Your first skill
This guide finds a skill in the registry, installs it into a project, and checks that your agent can see it.
1. Search for a skill
skillpm search pdfEach result shows the skill as owner/name with its trust tier, then its description, score, install count and spec version, and the command to install it — for example:
anthropics/pdf [verified]
...
skillpm install anthropics/pdfMany skills share a name, so the registry addresses each one as owner/name. Narrow a search with --tier verified, or change the order with --sort score. See skillpm search.
2. Install it
Run this from inside your project:
skillpm install anthropics/pdf✔ Installed "pdf" at project scope
✓ Score: 100/100 · Trust: verified
Linked into /path/to/project/.agents/skills/pdf
Linked into /path/to/project/.claude/skills/pdfSkills install at project scope by default. The skill is stored under .skilldex/ in your project and linked into .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/, the directories Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and other agents read.
If you install by a bare name that several owners have published, skillpm asks which one you meant.
3. Check the install
skillpm listglobal scope
(no skills installed)
shared scope
(no skills installed)
project scope
pdf score: 100/100 source: community
1 skill(s) installed across 3 scope(s)4. Use it
Start your agent in the project. It finds the skill in its skills directory and uses it when a task matches the skill's description — here, whenever you ask it to work with a PDF.
Install to another scope
# Available in every project on this machine
skillpm install anthropics/pdf --scope globalSee Scopes for how project, shared, and global differ.
Uninstall
skillpm uninstall pdfNext steps
- CLI reference — every command and flag
- Scopes — when to use project, shared, or global
- Browse the registry — discover more skills