How to Install Skills in Claude Code, Codex and Cursor

Installing a skill sounds more complicated than it is. In every tool it comes down to the same thing: put the skill's folder where the agent looks for it, or let a command do that for you. This guide shows where that is in Claude Code, Codex and Cursor, how plugins and installers fit in, and how to check that the agent actually sees the skill.

If you're not sure what a skill is yet, start with what AI agent skills are.

Before you install anything

A skill is instructions your agent will follow, and it may include scripts the agent runs. Open the SKILL.md and skim it before installing. Prefer official sources, and skip anything that asks the agent to upload your files or run commands unrelated to what the skill says it does.

Every skill is a folder with a SKILL.md inside. When you copy one by hand, copy the whole folder, not just the file, so its scripts and reference files come along.

Claude Code

Copy a skill folder

On Windows, ~ is your user folder, so the personal path is C:\Users\<you>\.claude\skills\<skill-name>\. In PowerShell:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills\my-skill"
Copy-Item ".\my-skill\*" "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills\my-skill\" -Recurse

On macOS or Linux:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r ./my-skill ~/.claude/skills/

Install a plugin

Plugins bundle skills, agents, hooks and MCP servers, and they install from a marketplace. Anthropic's official marketplace is available by default:

/plugin install commit-commands@claude-plugins-official

Inside a session, that opens the plugin's details so you can review it and pick a scope: just you, everyone on the project, or you in this project only. To browse instead, run /plugin on its own.

For a plugin from another marketplace, add the marketplace first. Most are GitHub repositories:

/plugin marketplace add owner/repo
/plugin install plugin-name@marketplace-name

From your shell, without opening a session, the same works with claude plugin install plugin-name@marketplace-name.

Check that it worked

Type / in Claude Code. Your skills appear by name, and plugin skills appear as /plugin-name:skill-name. Claude also uses a skill on its own when your request matches its description.

Codex

Copy a skill folder

On Windows the personal path is C:\Users\<you>\.agents\skills\<skill-name>\.

Use the built-in installer

Codex ships with a skill whose job is installing other skills. Mention it in a message:

$skill-installer list the curated skills
$skill-installer install the skill at https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/main/skills/skill-name

It installs from OpenAI's curated collection by default, or from any GitHub folder you point it to. Codex picks the new skill up on the next turn.

Check that it worked

Run /skills to see what Codex found, and call a skill explicitly by writing $skill-name in your message. Codex also has a /plugins command to browse plugins.

Cursor

Copy a skill folder

Cursor also reads .claude/skills/ and .codex/skills/, so if a repository already has skills for Claude Code or Codex, Cursor uses them without copying anything.

Skills from GitHub

To share skills from a GitHub repository, Cursor packages them as a plugin and installs them through a marketplace. For a single skill, copying its folder into one of the paths above is the quickest way.

Check that it worked

Type / in the Agent chat and search for the skill by name.

One command for every agent

There's also a community command-line tool, skills, that installs a skill into several agents at once:

npx skills add owner/repo

It detects which agents you use and asks where to install. Add -g to install for your user instead of the current project. Remotion, for example, publishes its official skills this way (npx skills add remotion-dev/skills). It's handy, but it's a third-party tool, so the same rule applies: know what you're installing.

Which folder should I use?

• One project, shared with a team: commit the skill to the repository. Use .agents/skills/ if your team uses different agents, or .claude/skills/ if everyone uses Claude Code.
• Every project, just you: your personal folder for the agent you use.
• Several skills that belong together: look for, or make, a plugin.

FAQ

Do I need to restart the agent after installing a skill?

Usually not. Claude Code and Codex pick up new skills during the session or on the next turn. Plugins in Claude Code may ask you to run /reload-plugins. If a skill doesn't appear, starting a new session is the quick fix.

The skill installed but the agent never uses it. Why?

The agent decides from the skill's description. If the description doesn't mention the words you use when asking, the agent won't connect them. Call the skill by name to test it, then improve the description.

Can I use the same skill in Claude Code, Codex and Cursor?

Yes, the SKILL.md format is shared. Some tools add optional extras, like Codex's agents/openai.yaml, but the core file works everywhere.

Is it safe to install skills from GitHub?

As safe as running code from GitHub. Read the SKILL.md and any scripts, prefer official or well-known sources, and avoid skills that do more than they claim.

Further reading

• Previous: What are AI agent skills?
• Next: How to create your own skill
• Claude Code: install and manage plugins
• Claude Code skills documentation