Here's the goal: you ask Claude Code how to do something, like “how do I speed up my website?”, and it goes and finds the skills that fit, checks them, shows you what it found and installs the one you pick once you say yes. No more digging through GitHub.
A skill is just an instruction pack for Claude: a folder with a file called SKILL.md that teaches it one job. The one that does the finding is called find-skills, from Vercel's open-source skills repo, and on 2026-10-31 it sat at number one on the skills.sh leaderboard with 4.1M installs. The part I like is what it checks first: its own instructions tell Claude to look at the install count, who made the skill and the GitHub stars before it recommends anything, because a lot of what's out there is half-finished. This guide sets it up, runs a first search that installs nothing, and shows you how to do the same check yourself.
Start here: paste this into Claude Code
If you don't have Claude Code yet, do the first two steps under “Install the pieces” below (Node.js and Claude Code). Then open Claude Code, paste this prompt, and it walks you through the rest: installing find-skills, a first search that installs nothing, and checking a skill before anything goes on your computer.
claudeHi Claude. Please be my patient setup helper. I run a business and I don't code: one step at a time, tell me exactly what to type or click, and wait for me before the next step.
Goal: install the find-skills skill (from the GitHub repo vercel-labs/skills), so that when I ask you how to do something, you search skills.sh for skills that fit, check them, and only install one after I say yes. Follow this guide; it's the source of truth for every command:
https://receiptsgroup.com/guides/find-claude-skills
Steps:
1. Check my Node.js version with: node --version. It has to be 22.20 or later. If it's older or missing, send me to nodejs.org to download the LTS installer, and wait until I've done it.
2. Show me this command and explain each part in plain English:
npx --yes skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills --skill find-skills -g -a claude-code -y
Run it only after I say yes.
3. Check it installed with: npx skills ls -g. Tell me if find-skills is on the list, then tell me to type /skills so I can see it myself.
4. First test, search only, install nothing. My question is: "How do I speed up my website?" Use find-skills and show me up to three options. For each one: what it does, its install count, who made it (the GitHub owner), the GitHub stars on its repo, its skills.sh link, and the command to install it. Don't install anything.
5. For the one I pick, read me its SKILL.md in plain English: what it tells you to do, any commands it runs, and whether it wants any logins, keys or other software.
6. Only after I say yes, install that one skill with -g -a claude-code, then tell me to type /skills to see it.
Rules for every skill, now and later:
- Never install, update or remove a skill without showing me the exact command and getting my yes.
- Tell me if a skill has under 1,000 installs, comes from an owner you don't recognize, or its repo has under 100 GitHub stars, and say why that matters.
- If a skill wants a key, token or password, stop and tell me. Never ask me to paste one into this chat.
House rules for this setup:
- If you use a technical word, explain it in plain English the first time.
- Ask me before you assume anything about my business, my accounts or my setup.
- Stop and check with me before anything that costs money or spends credits.
- Stop and check with me before anything that sends, posts or publishes to real people.
- Stop and check with me before you delete or overwrite anything.How the pieces connect
This is the manual way: every step and every command. Claude follows it too.
- 1Your questionYou, typing into Claude Code (“how do I speed up my website?”)→ a job you want done
- 2find-skills wakes upClaude reads the skill's description and sees your question fits it→ Claude follows find-skills' instructions
- 3The searchThe skills.sh leaderboard first, then npx skills find <keywords>→ a list of skills that might fit
- 4The checkInstall count, who made it, GitHub stars on its repo→ a short list with the numbers, the links and the install command
- 5Your yesnpx skills add <repo> --skill <name> -g -a claude-code→ the skill's folder in ~/.claude/skills
- 6Claude uses itClaude Code loads a skill when your request fits it, or when you type /<skill name>→ the job done the way the skill says
Words you'll see
- Skill: a folder with a
SKILL.mdfile: instructions that teach Claude one job. Claude Code keeps your personal ones in~/.claude/skills(the~means your home folder). - skills.sh: the public directory of skills, ranked by installs, with a page per skill.
- Skills CLI: the command-line tool that searches, installs, updates and removes skills. You run it as
npx skills. - Node.js and npx: Node.js runs JavaScript programs on your computer;
npxcomes with it and downloads and runs a tool like the Skills CLI in one go. - Terminal: the window where you type commands (Terminal on a Mac, PowerShell on Windows).
- Global (
-g): install for every folder on your computer, not just the one you're in. - GitHub stars: people bookmarking a code repo on GitHub. Not proof of quality, but a repo nobody has starred deserves a harder look.
