Installation

Install SkillKit and set up your first project

No install needed

The fastest way to start:

npx skillkit@latest

This runs the latest version directly. No global install, no setup.

Global install

For frequent use, install globally:

npm install -g skillkit

Also works with pnpm, yarn, or bun:

pnpm add -g skillkit

yarn global add skillkit

bun add -g skillkit

Both skillkit and sk work as command aliases.

Full vs slim install

SkillKit ships four power features as optional dependencies so the core install stays small. The default npm install -g skillkit installs every feature; --omit=optional installs only the core CLI.

# Full (default) — every feature works out of the box:
npm install -g skillkit

# Slim — core commands only, ~75% smaller, no native addons, 0 deprecation warnings:
npm install -g skillkit --omit=optional

Add one later:

npm install -g @skillkit/tui         # enables: skillkit ui
npm install -g @skillkit/api         # enables: skillkit serve
npm install -g @skillkit/mesh        # enables: skillkit mesh
npm install -g @skillkit/messaging   # enables: skillkit message

The CLI catches a missing optional feature and prints a one-line hint, so you'll never see an unhandled stack trace.

Using npx

npx skillkit add <owner/repo> runs without a global install. First run downloads into the npx cache (~/.npm/_npx/); every call after that is instant until the cache expires or a new version ships.

# Full — every feature works:
npx skillkit add anthropics/skills

# Slim — core commands only, 75% fewer packages, 0 warnings:
npx --omit=optional skillkit add anthropics/skills

If you use npx skillkit more than a couple of times, install globally to skip the prompt-to-proceed and avoid the per-release cache refetch:

npm install -g skillkit --omit=optional
skillkit add anthropics/skills

Verify

skillkit --version

Requirements: Node.js 18+ (Bun 1.2+ for the TUI).

Initialize a project

cd my-project
skillkit init

The init command:

1. Detects your AI agent — scans for .claude/, .cursor/, .github/ directories
2. Creates the skills folder — sets up the right directory for your agent
3. Saves preferences — remembers your choices for next time

Specify an agent directly

skillkit init --agent cursor
skillkit init --list             # Show all 45 supported agents
skillkit init --quiet            # Skip logo and prompts (for CI)

What gets created

Preferences are stored in ~/.skillkit/preferences.json.

Next steps

skillkit recommend                    # Get skill suggestions for your project
skillkit install anthropics/skills    # Install skills from GitHub
skillkit sync                         # Deploy to your agent
skillkit ui                           # Launch the terminal UI

Quick Start guide | Full command reference

SkillKit Chrome Extension