Agent Skill NPM Boilerplate

Distribute AI agent skills like any other npm package

AI coding tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf) support custom “skills” - reusable instructions that extend agent capabilities. But distributing them means manual file copying, no versioning, and painful updates.

This template lets you publish skills to npm:

# Install
npm install -g @your-org/git-commit-helper

# Update
npm update -g @your-org/git-commit-helper

# It just works - installs to ~/.claude/skills/, ~/.cursor/skills/, etc.

Why this matters: Skills become proper software artifacts with semantic versioning, dependency management, private registries, and global discovery. Same infrastructure that distributes React and Express.

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Quick start: Fork this template, edit SKILL.md, run npm publish. Your skill is now installable worldwide.

Supports: Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and any tool following similar skill patterns. See MULTI-TOOL-SUPPORT.md.

💡 Why npm for Skills?

Manual skill distribution requires downloading files, copying to ~/.claude/skills/, and repeating for every update. No versioning, no dependency management, no discovery.

npm solves this:

# Install/update/uninstall with standard commands
npm install -g @your-org/skill-name
npm update -g @your-org/skill-name
npm uninstall -g @your-org/skill-name

# Semantic versioning for controlled updates
npm install @your-org/skill@^2.1.0

# Project-specific skills (version-locked, committed to git)
npm install --save-dev @your-org/skill-name

Core benefits:

• Version control - Semantic versioning, upgrade/rollback easily
• Global distribution - Publish once, available worldwide via npm’s CDN
• Discoverability - Searchable on npmjs.com
• Enterprise ready - Private registries for internal skills
• Ecosystem integration - Works with CI/CD, monorepos, existing tooling

Skills become first-class software artifacts, using the same infrastructure as React, Express, and millions of other packages.

✨ Features

• ✅ Official Specification: Fully compliant with Claude Code skills format
• ✅ Multi-Tool Support: Install to Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and more! (See Multi-Tool Support)
• ✅ Smart Installation: Auto-detects global vs project-level installation
• ✅ Progressive Disclosure: Supports main SKILL.md + reference files
• ✅ Lifecycle Management: Install, update, uninstall scripts included
• ✅ Best Practices: Follows all recommended patterns from official docs
• ✅ Ready to Publish: Just customize and publish to npm

🚀 Quick Start