Install the pieces
Install Node.js (22.20 or later)
Wherenodejs.org/en/downloadThe Skills CLI needs Node.js 22.20 or later. Download the LTS version (the long-term support one; it was v26.13.0 on 2026-10-31) and run the installer. Then open a new terminal window and check the version.
node --versionInstall Claude Code and log in
Skip this if
claude --versionalready prints a version. Claude Code needs a paid plan: Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, Enterprise or a Console account. The free Claude plan doesn't include it. The first time you runclaude, it opens your browser to log in.curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash # open a NEW terminal window, then: claude --version claudeirm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex # open a NEW PowerShell window, then: claude --version claudeInstall find-skills for Claude Code
Run this in your terminal (not inside Claude). It pulls find-skills straight from Vercel's repo and installs it globally for Claude Code. If npx asks “Ok to proceed?”, type
y: that's it downloading the Skills CLI. If the CLI asks symlink or copy, take the recommended symlink.npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills --skill find-skills -g -a claude-codePermissionsIt writes one folder into ~/.claude/skills and asks for nothing else: no login, no key. The CLI sends anonymous usage data unless you turn it off (see “Keep them updated” below).Check it's there
The first command lists your global skills; find-skills should be on it. Then start Claude Code and type
/skills, which shows every skill Claude can use in that session. No restart needed: Claude Code picks up new skills on its own.npx skills ls -g/skills
First test: a search that installs nothing (free)
Start claude and paste this. It should search, show you a short list with the numbers, and stop.
How do I speed up my website? Find skills for this with find-skills. Show me up to three, each with what it does, its install count, who made it, the GitHub stars on its repo, its skills.sh link and its install command. Don't install anything yet.Good: a short list where every option has an install count, an owner, a star count, a skills.sh link and an install command, and nothing installed. Bad: it answers from memory without searching, or it installs something. Then it isn't using find-skills: type /skills to check it's there, or start your question with /find-skills to call it by name.
Want to search without Claude? The CLI does it too:
npx skills find website performanceCheck a skill before you say yes
This is the part that saves the afternoon. find-skills' own instructions tell Claude not to recommend a skill from search results alone, and to check three things first. Here they are, with the bar it uses, so you can check them yourself:
| Check | Where to look | The bar find-skills uses |
|---|---|---|
| Installs | The skill's page on skills.sh (skills.sh/<owner>/<repo>/<skill>) | Prefer 1K+ installs; be cautious under 100 |
| Who made it | The owner in the name, e.g. vercel-labs in vercel-labs/agent-skills | Official sources like vercel-labs, anthropics and microsoft over unknown authors |
| GitHub stars | The skills.sh page, or the star count at the top of the repo on GitHub | Treat a repo under 100 stars with skepticism |
Two more checks I'd add
- The security audits on its skills.sh page. Each skill page shows results from three scanners (Gen Agent Trust Hub, Socket and Snyk). Even find-skills' own page showed Pass, Pass and a Warn from Snyk on 2026-10-31, and skills.sh doesn't say what each warning means, so treat a warning as a reason to read the next item closely, not as a verdict either way.
- The SKILL.md itself. It's plain English. Ask Claude to read it to you: what it tells Claude to do, any commands it runs, and whether it wants a login, a key or other software. A skill can't be any better than those instructions.
Before I install <skill name>: open its skills.sh page and its GitHub repo and tell me the install count, the owner, the stars and the security audit results. Then read me its SKILL.md in plain English: what it tells you to do, any commands it runs, and anything it needs from me. Don't install it.Install the one you picked
Say yes, or run it yourself
Tell Claude “yes, install it” and it runs the install command it showed you. To do it yourself, use the skill's repo and name. Here's the shape, with a real one from Vercel's own skills repo:
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill web-design-guidelines -g -a claude-codeGlobal or just this project
With
-gthe skill goes in~/.claude/skillsand works in every folder. Leave-goff and it goes in.claude/skillsinside the folder you're in, for that project only (handy when a skill only makes sense for one website or one repo).Use it
Ask for the job in plain English and Claude loads the skill when your request fits it. Or call it by name: type
/and the skill's name.
