tools

Run skillsgate setup to automatically detect and configure all installed AI tools at once.

MCP tools reference

When running as an MCP server (skillsgate mcp), 12 tools are available to AI agents.

Tool	Description
skillsgate_search	Search the SkillsGate registry
skillsgate_add	Install skills from any source
skillsgate_remove	Remove installed skills
skillsgate_list	List installed skills
skillsgate_update	Update skills to latest versions
skillsgate_sync	Sync from node_modules
skillsgate_publish	Publish a skill
skillsgate_publish_init	Generate SKILL.md template
skillsgate_scan	Security scan skills
skillsgate_auth_status	Check authentication
skillsgate_whoami	Current user info
skillsgate_logout	Sign out

Publishing a skill

Publish your own skills to SkillsGate so others can discover and install them.

Initialize SKILL.md

Generate a SKILL.md template in your skill directory with the correct frontmatter structure.

$ skillsgate publish --init

Write your instructions

Edit the generated SKILL.md with your skill's instructions. Include clear, actionable guidance that an AI agent can follow.

Validate

Run a dry-run to catch any issues before publishing. This checks name format, file sizes, and frontmatter.

$ skillsgate publish --dry-run

Publish

Publish the skill to SkillsGate. You'll be prompted to choose visibility (public or private).

$ skillsgate publish

Validation rules

Field	Requirement
Name	1-64 chars, lowercase a-z, 0-9, hyphens. No start/end hyphen. Must match directory name.
Description	1-1024 characters
SKILL.md	Must exist with YAML frontmatter containing name and description
Total size	5 MB maximum
Per file	1 MB maximum
SKILL.md size	500 KB maximum

Security scanning

Scan any skill before installing to detect prompt injection, data exfiltration, malicious commands, and more. Scans use your own AI coding agent for full transparency.

bash

# Scan a SkillsGate skill
skillsgate scan @username/skill-name

# Scan a GitHub repo
skillsgate scan owner/repo

# Scan a specific skill in a repo
skillsgate scan owner/repo@skill-name

# Scan a local path
skillsgate scan ./local/skill

How scanning works

The scan command invokes an AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex CLI, or others) in read-only mode to analyze the skill for security threats. After scanning, you can optionally share your results with the community.

Terminal

$ skillsgate scan @vercel/v0

Select a coding agent to run the scan:

Claude Code (recommended - read-only mode)

Scanning with Claude Code...

Risk: CLEAN

No security issues found.

Share your scan results with the SkillsGate community?

Yes, share

Scan submitted to SkillsGate community.

Threat categories

Scans check for 8 categories of threats:

Prompt injection

Data exfiltration

Credential harvesting

Malicious commands

Hidden instructions

Obfuscated code

Unauthorized network access

File system manipulation

Supported agents

SkillsGate works with any AI coding tool that supports the SKILL.md format or the Model Context Protocol. Currently 17+ agents are supported.

Claude Code

Cursor

Windsurf

GitHub Copilot

Codex CLI

Cline

Continue

Amp

Goose

Junie

Kilo Code

OpenCode

OpenClaw

Pear AI

Roo Code

Trae

Zed