skills-manager-cli

# Skills Manager CLI (`skm`)

**New here?** This skill drives `skm`, the command-line tool that ships with
[**Skills Manager**](https://skillsmanager.freeourdays.com) — a desktop app
(macOS / Windows / Linux) that installs one copy of a skill into a central hub
and symlinks it into every AI coding tool you use (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor,
Gemini, and ~30 more), so you write a skill once and it shows up everywhere.

If you found this skill on ClawHub but don't have Skills Manager yet, that is
the missing piece: `skm` is not a standalone binary you `npm install`. Get it
by installing the app from the [official website](https://skillsmanager.freeourdays.com/?ref=clawhub#download)
(then Settings → Command Line Tool, or run `skm init`), or grab a
`skm-<target>.tar.gz` / `.zip` from the
[GitHub Releases page](https://github.com/jiweiyeah/skills-manager/releases).
Source and docs: <https://github.com/jiweiyeah/skills-manager>.

`skm` is the terminal front-end of Skills Manager. It reads and writes the
same `~/.skills-manager/config.json` and the same hub/tool symlinks as the
desktop app, so GUI and CLI are interchangeable.

It does **not** create, edit, search, translate, tag, or marketplace-install
skills. Those stay in the GUI (or you write files into the hub yourself, then
`skm enable`).

## Preconditions

1. Resolve the binary. Prefer `skm` on `PATH`. If missing, say so and point
   at install: the [Skills Manager app](https://skillsmanager.freeourdays.com/?ref=clawhub#download)
   (Settings → Command Line Tool), or a release archive
   `skm-<target>.tar.gz` / `.zip` from
   [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/jiweiyeah/skills-manager/releases).
   Do not fall back to `npx skills` — that is a different, unrelated CLI.
2. Confirm with `skm --version`. A stale binary from an older app release
   should be updated from Settings or a matching release.
3. Every command except `init` requires an initialized config. If stderr
   says so, run `skm init --json` once — it is idempotent and will not
   clobber an existing config. `skm init` and Settings → Install CLI also
   copy this companion skill into the hub and enable it for every currently
   active tool, so you usually do not need to install it by hand.

Hub path is fixed at `~/.skills-manager/skills` (`%USERPROFILE%\.skills-manager\skills`
on Windows). `save()` always rewrites `skills_dir` to that default; there is
no supported way to pick another hub from the CLI.

## Agent conventions

These exist because `skm` is designed to be called by agents, not just humans.

- Prefer `--json` on `init`, `list`, `doctor`, `fix`, and `adopt` (apply).
  Data is one JSON document on stdout. Errors go to stderr as
  `{"error":"..."}` when the command was in JSON mode, otherwise
  `error: ...`. A command can print a result on stdout and still exit 1
  (`fix` with failed repairs) — parse stdout, then trust the exit code.
- `enable` / `disable` have no `--json`. Success is a one-line
  `enabled '<id>' for '<tool>'` (or `disabled`). Failure is `error: ...`
  on stderr, exit 1.
- Never wait on a TTY prompt. `adopt` without `--yes` and without `--json`
  blocks on `[y/N]`. Pass `--yes` when applying. `--json` also skips the
  prompt (and therefore applies) — still pass `--yes` so the intent is
  obvious in the command line.
- `skm adopt --json --dry-run` is not a machine-readable preview: if
  candidates exist it prints nothing. Preview with `skm adopt --dry-run`
  (human text), then apply with `skm adopt --yes --json`.
- `doctor --json` exits 0 even when there are issues. Gate on
  `.issues_count`, not the exit code.
- `fix` without `--yes` does not repair. JSON then looks like
  `{"applied": false, "issues_found": N, ...}`. Apply with `skm fix --yes --json`.
- Write commands (`init`, `adopt`, `enable`, `disable`, `fix --yes`) take
  an advisory lock on `config.json` and fail fast if another `skm` is
  mid-write. Retry once. The desktop app does not take this lock.
- Do not enable a skill for every detected tool unless the user asked.
  Pick the tool they named, or the host agent (see [Which tool](#which-tool)).

JSON shapes, exit codes, and the dry-run/apply matrix live in
`references/json.md`. Read that before parsing output or writing a script.

## Command map

| Intent | Command |
| --- | --- |
| First-run / is it initialized? | `skm init --json` |
| What skills exist, and where are they linked? | `skm list --json` |
| Same, one tool only | `skm list --tool <id> --json` |
| Turn a hub skill on for a tool | `skm enable <skill> --for <tool>` |
| Turn it off (remove the link, keep the hub copy) | `skm disable <skill> --for <tool>` |
| Which tools are installed, any broken links? | `skm doctor --json` |
| Repair what doctor reported | `skm fix --yes --json` |
| Preview leftover real dirs in tool skill folders | `skm adopt --dry-run` |
| Move those dirs into the hub and relink | `skm adopt --yes --json` |

`<skill>` and `<tool>` accept an exact id, an exact `instance_id`, or a
**unique** prefix (`claude` → `claude-code`). Ambiguous prefixes error and
list the matches — do not guess, rerun with a longer token. Exact tool id
wins before prefix (`trae` is Trae, not Trae CN). Full ids and collision
notes: `references/tools.md`.

## Workflows

### First-run on a machine with no GUI

```bash
command -v skm
skm init --json
skm adopt --dry-run
skm adopt --yes --json
skm list --json
skm doctor --json
```

`init` on an already-initialized config returns
`{"already_initialized": true, ...}` and does nothing else. If
`config.json` exists but cannot be parsed, `init` refuses to overwrite it
— move or fix the file, then retry.

### Make an existing hub skill available to a tool

```bash
skm list --json                          # find id / instance_id
skm enable <skill> --for <tool>
skm list --tool <tool> --json            # confirm enabled_for
```

Enabled state is derived from the link on disk, not stored as a separate
flag. `enable` creates the symlink (Windows: symlink →