What Is OpenSkills?
What You'll Learn
- Understand OpenSkills's core value and working principles
- Know the relationship between OpenSkills and Claude Code
- Determine when to use OpenSkills instead of built-in skill systems
- Learn how to enable multiple AI coding agents to share a skill ecosystem
Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes you have basic knowledge of AI coding tools (like Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), but requires no prior OpenSkills experience.
Your Current Challenges
You may encounter these scenarios:
- Skills that work smoothly in Claude Code disappear when you switch AI tools: For example, the PDF processing skill available in Claude Code is unavailable in Cursor
- Installing skills repeatedly across different tools: Each AI tool requires separate skill configuration, resulting in high management overhead
- Want to use private skills, but the official Marketplace doesn't support it: Company-internal or self-developed skills cannot be easily shared with your team
These problems fundamentally stem from: Inconsistent skill formats, making cross-tool sharing impossible.
Core Idea: Unified Skill Format
OpenSkills's core idea is simple: Transform Claude Code's skill system into a universal skill loader.
What It Is
OpenSkills is a universal loader for Anthropic's skill system, enabling any AI coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Aider, etc.) to use skills in the standard SKILL.md format.
Simply put: One installer serving all AI coding tools.
What Problems It Solves
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Inconsistent skill formats | Use Claude Code's standard SKILL.md format |
| Skills cannot be shared across tools | Generate unified AGENTS.md that all tools can read |
| Distributed skill management | Unified install, update, and delete commands |
| Private skills are hard to share | Support installation from local paths and private git repositories |
Core Values
OpenSkills provides the following core values:
1. Unified Standard
All agents use the same skill format and AGENTS.md descriptions—no need to learn new formats.
- Fully compatible with Claude Code: Same prompt format, same Marketplace, same folder structure
- Standardized SKILL.md: Clear skill definitions, easy to develop and maintain
2. Progressive Loading
Load skills on demand to keep AI context concise.
- No need to load all skills at once
- AI agents dynamically load relevant skills based on task requirements
- Avoid context explosion and improve response quality
3. Multi-Agent Support
One skill set serves multiple agents, no need for repeated installation.
- Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Aider share the same skill set
- Unified skill management interface
- Reduced configuration and maintenance costs
4. Open-Source Friendly
Support local paths and private git repositories, suitable for team collaboration.
- Install skills from local file system (in development)
- Install from private git repositories (company-internal sharing)
- Skills can be version-controlled together with projects
5. Local Execution
No data upload, privacy and security guaranteed.
- All skill files stored locally
- No dependency on cloud services, no risk of data leakage
- Suitable for sensitive projects and enterprise environments
How It Works
OpenSkills's workflow is straightforward, divided into three steps:
Step 1: Install Skills
Install skills to your project from GitHub, local paths, or private git repositories.
# Install from Anthropic's official repository
openskills install anthropics/skills
# Install from local path
openskills install ./my-skillsSkills will be installed to the project's .claude/skills/ directory (default), or .agent/skills/ directory (when using --universal).
Step 2: Sync to AGENTS.md
Synchronize installed skills to the AGENTS.md file, generating a skill list that AI agents can read.
openskills syncAGENTS.md will contain XML similar to this:
<available_skills>
<skill>
<name>pdf</name>
<description>Comprehensive PDF manipulation toolkit for extracting text and tables...</description>
<location>project</location>
</skill>
</available_skills>Step 3: AI Agent Loads Skills
When an AI agent needs to use a skill, it loads the skill content via the following command:
openskills read <skill-name>The AI agent will dynamically load the skill content into context and execute the task.
Relationship with Claude Code
OpenSkills and Claude Code are complementary, not substitutes.
Fully Compatible Formats
| Aspect | Claude Code | OpenSkills |
|---|---|---|
| Prompt format | <available_skills> XML | Same XML |
| Skill storage | .claude/skills/ | .claude/skills/ (default) |
| Skill invocation | Skill("name") tool | npx openskills read <name> |
| Marketplace | Anthropic marketplace | GitHub (anthropics/skills) |
| Progressive loading | ✅ | ✅ |
Usage Scenario Comparison
| Scenario | Recommended Tool | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Only using Claude Code | Claude Code built-in | No extra installation needed, official support |
| Mixing multiple AI tools | OpenSkills | Unified management, avoid duplication |
| Need private skills | OpenSkills | Supports local and private repositories |
| Team collaboration | OpenSkills | Skills can be version-controlled, easy to share |
Installation Location Guide
OpenSkills supports three installation locations:
| Installation Location | Command | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Project-local | Default | Single project use, skills version-controlled with project |
| Global installation | --global | All projects share common skills |
| Universal mode | --universal | Multi-agent environment, avoid conflicts with Claude Code |
When to use Universal mode?
If you use both Claude Code and other AI coding agents (like Cursor, Windsurf), use --universal to install to .agent/skills/. This allows multiple agents to share the same skill set and avoids conflicts.
Skill Ecosystem
OpenSkills uses the same skill ecosystem as Claude Code:
Official Skills Repository
Anthropic's officially maintained skills repository: anthropics/skills
Includes common skills:
- PDF processing
- Image generation
- Data analysis
- And more...
Community Skills
Any GitHub repository can serve as a skill source, as long as it contains a SKILL.md file.
Custom Skills
You can create your own skills using the standard format and share them with your team.
Summary
OpenSkills's core idea is:
- Unified standard: Use Claude Code's SKILL.md format
- Multi-agent support: Enable all AI coding tools to share a skill ecosystem
- Progressive loading: Load on demand, keep context concise
- Local execution: No data upload, privacy and security guaranteed
- Open-source friendly: Support local and private repositories
With OpenSkills, you can:
- Switch seamlessly between different AI tools
- Manage all skills uniformly
- Use and share private skills
- Improve development efficiency
Next Lesson Preview
In the next lesson, we'll learn Installing OpenSkills Tool
You'll learn:
- How to check Node.js and Git environments
- Install OpenSkills using npx or globally
- Verify successful installation
- Resolve common installation issues
Appendix: Source Code Reference
Click to expand source code locations
Last updated: 2026-01-24
| Function | File Path | Line Numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Core type definitions | src/types.ts | 1-24 |
| Skill interface (Skill) | src/types.ts | 1-6 |
| Skill location interface (SkillLocation) | src/types.ts | 8-12 |
| Install options interface (InstallOptions) | src/types.ts | 14-18 |
| Skill metadata interface (SkillMetadata) | src/types.ts | 20-24 |
Key interfaces:
Skill: Installed skill information (name, description, location, path)SkillLocation: Skill lookup location information (path, baseDir, source)InstallOptions: Install command options (global, universal, yes)SkillMetadata: Skill metadata (name, description, context)
Core concept source:
- README.md:22-86 - "What Is OpenSkills?" section