Overview

Skill commands provide comprehensive management of FastSkill skills through command line interface. These commands allow you to register, install, update, remove, and manage skills in your FastSkill ecosystem.

For detailed documentation on specific commands, see the dedicated command pages linked below.

Command Reference

fastskill init

Initialize skill-project.toml for skill authors in current skill directory. This command extracts metadata from SKILL.md frontmatter and prompts for additional fields to create a comprehensive metadata file.

See init Command for complete documentation with all flags and examples.

# Create skill-project.toml interactively
fastskill init

# Set version directly
fastskill init --version 1.2.3

# Skip prompts, use defaults
fastskill init --yes

# Force overwrite existing skill-project.toml
fastskill init --force

What it does:

Derives skill ID from current directory name (required)
Extracts available fields from SKILL.md frontmatter (name, description, version, author, tags, capabilities)
Prompts interactively for missing fields (when not using --yes)
Creates skill-project.toml with all metadata fields including required id and version

Options:

--yes: Skip interactive prompts and use defaults
--force: Force reinitialization even if skill-project.toml exists
--version <VERSION>: Set version directly
--description <DESC>: Set skill description
--author <AUTHOR>: Set skill author
--download-url <URL>: Set download URL

fastskill read

Retrieve skill documentation and base directory path in an agent-optimized format. This command is designed for programmatic consumption by AI agents and automation tools.

# Read a skill by ID
fastskill read <skill-id>

# Examples
fastskill read pptx
fastskill read data-analyzer
fastskill read web-scraper

Output Format: The command outputs structured text with:

Skill identifier
Base directory (absolute path)
Complete SKILL.md content

Example Output:

Reading: pptx
Base directory: /home/user/.claude/skills/pptx

---
description: "Presentation creation and editing"
author: "FastSkill Team"
version: "1.2.3"
tags: ["presentation", "powerpoint", "office"]
capabilities: ["create_slides", "edit_content", "export_formats"]
---

# PowerPoint Skill

This skill provides tools for creating and editing PowerPoint presentations programmatically.

## Tools Available

### create_presentation
Creates a new PowerPoint presentation with specified parameters.

**Parameters:**
- `title` (string): Presentation title
- `template` (string, optional): Template to use
- `slides` (array): Array of slide definitions

**Returns:** Presentation file path

### add_slide
Adds a new slide to an existing presentation.

**Parameters:**
- `presentation_path` (string): Path to presentation file
- `slide_type` (string): Type of slide (title, content, etc.)
- `content` (object): Slide content definition

**Returns:** Updated presentation file path

Use Cases:

Agent Integration: Load skill documentation into agent context
Tool Discovery: Explore available functions and parameters
Documentation Access: Get complete skill information programmatically
Debugging: Verify skill content and structure

Error Handling:

Exit code 0: Success
Exit code 1: Skill not found or invalid identifier
Exit code 2: System error (file access, size limit exceeded)

Limitations:

Maximum file size: 500KB for SKILL.md files
Single skill per invocation
Read-only operation (does not execute scripts or modify data)
Only works with already-installed skills

PPTX Skill

This skill provides tools for creating and editing PowerPoint presentations. Skill read: pptx

**Use Cases**:
- Load skill documentation into agent context
- Resolve skill resources (scripts, references, assets)
- Check skill availability programmatically

**Error Handling**:
- Exit code 0: Success
- Exit code 1: Skill not found or invalid identifier
- Exit code 2: System error (file access, size limit exceeded)

**Limitations**:
- Maximum file size: 500KB for SKILL.md files
- Single skill per invocation
- Read-only operation (does not execute scripts or modify data)
- Only works with already-installed skills

### fastskill install

Install skills from `skill-project.toml` to skills storage directory (like `poetry install`). The storage location is configured in `.fastskill/config.yaml` via `skills_directory` (default: `.claude/skills/`).

