skillhub/cli

SkillHub CLI

SkillHub CLI is the official command-line tool for SkillHub, designed for searching, installing, managing, and publishing Agent skill packages.

📦 Installation

# Install globally via npm
npm install -g @astron-team/skillhub

# Or run directly with npx
npx @astron-team/skillhub@latest version

# Or install globally via Bun
bun add -g @astron-team/skillhub

🚀 Quick Start

# Login
skillhub login --token sk_xxx

# Search skills
skillhub search pdf

# Install skill to Agent directory
skillhub install pdf-parser --agent codex

# List installed skills
skillhub list

# Publish skill
skillhub publish ./my-skill --namespace myspace

# Synchronize a team workspace
skillhub sync pull --namespace myspace

🌐 Registry Configuration

The active registry is resolved in the following priority order:

1. --registry <url> command-line argument
2. SKILLHUB_REGISTRY environment variable
3. registry in ~/.skillhub/config.json
4. Default value https://skill.xfyun.cn

# Temporarily use another registry
skillhub search pdf --registry https://skillhub.example.com

# Set via environment variable (Linux/macOS)
export SKILLHUB_REGISTRY=https://skillhub.example.com

Windows PowerShell:

$env:SKILLHUB_REGISTRY="https://skillhub.example.com"

Windows CMD:

set SKILLHUB_REGISTRY=https://skillhub.example.com

🔐 Authentication

Token resolution priority:

1. --token <token> command-line argument
2. SKILLHUB_TOKEN environment variable
3. Token stored in ~/.skillhub/credentials.json (per registry)

Login

# Login with API token
skillhub login --token sk_xxx

# Login to specific registry
skillhub login --token sk_xxx --registry https://skillhub.example.com

login validates the token, stores it in ~/.skillhub/credentials.json, and writes the registry to ~/.skillhub/config.json.

Check Current Identity

skillhub whoami

# Check specific registry
skillhub whoami --registry https://skillhub.example.com

# Temporarily use different token
skillhub whoami --token sk_other

Logout

skillhub logout

# Logout from specific registry
skillhub logout --registry https://skillhub.example.com

Logout only removes the token for the specified registry, preserving registry configuration and installation records.

🔍 Search

# Keyword search
skillhub search pdf

# Search with a one-off token
skillhub search pdf --token sk_xxx

# List all skills (empty query)
skillhub search "" --limit 50

# JSON output
skillhub search pdf --json

Output format: namespace/slug version summary

📥 Install Skills

The install coordinate accepts a bare slug or any of the equivalent namespace forms below:

Coordinate	Resolved namespace	Resolved slug
my-skill	global	my-skill
team/my-skill	team	my-skill
@team/my-skill	team	my-skill
team--my-skill	team	my-skill

For a bare slug, --namespace team selects a non-global namespace. A namespaced coordinate may be combined with the same --namespace value, but a conflicting value is rejected instead of silently overriding the coordinate.

# Install to auto-detected Agent directory
skillhub install pdf-parser

# Equivalent namespaced coordinates
skillhub install team/my-skill
skillhub install @team/my-skill
skillhub install team--my-skill

# Choose install scope explicitly
skillhub install pdf-parser --scope user
skillhub install pdf-parser --scope project --agent codex

# Specify namespace for a bare slug (default: global)
skillhub install pdf-parser --namespace myspace

# Specify version
skillhub install pdf-parser --version 1.2.0

# Install to specific Agent
skillhub install pdf-parser --agent codex

# Install to multiple Agents
skillhub install pdf-parser --agent codex --agent claude-code

# Install to custom directory
skillhub install pdf-parser --dir ~/.claude/skills

# Reinstall a SkillHub-managed installation from the same source
skillhub install pdf-parser --force

Install Target Resolution

The CLI determines the installation location using the following logic:

1. If --dir is specified: Install to that directory, agent marked as custom. --dir is mutually exclusive with --scope and --agent.
2. If --scope user|project is specified: Limit detection to the chosen scope.
   • With --agent <profile>: Install to that profile's user or project skills directory directly.
   • Without --agent: Detect existing skills directories within the chosen scope only. In interactive user scope, the generic target (<home>/.agents/skills/) is always also offered and can be selected alone or together with detected targets.
   • No detected directory in the chosen scope → Fallback to <home>/.agents/skills/ for --scope user or <cwd>/.agents/skills/ for --scope project.
3. If --agent is specified (no --scope): Install to the corresponding Agent's skills directory (existing behaviour, unchanged).
4. If none of the above is specified:
   • Interactive mode (stdin and stdout are both TTY, no --json): Prompt for user or project scope first, then continue per the --scope rule above.
   • Non-interactive mode: Auto-scan current directory to detect existing Agent config directories. 1 Agent detected → install directly; multiple → error; none detected → fallback to <cwd>/.agents/skills/.

--dir cannot be combined with --scope or --agent.

Install Paths

Each Agent has both project-level and user-level skills directories. Use --scope user|project to control which one is used.