Real use: prompts for real jobs
Is there a skill for <the job, e.g. writing better product descriptions>? Use find-skills, show me the best two with installs, owner and stars, and tell me which one you'd pick and why. Don't install anything.Search only skills from <GitHub owner, e.g. vercel-labs> for <the job>, using npx skills find with --owner. Show me what's there.List the skills in <owner/repo> without installing them (npx skills add <owner/repo> --list), and tell me in one line what each one does.List my global skills (npx skills ls -g) and tell me in one line what each one does. Then check for updates with npx skills check. Show me any update or removal command and wait for my yes.Keep them updated (and remove what you don't use)
npx skills check # anything to update?
npx skills update -g # update your global skills
npx skills remove --global <name> # take one offThe Skills CLI sends anonymous usage data, and asks for security audits, by default. Set either of these to 1 to switch both off:
DISABLE_TELEMETRYTurns off the CLI's anonymous usage data and security-audit requests
Where: Your terminal, before npx skills (e.g. in your shell profile)DO_NOT_TRACKDoes the same thing; either one works
Where: Your terminal, before npx skillsWhat it costs
| Piece | Plan | Price |
|---|---|---|
| find-skills | Open source (MIT license, vercel-labs/skills) | Free |
Skills CLI (npx skills) | Open source (MIT license, npm package skills) | Free |
| skills.sh | Public directory, no account needed to browse | Free |
| Node.js | LTS download from nodejs.org | Free |
| Claude Code | Claude Pro (the free Claude plan doesn't include Claude Code) | $20 a month billed monthly, or $17 a month billed yearly ($200 up front) |
| Claude Code | Claude Max | $100 a month |
Watch out for one thing: the skills are free, but a skill can tell Claude to use a paid service (an image tool, an ad account, an API). That's what the SKILL.md read in “Check a skill” is for.
When it breaks
npx: command not found or node: command not found
The Skills CLI complains about your Node.js version
node --version and install the current LTS from nodejs.org.claude: command not found after installing
Claude Code says your plan doesn't include it
Claude answers from memory instead of searching
/skills and check find-skills is listed. If it is, ask “find a skill for …” or start with /find-skills. If it isn't, run the install again with -g -a claude-code so it lands in ~/.claude/skills.A skill you installed doesn't show up in Claude Code
-g) in another folder, or for another agent. Run npx skills ls -g; reinstall with -g -a claude-code. If ~/.claude/skills didn't exist when your session started, type /reload-skills once.Claude Code asks permission before running npx
No skills found when you add a repo
SKILL.md files (each needs a name and a description at the top). Check the address, or list what's there with --list.Permission errors during install
sudo as a shortcut.A skill asks for a key, token or password
That's the whole trick
Ask Claude in plain English, let find-skills do the digging, and check the installs, who made it and the stars before you say yes.
Checked on Oct 31, 2026 against
Every claim about a third-party tool in this guide (plans, prices, menu paths, commands, limits) was checked against these official pages on Oct 31, 2026. These screens change often: if something looks different, trust the page over this guide.
- find-skills SKILL.md (vercel-labs/skills)What the skill does: the leaderboard first,
npx skills find, the install, source and stars checks with their bars, install only if you want to proceed. - skills.sh: find-skillsThe install command, 4.1M installs, 37.3K GitHub stars, first seen Jan 26, 2026, audits Pass / Pass / Warn (checked 2026-10-31).
- skills.shThe leaderboard ranked by installs; find-skills at number one (checked 2026-10-31).
- skills.sh: Security auditsCombined audit results from Gen Agent Trust Hub, Socket and Snyk.
- Skills CLI README (vercel-labs/skills)Node.js 22.20 or later,
npx skills add, the other commands, telemetry and how to turn it off, MIT license. - Skills CLI reference
addwith--skill,-g,-a,--list; project vs global scope;find --owner,ls,check,update,remove. - Skills CLI: Supported agentsClaude Code's agent name
claude-code; skills go in.claude/skills/(project) or~/.claude/skills/(global). - Skills CLI: Troubleshooting“No skills found”, permission errors, the telemetry variables.
- npm: skillsThe Skills CLI package (version 1.7.4 on 2026-10-31), MIT license, Node.js 22.20 or later.
- npm Docs: npxnpx downloads a tool that isn't installed and prompts first;
--yesskips the prompt. - Claude Code: SkillsWhere personal and project skills live, how Claude picks one,
/skill-name,/skills, no restart,/reload-skills. - Claude Code: Advanced setupInstall commands,
claude --version, which plans include Claude Code. - Claude Code: PermissionsClaude Code asks before running most shell commands.
- Claude: Plans and pricingPro at $20 a month billed monthly or $17 a month billed yearly; Max at $100 a month; Claude Code not in the free plan (checked 2026-10-31).
- Node.js: DownloadThe LTS download (v26.13.0 on 2026-10-31).