<Info>
See [install Command](/cli-reference/install-command) for complete documentation with groups, lockfile, and reconciliation features.
</Info>

```bash
# Install all skills from skill-project.toml
fastskill install

# Install without dev group skills
fastskill install --without dev

# Install only production group skills
fastskill install --only prod

# Install from lock file (reproducible)
fastskill install --lock

Options:

--without <GROUPS...>: Exclude skills from these groups
--only <GROUPS...>: Only install skills from these groups
--lock: Install from skills.lock (exact versions) instead of resolving from skill-project.toml

fastskill update

Update skills in skills storage directory to their latest versions from source. The storage location is configured in .fastskill/config.yaml via skills_directory (default: .claude/skills/).

See update Command for complete documentation with strategies and version constraints.

# Update all skills
fastskill update

# Update specific skill
fastskill update my-skill-id

# Check for updates without installing
fastskill update --check

# Show what would be updated
fastskill update --dry-run

Options:

<SKILL_ID>: Skill ID to update (if not specified, updates all)
--check: Check for updates without installing
--dry-run: Show what would be updated without actually updating
--version <VERSION>: Update to specific version
--source <SOURCE>: Update from specific source
--strategy <STRATEGY>: Update strategy: latest, patch, minor, major (default: latest)

fastskill update

Update skills in the skills storage directory to their latest versions from source. The storage location is configured in .fastskill/config.yaml via skills_directory (default: .claude/skills/).

# Update all skills
fastskill update

# Update specific skill
fastskill update my-skill-id

# Check for updates without installing
fastskill update --check

# Show what would be updated
fastskill update --dry-run

fastskill show

Display skill information and dependency tree.

# Show all skills
fastskill show

# Show specific skill
fastskill show my-skill-id

# Show dependency tree
fastskill show --tree

# Show dependency tree for specific skill
fastskill show my-skill-id --tree

fastskill add

Add a skill from a source (git URL, local folder, or zip file) and install it to the skills storage directory. Updates both skill-project.toml and skills.lock. Storage Location: Skills are installed to the directory configured in .fastskill/config.yaml via the skills_directory setting (default: .claude/skills/). Repository configuration is stored in [tool.fastskill.repositories] section of skill-project.toml.

# Add skill from git URL
fastskill add https://github.com/org/skill.git

# Add skill in editable mode (for local development)
fastskill add ./local-skill -e

# Add skill to a group
fastskill add https://github.com/org/skill.git --group dev

# Add editable skill to dev group
fastskill add ./local-skill -e --group dev

Options:

-e, --editable: Install skill in editable mode (symlink/reference for local development)
--group <GROUP>: Add skill to a specific group (e.g., “dev”, “prod”)
--branch <BRANCH>: Git branch to checkout (for git URLs)
--tag <TAG>: Git tag to checkout (for git URLs)
--force: Force registration even if skill already exists

fastskill remove

Remove a skill from the skills storage directory and update both skill-project.toml and skills.lock. The storage location is configured in .fastskill/config.yaml via skills_directory (default: .claude/skills/).

# Remove skill (with confirmation)
fastskill remove my-skill-id

# Force removal without confirmation
fastskill remove my-skill-id --force

# Remove multiple skills
fastskill remove skill1 skill2 skill3

fastskill registry

Manage skill repositories for discovering and installing skills.

# Add a repository
fastskill registry add team-tools --repo-type git-marketplace https://github.com/org/team-skills.git

# List all repositories
fastskill registry list

# Remove a repository
fastskill registry remove team-tools

# Update repository metadata
fastskill registry update team-tools --branch develop

# List skills from a repository
fastskill registry list-skills

# Search for skills
fastskill registry search "web scraping"

fastskill list

List locally installed skills with reconciliation against project and lock files. Similar to pip list or uv list.

# List all installed skills (grid format)
fastskill list

# List in JSON format
fastskill list --json

# Explicitly request grid format
fastskill list --grid

Output Format:

Grid (default): Human-readable table with columns: id, version, description, source, installed_path, installed_at (if available), status
JSON: Machine-readable array with same fields plus reconciliation status

Reconciliation Status:

ok: Skill is installed and matches project/lock files
missing: Skill is in skill-project.toml but not installed
extraneous: Skill is installed but not in skill-project.toml
mismatch: Installed version differs from skills.lock

Options:

--json: Output in JSON format (mutually exclusive with --grid)
--grid: Output in grid table format (default, mutually exclusive with --json)

Example JSON Output:

[
  {
    "id": "pptx",
    "version": "1.2.3",
    "description": "Presentation creation and editing",
    "source": "registry",
    "installed_path": "/home/user/.claude/skills/pptx",
    "installed_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "status": "ok"
  }
]

Note: This command reads installed skill manifests from the skills directory as the source of truth and cross-references skill-project.toml (desired) and skills.lock (pinned) to report reconciliation status.

fastskill disable

Disable skills to prevent them from being used.

# Disable skill
fastskill disable text-processor

# Batch operations
fastskill disable skill1 skill2 skill3

fastskill remove

Remove a skill from the skills storage directory and update both skill-project.toml and skills.lock.

# Remove skill (with confirmation)
fastskill remove my-skill-id

# Force removal without confirmation
fastskill remove my-skill-id --force

# Remove multiple skills
fastskill remove skill1 skill2 skill3

Options:

--force: Force removal without confirmation prompt

Examples

Skill Development Workflow

# 1. Add skill from Git repository
fastskill add https://github.com/org/my-skill.git

# 2. List skills to verify installation
fastskill list

# 3. Show skill details
fastskill show my-skill

# 4. Update to latest version
fastskill update my-skill

# 5. Disable if needed
fastskill disable my-skill

# 6. Remove skill
fastskill remove my-skill --confirm

Batch Operations

# Install multiple local skills (editable) and install
for dir in ./skills/*; do
  fastskill add "$dir" -e --group dev
done

fastskill install
fastskill reindex

CI/CD Integration

# Install with locked versions for reproducible builds
fastskill install --lock --without dev

# Reindex for search
fastskill reindex

# Verify installation
fastskill list

Skill commands support both interactive use and automation. Use appropriate options for your workflow.

Getting Started

Configuration

Skill Management

Discovery & Routing

Tool Calling

Progressive Loading

API Reference

CLI Reference

Registry

Examples & Tutorials

Advanced Topics

Integration

Skill Commands

Overview

Command Reference

fastskill init

fastskill read

PPTX Skill

fastskill update

fastskill update

fastskill show

fastskill add

fastskill remove

fastskill registry

fastskill list

fastskill disable

fastskill remove

Examples

Skill Development Workflow

Batch Operations

CI/CD Integration

Getting Started

Configuration

Skill Management

Discovery & Routing

Tool Calling

Progressive Loading

API Reference

CLI Reference

Registry

Examples & Tutorials

Advanced Topics

Integration

​Overview

​Command Reference

​fastskill init

​fastskill read

​PPTX Skill

​fastskill update

​fastskill update

​fastskill show

​fastskill add

​fastskill remove

​fastskill registry

​fastskill list

​fastskill disable

​fastskill remove

​Examples

​Skill Development Workflow

​Batch Operations

​CI/CD Integration

Overview

Command Reference

fastskill init

fastskill read

PPTX Skill

fastskill update

fastskill update

fastskill show

fastskill add

fastskill remove

fastskill registry

fastskill list

fastskill disable

fastskill remove

Examples

Skill Development Workflow

Batch Operations

CI/CD Integration