skill-desktop/skill-desktop

Skill Desktop

The AI Agent Skills Management Platform

Manage, organize, and distribute your AI agent skills following the Agent Skills standard.

中文文档 • Features • Installation • Quick Start • Agent Skills Standard

---

The Problem

Building AI agents is exciting, but managing their skills (tools/capabilities) is a nightmare:

• Scattered Files - Skills are spread across different folders, projects, and machines
• Context Switching - Different agents need different skill combinations
• Security Concerns - Hard to audit what permissions each skill requires
• No Standard Format - Every team has their own way of organizing skills

The Solution

Skill Desktop is a native desktop application that brings order to chaos. It follows the Agent Skills standard created by Anthropic, making your skills compatible with Claude Code, Claude.ai, and other AI agents.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     Skill Desktop                               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐              │
│  │  Library    │  │   Spaces    │  │  Skill Hub  │              │
│  │  Manager    │  │   Manager   │  │  (Network)  │              │
│  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘              │
│                                                                  │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐              │
│  │  Skill      │  │   Config    │  │   Settings  │              │
│  │  Creator    │  │   Exporter  │  │             │              │
│  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Features

Library Manager — One central library

All your skills live in a single, fixed location (~/.skill_desktop/ by default) that Skill Desktop owns and curates.

• Multi-level directory tree - Organize skills with nested folders, expand/collapse, right-click to reveal in Finder
• Auto-discovery - Point to the folder, we index everything
• Real-time sync - File changes are detected instantly
• Smart search - Find skills by name, tags, or permissions
• Full Agent Skills support - SKILL.md with scripts, references, and assets
• Risk analysis - Automatic code scanning for potential security risks

AI Tool Sync — One library, every AI agent

Sync any skill from your central library into the directories your AI tools actually read from.

• Auto-detect installed tools - Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Windsurf, and the cross-tool ~/.agents/skills/ standard
• Per-skill, per-tool control - Install / uninstall a skill into each tool independently with status badges
• Symlinks, not copies - One source of truth in ~/.skill_desktop/; tools see live symlinks
• Bulk install / remove - Push a skill to every active tool, or pull it back, with one click

Skill Creator

Create new skills with a guided wizard following the Agent Skills standard.

• Step-by-step wizard - Name, description, and resource options
• Validation - Real-time validation of name and description formats
• Template generation - Creates proper directory structure with example files
• Resource directories - Optional scripts/, references/, and assets/ folders

Workspace Spaces

Create isolated environments for different projects or agents. Each space has its own skill configuration.

• One-click switching - Jump between contexts instantly
• Symlink magic - Skills are linked, not copied
• Per-space visibility - Show only the skills relevant to a project

Skill Hub

Discover and import skills from the community.

• URL / local import - Paste a link, drop a folder/zip, preview and import with confidence
• GitHub integration - Import directly from repositories (including anthropics/skills)
• MCP Registry - Browse and import from Glama, MCP.so, MCPServers.org, and Smithery — convert MCP tools into skills
• Security first - Review permissions and risk analysis before importing

Onboarding & UX

• First-run wizard - Picks ~/.skill_desktop/, detects your AI tools, offers links for any that aren’t installed yet
• ⌘K command palette + ⌘1-6 view switching - Press ? anywhere for the shortcuts cheat sheet
• Internationalized - English & 简体中文

Security Built-in

Every skill declares its permissions. You’re always in control.

permissions:
  - file_read    # Low risk
  - network      # Medium risk  
  - shell_exec   # High risk - requires confirmation

