skill-install

Skill Install

Install skills from the dogfooded-skills library into a Claude Code project.

When to Use

Adding a new skill to a project for the first time
Updating an existing installed skill to the latest version
Bulk-installing a set of skills into a new project

Prerequisites

The library must be cloned locally:

ls dogfooded-skills/skills/ 2>/dev/null || \
  git clone https://github.com/Fellowship-dev/dogfooded-skills

The target project must have a .claude/ directory (it's a Claude Code project):

ls <target-project>/.claude/

Workflow

Install a single skill

Locate the skill in the library:
```
ls dogfooded-skills/skills/<skill-name>/
```
If not found, check the README for the full catalog.

Copy to the target project:

cp -r dogfooded-skills/skills/<skill-name> <target-project>/.claude/skills/

Register in CLAUDE.md — add a row to the project's skill table. Find the table:
```
grep -n "skill" <target-project>/CLAUDE.md | head -20
```
Add the row using the skill's name and description from its frontmatter:
```
| `skill-name` | One-line description from the skill's frontmatter |
```

Verify:

ls <target-project>/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md
grep "skill-name" <target-project>/CLAUDE.md

Install multiple skills at once

TARGET=<target-project>/.claude/skills
for skill in skill-author skill-install <other-skills>; do
  cp -r dogfooded-skills/skills/$skill $TARGET/
  echo "Installed: $skill"
done

Then update CLAUDE.md with all new rows in one edit.

Update an existing skill

Pull latest from the library and re-copy:

cd dogfooded-skills && git pull origin main && cd ..
cp -r dogfooded-skills/skills/<skill-name> <target-project>/.claude/skills/

Warning: This overwrites any local modifications to the skill. If the project has diverged from the library version, diff before overwriting:
diff -r dogfooded-skills/skills/<skill-name> <target-project>/.claude/skills/<skill-name>

Project CLAUDE.md Skill Table Format

The skill table in CLAUDE.md typically looks like:

## Skills

| Skill | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| `ona-gitpod` | Manage Ona (Gitpod) cloud environments |
| `skill-install` | Install skills from dogfooded-skills library |

If the project doesn't have a skill table yet, add one. Find an appropriate heading (usually near the bottom, after project-specific instructions) and insert:

## Skills

| Skill | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| `<skill-name>` | <description from frontmatter> |

Skills Directory Layout

After installation, the project's skills directory should look like:

.claude/
  skills/
    <skill-name>/
      SKILL.md          ← the skill itself
      <support-files>   ← scripts or reference data bundled with the skill

Every skill is self-contained in its own subdirectory. Installing a skill is always a directory copy — never a single-file copy.

Error Handling

Skill not found in library — check the library README for the correct name. Skills use kebab-case: deps-runner not depsRunner.

Target project has no .claude/skills/ dir — create it:

mkdir -p <target-project>/.claude/skills/

CLAUDE.md has no skill table — add one. See the format above.

Skill already exists with local modifications — diff before overwriting. If the local version has project-specific customizations, merge manually rather than overwriting.

Critical Rules

Always install as a directory, not as a single file — skills may bundle support files
Always register in CLAUDE.md — a skill file that isn't referenced in CLAUDE.md won't be surfaced to Claude without explicit invocation
Diff before updating — don't silently overwrite local customizations