Command line

The skillmd CLI

One command to scaffold a themed project. Another to drop a skill into Claude Code, Cursor, or Windsurf. No config required.

Install

No install needed — npx fetches the latest version. Or install globally if you use it daily.

One-off via npx

npx @getskillmd/cli add paystack-api

Or install globally

npm i -g @getskillmd/cli

skillmd add paystack-api

Quick start

Run init once to scaffold a new project from a skill's starter. Run add inside an existing repo to drop a skill into your IDE rules.

Scaffold a new project

Clones a starter, applies the skill's tokens, installs deps.

npx @getskillmd/cli init plud-design my-app

Add a skill to an existing repo

Writes to the right IDE config based on what your project has.

npx @getskillmd/cli add paystack-api

Sign in

Most commands work without auth. Sign in to use your Pro features (watch mode, custom templates, unlimited inits) and to track CLI usage on your account.

npx @getskillmd/cli login

npx @getskillmd/cli whoami

login opens a browser to authorize the device, falling back to a device code when no browser can reach the CLI. The token is stored in your local config directory.

Commands

Every subcommand, with the flags you'll actually use. Run `npx @getskillmd/cli <command> --help` for the full list.

init

skillmd init [slug-or-url] [project-name]

Scaffold a new project from a skill's starter template. Clones the starter repo, applies the skill's design tokens, and optionally installs dependencies and runs git init.

npx @getskillmd/cli init plud-design my-app

npx @getskillmd/cli init https://linear.app linear-clone

npx @getskillmd/cli init asobi-agbada my-app --template vite

Flag	Description
-t, --template <name>	Starter template (next, vite, astro, or user/<slug>)
--package-manager <pm>	pnpm \| npm \| bun \| yarn
--ide <ide>	claude \| cursor \| windsurf \| antigravity \| vscode \| all (default: all)
--mode <mode>	URL-mode generation: design \| api \| library \| generic
--no-install	Skip dependency install
--no-git	Skip git init
--dry-run	Print actions without writing

add

skillmd add <slug-or-url>

Drop a skill into an existing project's IDE rule files. Use the slug of a skill that already exists on getskillmd.com, or paste any public URL to generate one on the fly.

npx @getskillmd/cli add paystack-api

npx @getskillmd/cli add asobi-agbada --ide cursor

npx @getskillmd/cli add https://nextjs.org/docs --mode library

Flag	Description
--ide <ide>	claude \| cursor \| windsurf \| antigravity \| vscode \| all (auto-detected if omitted)
--mode <mode>	Generation mode when input is a URL (default: design)

login

skillmd login

Sign in via the browser. Authorizes this machine and stores the token in your local config directory. Falls back to the device-code flow on SSH, containers, and headless machines.

npx @getskillmd/cli login

whoami

skillmd whoami

Print the current account, plan, and quota.

npx @getskillmd/cli whoami

logout

skillmd logout

Remove the local CLI credentials from this machine.

npx @getskillmd/cli logout

sync

skillmd sync

Re-apply the latest skill bundle to this project. Reads .skillmd.json in the working directory and patches the token placeholders.

npx @getskillmd/cli sync

npx @getskillmd/cli sync --force

Flag	Description
--force	Re-apply even if the bundle hash is unchanged

watch

Pro

skillmd watch [slug]

Poll for skill changes and re-apply tokens automatically when the source updates. Defaults to the skill in .skillmd.json.

npx @getskillmd/cli watch

npx @getskillmd/cli watch paystack-api --interval 60

Flag	Description
-i, --interval <seconds>	Polling interval (5–3600, default 30)

list

skillmd list

List every skill installed in this project, grouped by IDE.

npx @getskillmd/cli list

Where files land

When you run add, the CLI writes to the right path for each IDE you target.

IDE	Path	Notes
Claude Code	.claude/skills/<slug>/SKILL.md	Directory created if missing
Cursor	.cursor/rules/<slug>.mdc	Wrapped with Cursor frontmatter
Windsurf	.windsurfrules	Appended in a labelled section
Antigravity	.antigravity/AGENTS.md	Appended in a labelled section
VS Code	.github/copilot-instructions.md	Appended in a labelled section

Environment variables

Override defaults via env vars — useful in CI.

Variable	Description
GETSKILLMD_TOKEN	Bypass interactive login. Useful in CI. Falls back to keychain when unset.
GETSKILLMD_API_URL	Override the API base URL. Defaults to https://getskillmd.com.
GETSKILLMD_TEMPLATE_PATH	Use a local directory as the starter template instead of cloning from GitHub.

Ready to ship?

Browse the registry, find a skill you want, and drop it into your project in seconds.

Browse the registry Open dashboard