Why AgentSkills CLI
If you write .NET code and use Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or any agent that reads the universal .agents/skills/ directory, you want a CLI that feels native: installs from NuGet, respects your NuGet.config, ships through dnx. AgentSkills CLI exists because that CLI didn't exist.
The short version
- Install agent skills the way .NET devs install everything else - from NuGet (public or private), with your existing credentials and feeds. No new auth surface, no JavaScript runtime, no second package manager.
- Skills can ship inside the libraries they describe. A
Contoso.SampleLibNuGet package can carry the agent guidance for usingContoso.SampleLib. Users who install your library get the skills automatically; the SDK and its agent docs version together, distribute together, stay in sync. - First-class npm too - because TypeScript skills shipped on npm are still the bulk of the ecosystem, and AgentSkills CLI is the only tool that does proper registry fetch with
.npmrcscoped-registry support (not justnode_modulessync). - Install once and forget -
dotnet tool install -g agentskills-cliand you're done; daily commands are short (agentskills-cli add ..., or one-character via a shell alias). CI runners that don't want a global install can usednx agentskills-cliinstead - same package, no install step on .NET 10+.
The bigger insight: skills inside libraries
The standard pattern for AI-agent guidance today is separate. Library X exists; some helpful third party writes "how to use library X with Claude Code" skills and publishes them somewhere else. Drift is inevitable - X ships v2 with breaking changes, the skills still describe v1 behavior, agents make broken suggestions.
When skills live inside the library package:
- One source of truth - the skills version-lock with the SDK. v2 of the package ships v2 of the skills.
- Zero discovery friction - users searching for the library on nuget.org or npmjs.org get the skills for free. No "you should also install MyLib.Skills" footnote in the README.
- Standard publishing pipeline -
dotnet packornpm publish. Nothing new to learn. - Agent reach - any agent that reads the universal
.agents/skills/directory picks up the guidance once the user installs.
The dedicated skills-only package is still a fine option when there's no library to co-ship with. But "drop a skills/ folder into the package you already publish" is a meaningfully better default.
How to ship skills inside your library →
How it compares to npx skills
AgentSkills CLI is a faithful .NET-native port of vercel-labs/skills that adds first-class NuGet and npm support plus ergonomics. The highlights:
| AgentSkills CLI | npx skills | |
|---|---|---|
| NuGet packages as a first-class source | yes | no NuGet path |
npm registry fetch (not just node_modules sync) | yes | only experimental_sync |
| Skills can ship inside library packages | yes | n/a (no NuGet); npm only via experimental sync |
--path across every source (NuGet, npm, git, local) | yes | only /tree/<ref>/<path> for GitHub |
Version-aware target matching on list / remove | yes | no concept of pinned matching |
| DI extension points for custom sources + search backends | yes | procedural, no public extension contract |
| Runtime | .NET 8 LTS + .NET 10 from one .nupkg | Node 18+ |
Lock-file interop, not lock-in
By design, AgentSkills CLI writes to the same ~/.agents/.skill-lock.json and ./skills-lock.json files that npx skills uses. A skill installed by either tool is visible to the other. You can switch tools without losing tracked state, you can use both on the same machine, and a polyglot team can have npx skills users and agentskills-cli users in the same repo with no friction.
Built on the open spec
The SKILL.md format and the well-known discovery endpoint follow the open Agent Skills specification. Skills published for npx skills, the broader ecosystem, or any other spec-compliant client work here too. AgentSkills CLI implements the spec; it doesn't fork it.
Next
- Install - get the CLI on your machine
- Quick start - five-minute hands-on tour
- Concepts - the five terms you need to know
- Full feature comparison - every difference vs vercel-labs/skills
- Ship skills with your library - the library-shipping pattern in depth