Agent	Project-level Path	User-level Path
claude-code	<project>/.claude/skills/	~/.claude/skills/
codex	<project>/.codex/skills/	~/.codex/skills/
cursor	<project>/.cursor/skills/	~/.cursor/skills/
github-copilot	<project>/.github-copilot/skills/	~/.github-copilot/skills/
gemini-cli	<project>/.gemini/skills/	~/.gemini/skills/
windsurf	<project>/.windsurf/skills/	~/.windsurf/skills/
kiro-cli	<project>/.kiro/skills/	~/.kiro/skills/
roo	<project>/.roo/skills/	~/.roo/skills/
trae	<project>/.trae/skills/	~/.trae/skills/
trae-cn	<project>/.trae-cn/skills/	~/.trae-cn/skills/
openhands	<project>/.openhands/skills/	~/.openhands/skills/
openclaw	<project>/.openclaw/skills/	~/.openclaw/skills/
opencode	<project>/.opencode/skills/	~/.opencode/skills/
kilo	<project>/.kilo/skills/	~/.kilo/skills/
fallback	<project>/.agents/skills/	~/.agents/skills/

For a custom path or an unsupported Agent directory, use --dir to specify the installation path. In interactive user scope, the generic target is offered alongside detected Agent targets. When --scope user|project finds no matching agent directory, the CLI falls back to the _fallback_ row above.

File Structure After Installation

.codex/skills/pdf-parser/
├── ...                          # Extracted skill package files
└── .skillhub/
    └── metadata.json            # Installation metadata

metadata.json example:

{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "registry": "https://skill.xfyun.cn",
  "namespace": "global",
  "slug": "pdf-parser",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "versionId": 123,
  "fingerprint": "sha256:...",
  "files": { "SKILL.md": "sha256..." },
  "source": "skillhub",
  "agent": "codex",
  "installedAt": "2026-04-28T06:00:00.000Z"
}

The CLI creates .skillhub/metadata.json after extracting a downloaded package. It is not part of the published ZIP and is excluded when a managed directory is published again.

⬆️ Upgrade Installed Skills

upgrade only operates on explicitly selected, SkillHub-managed local installations. It never installs a missing Skill and has no implicit upgrade-all mode.

# Preview without changing files
skillhub upgrade @global/skillhub-registry --check

# Upgrade one or a bounded list of installed Skills
skillhub upgrade @global/skillhub-registry
skillhub upgrade @team/code-review @team/java-guide

# Machine-readable plan
skillhub upgrade @team/code-review --check --json

The source identity is registry + namespace + slug. --force may replace local changes only when that full identity matches the installation metadata; it never overwrites an unmanaged directory or a Skill installed from another source.

All targets in one inventory entry are upgraded together. A filter that selects only part of that entry is rejected because the current inventory format stores one shared version for all targets. The command also keeps the local files when the registry resolves to an older version. If a multi-Skill run fails after an earlier upgrade commits, execution stops and reports each item as upgraded, failed, or not-attempted; a committed upgrade is never rolled back implicitly. New installations store absolute target paths. An older inventory entry with relative target paths must be reinstalled before upgrade because its original working directory cannot be recovered safely.

🔄 Namespace Workspaces

Use namespace synchronization when an Agent workspace should maintain all installable skills from one team space.

# Pull new and updated skills into ./.agents/skills
skillhub sync pull --namespace team-a

# Use an explicit workspace directory
skillhub sync pull --namespace team-a --dir ./.claude/skills

# Check without downloading
skillhub sync pull --namespace team-a --check

# Show local edits and remote updates
skillhub sync status --namespace team-a --json
skillhub sync diff --namespace team-a

# Remove only unchanged SkillHub-managed skills that no longer exist remotely
skillhub sync pull --namespace team-a --prune

# Validate and upload every local skill for review
skillhub sync push --all --namespace team-a --dry-run
skillhub sync push --all --namespace team-a --submit-review

The default workspace is <cwd>/.agents/skills. Pull never overwrites local changes unless --force is supplied. Remote removals are reported as orphaned and are retained unless --prune is supplied. Both destructive cases still require explicit flags.

Workspace push is non-overwriting: an existing namespace/slug/version is reported as a conflict, including versions that are still uploaded or pending review. Other skills in the same --all run continue processing.

Namespace sync writes .skillhub/namespace-sync.json in the workspace and per-skill .skillhub/metadata.json files. These files contain the registry coordinate, published version, aggregate fingerprint, and file hashes used by status and diff.