Installation

macOS

# Homebrew (coming soon)
brew install --cask skill-desktop

# Or download from releases

Windows

# Winget (coming soon)
winget install skill-desktop

# Or download from releases

Linux

# AppImage available in releases
chmod +x Skill-Desktop.AppImage
./Skill-Desktop.AppImage

Quick Start

1. Open the app - Skill Desktop creates ~/.skill_desktop/ as your central library on first run
2. Create or import a skill - Use the wizard, paste a URL, drop a folder, or browse the Skill Hub
3. Install into your AI tools - Pick the tools detected on your machine (Claude Code / Cursor / Codex / Gemini CLI / OpenCode / Windsurf) and sync with one click
4. Create a Space (optional) - Curate which skills are visible per project / agent
5. Edit a skill once, it updates everywhere - Files live in ~/.skill_desktop/; symlinks keep every AI tool in sync

Agent Skills Standard

Skill Desktop follows the Agent Skills specification created by Anthropic. This ensures your skills are compatible with Claude Code, Claude.ai, and other AI agents.

Directory Structure

Skills are organized as directories containing a SKILL.md file and optional resource folders:

~/.skill_desktop/                  # Skill Desktop's central library (default)
├── web-search/
│   ├── SKILL.md                   # Main skill file (required)
│   ├── LICENSE.txt                # License file (optional)
│   ├── scripts/                   # Executable code (optional)
│   │   ├── search.py
│   │   └── parse_results.py
│   ├── references/                # Documentation (optional)
│   │   └── api_docs.md
│   └── assets/                    # Templates, images, etc. (optional)
│       └── template.html
├── research/                      # Nested folders are fully supported
│   ├── deep-research/
│   │   └── SKILL.md
│   └── citation-checker/
│       └── SKILL.md
└── data-analyzer/
    ├── SKILL.md
    └── references/
        └── schema.md

From this single source of truth, Skill Desktop creates symlinks into each AI tool’s own skill directory (e.g. ~/.claude/skills/, ~/.cursor/skills/, ~/.codex/skills/, ~/.gemini/skills/, ~/.agents/skills/).

Resource Directories

SKILL.md Format

Skills use Markdown with YAML front matter following the Agent Skills spec:

---
name: web-search
description: Search the web and return results. Use this when you need to find current information online, verify facts, or research topics.
license: MIT
---

# Web Search

## Overview

Search the web using various search engines and return structured results.

## Workflow

1. Parse the search query
2. Execute search via API
3. Parse and rank results
4. Return formatted response

## Resources

### scripts/
- `search.py` - Main search implementation
- `parse_results.py` - Result parsing utilities

### references/
- `api_docs.md` - Search API documentation

Required Fields

Per the Agent Skills specification:

Optional Fields

Philosophy

File System as Source of Truth - Your skills are just files. You own them. Back them up, version them, share them however you want.

SQLite as Shadow - The database is just a fast index. Delete it anytime, we’ll rebuild it from your files.

Workspaces as Boundaries - Different projects, different skills. No cross-contamination.

Standards Matter - Following the Agent Skills spec means your skills work everywhere.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS
• Backend: Tauri (Rust)
• Database: SQLite
• UI Components: shadcn/ui

Development

# Prerequisites
# - Node.js 18+
# - Rust 1.70+
# - pnpm

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Run in development mode
pnpm tauri dev

# Build for production
pnpm tauri build

Roadmap

• [x] Core library management with multi-level directory tree
• [x] Workspace spaces with per-skill visibility
• [x] First-run onboarding wizard
• [x] URL / local file / local folder import
• [x] GitHub integration (with full directory support)
• [x] MCP Registry support (Glama, MCP.so, MCPServers.org, Smithery) — import MCP tools as skills
• [x] Risk analysis
• [x] Agent Skills standard support (SKILL.md, scripts, references, assets)
• [x] Skill creation wizard
• [x] Auto-detection of installed AI tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Windsurf)
• [x] Per-tool install / uninstall with symlinks
• [x] ⌘K command palette and global keyboard shortcuts
• [ ] Sandbox debugger UI
• [ ] Cloud sync (optional)
• [ ] VS Code extension

Related Projects

• anthropics/skills - Official Agent Skills examples from Anthropic
• Agent Skills Specification - The standard specification

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

• Report bugs
• Request features
• Submit PRs

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

---

Built with care for the AI agent community