Install find-skills in Claude Code, ask for a skill in plain English, and check its installs, source and GitHub stars before you say yes. Free to set up.
Swipe or tap Next · checked on 2026-10-31
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.
Start Claude Code
claudeThe setup prompt (copy all of it) · lines 1-1 of 26. Copy all copies the whole prompt; read it in full on the page.
Hi 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.This is the manual way: every step and every command. Claude follows it too.
SKILL.md file: instructions that teach Claude one job. Claude Code keeps your personal ones in ~/.claude/skills (the ~ means your home folder).npx skills.npx comes with it and downloads and runs a tool like the Skills CLI in one go.-g): install for every folder on your computer, not just the one you're in.The 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.
Check Node.js
node --versionSkip this if claude --version already 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 run claude, it opens your browser to log in.
Mac, Linux or WSL
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
# open a NEW terminal window, then:
claude --version
claudeWindows PowerShell
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
# open a NEW PowerShell window, then:
claude --version
claudeRun 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.
Install find-skills
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills --skill find-skills -g -a claude-codeThe 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.
List your skills
npx skills ls -gInside Claude Code
/skillsStart claude and paste this. It should search, show you a short list with the numbers, and stop.
Prompt: search only
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:
Search from your terminal
npx skills find website performanceThis 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:
vercel-labs in vercel-labs/agent-skillsvercel-labs, anthropics and microsoft over unknown authorsFrom find-skills' SKILL.md in vercel-labs/skills, checked 2026-10-31.
Prompt: check one before installing
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.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:
Install one skill for Claude Code, in every folder
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill web-design-guidelines -g -a claude-codeWith -g the skill goes in ~/.claude/skills and works in every folder. Leave -g off and it goes in .claude/skills inside the folder you're in, for that project only (handy when a skill only makes sense for one website or one repo).
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.
1. Find a skill for a job
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.2. Only one company's skills
Search only skills from <GitHub owner, e.g. vercel-labs> for <the job>, using npx skills find with --owner. Show me what's there.3. What's in a repo before you add any of it
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.4. A quick cleanup
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.Check, update, remove
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
Your terminal, before npx skills (e.g. in your shell profile)DO_NOT_TRACKDoes the same thing; either one works
Your terminal, before npx skillsnpx skills)skills)Checked 2026-10-31 on claude.com/pricing and each project's page. Prices change: check before you buy.
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.
npx: command not found or node: command not foundNode.js isn't installed, or your terminal was open before you installed it. Install the LTS from nodejs.org and open a new terminal window.
It needs 22.20 or later. Check with node --version and install the current LTS from nodejs.org.
claude: command not found after installingOpen a new terminal window. Still missing? The install folder isn't on your PATH yet: Claude Code's “Troubleshoot installation” page walks through the fix.
The free Claude plan doesn't include Claude Code. You need Pro or higher (or a Console account).
Type /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.
It was probably installed for one project (no -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.
npxThat's normal: Claude Code asks before it runs most commands. Read the command, and say yes only if it's the one you expected.
No skills found when you add a repoThe repo has no valid SKILL.md files (each needs a name and a description at the top). Check the address, or list what's there with --list.
The CLI can't write to the target folder. Check you can write to it; don't reach for sudo as a shortcut.
Stop. Find out from its SKILL.md and repo what it's for and which service it's from. Never paste one into a chat; if you go ahead, put it where that service's own docs say.
What each page backs up is listed at the end of the full guide.
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.
Want help setting this up? Receipts Group builds these systems.
Open the full guide as a page (every file in full, plus the table of contents).