📋 Local Management

List Installed Skills

# List all installed skills
skillhub list

# Filter by Agent
skillhub list --agent codex

# Filter by multiple Agents
skillhub list --agent codex --agent claude-code

# Filter by directory
skillhub list --dir ~/.codex/skills

# JSON output
skillhub list --json

Remove Skills

# A bare slug removes matching local installations across namespaces
skillhub remove pdf-parser

# A namespaced coordinate removes only that namespace
skillhub remove myspace/pdf-parser
skillhub remove @myspace/pdf-parser
skillhub remove myspace--pdf-parser

# Equivalent precise local removal with an explicit namespace
skillhub remove pdf-parser --namespace myspace

# Remove only specific Agent's installation
skillhub remove pdf-parser --agent codex

# Remove all targets (skip interactive confirmation)
skillhub remove pdf-parser --all

# Remove remote skill (requires authentication, prompts for confirmation)
skillhub remove pdf-parser --remote --namespace myspace

# Skip remote deletion confirmation
skillhub remove pdf-parser --remote --hard --namespace myspace

Parameter exclusivity rules:

• --all cannot be used with --agent
• --remote cannot be used with --agent or --all
• Remote deletion in non-interactive environments requires --hard

Rebuild Local Inventory

skillhub doctor

doctor performs the following operations:

1. Scans <cwd>/.<agent>/skills/<slug>/.skillhub/metadata.json
2. Groups by registry + namespace + slug
3. Backs up old inventory.json (if exists)
4. Writes new inventory.json

If the same skill has version conflicts across different targets, that skill will be skipped and reported.

🚢 Publishing

# Publish directory (auto-packaged as zip)
skillhub publish ./my-skill --namespace myspace

# Publish existing zip file
skillhub publish ./my-skill.zip --namespace myspace

# Specify visibility
skillhub publish ./my-skill --namespace myspace --visibility private

Visibility options:

• public (default) — Visible to everyone
• namespace-only — Visible to namespace members only
• private — Visible to yourself only

After successful publication, the skill detail page URL will be displayed.

⬆️ Self-Update

# Check for new version
skillhub update --check

# Execute update
skillhub update

Update mechanism:

• Installed via npm globally: Auto-executes npm install -g @astron-team/skillhub@latest
• Installed via Bun globally: Auto-executes bun add -g @astron-team/skillhub@latest
• Run via npx: Prompts manual update command
• Unknown installation method: Prompts manual update

🔧 Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Priority
SKILLHUB_REGISTRY	Default registry URL	Lower than --registry parameter
SKILLHUB_TOKEN	API token	Lower than --token parameter, higher than stored token

📂 Local File Structure

~/.skillhub/
├── config.json           # User configuration (registry, defaultAgent, etc.)
├── credentials.json      # API tokens (stored per registry, permissions 0600)
└── inventory.json        # Installed skills inventory

📖 Command Reference

Command	Description
skillhub help [command]	Display help information
skillhub version [--json]	Display CLI version
skillhub login --token <token> [--registry <url>] [--json]	Save token and registry configuration
skillhub logout [--registry <url>] [--json]	Remove token for specified registry
skillhub whoami [--registry <url>] [--token <token>] [--json]	Validate current token and display user information
skillhub search <query> [--registry <url>] [--token <token>] [--limit <n>] [--json]	Search published skills
skillhub install <coordinate> [--scope <user|project>] [--namespace <slug>] [--version <v>] [--agent <profile>] [--dir <path>] [--force] [--registry <url>] [--token <token>] [--json]	Install a skill
skillhub upgrade <coordinate...> [--namespace <slug>] [--agent <profile>] [--dir <path>] [--registry <url>] [--check] [--force] [--json]	Upgrade explicitly selected installed skills
skillhub list [--agent <profile>] [--dir <path>] [--registry <url>] [--json]	List installed skills
skillhub remove <coordinate> [--agent <profile>] [--all] [--remote] [--hard] [--namespace <slug>] [--registry <url>] [--token <token>] [--json]	Remove a skill
skillhub doctor [--json]	Scan project directory and rebuild local inventory
skillhub publish <path> [--namespace <slug>] [--visibility <v>] [--registry <url>] [--token <token>] [--json]	Publish a skill
skillhub update [--check] [--json]	Check or execute CLI self-update

🔒 Security Notes

• Tokens are stored only in user directory ~/.skillhub/credentials.json
• On Linux/macOS, credential file permissions are automatically set to 0600
• Tokens are never written to any project-local files
• Remote delete operations require explicit confirmation or --hard parameter
• remove command validates path safety to prevent deletion of non-skill directories

🐛 Troubleshooting

Authentication Failure

# Verify token validity
skillhub whoami

# Re-login
skillhub login --token sk_xxx

For structured registry failures, the CLI prints the server's public msg and requestId. HTTP 403 without a public message falls back to access denied; it is not automatically described as a missing token scope. Include the request ID when asking a registry operator to investigate.

Network Error

# Check if registry is accessible
curl https://skill.xfyun.cn/api/cli/v1/skills/search?q=test&limit=1

# Use alternative registry
skillhub search test --registry https://skillhub.example.com

Installation Directory Conflict

# Use --force to overwrite
skillhub install pdf-parser --force # same SkillHub source only

# Or remove first then install
skillhub remove pdf-parser
skillhub install pdf-parser

--force does not bypass source ownership. Move or explicitly remove an unmanaged or different-source directory before installing another Skill with the same visible slug.

Corrupted Inventory

# Rebuild inventory
skillhub doctor

📚 Documentation

• SkillHub Homepage
• GitHub Repository
• CLI Documentation
• Issue Tracker

📄 License

Apache-2.0

Copyright 2026 iFlytek Co., Ltd.