Write AI instructions once. Sync to every tool you use.

---

Every AI coding tool has its own config format. Claude uses CLAUDE.md. Cursor uses .cursor/rules/. Copilot uses .github/copilot-instructions.md. Codex uses AGENTS.md. Windsurf, Cline, Zed — all different.

Skillr gives you one canonical format (.skillr/) and compiles it to all of them. No Docker, no database, no web browser. Just a CLI.

.skillr/skills/
    ├── code-review.md
    ├── testing-strategy.md
    └── api-standards.md
          │
          ▼  skillr sync
    ┌─────┼─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐
    ▼     ▼     ▼     ▼     ▼     ▼
 CLAUDE  .cursor  copilot  .windsurf  .clinerules  AGENTS
  .md    /rules   .md      /rules                  .md

Install

npm install -g @eooo/skillr

Or use directly with npx:

npx @eooo/skillr <command>

Quick Start

skillr init
skillr add "Code Review Standards"
# edit .skillr/skills/code-review-standards.md
skillr sync

That's it. Here's what just happened:

Your skill (.skillr/skills/code-review-standards.md):

---
id: code-review-standards
name: Code Review Standards
description: Enforce team code review conventions
tags: [code-quality]
---

All public functions must have JSDoc.
Prefer composition over inheritance.
No `any` types in TypeScript.

Generated output after skillr sync:

.claude/CLAUDE.md:

## Code Review Standards

All public functions must have JSDoc.
Prefer composition over inheritance.
No `any` types in TypeScript.

---

.cursor/rules/code-review-standards.mdc:

---
description: Enforce team code review conventions
alwaysApply: true
tags:
  - code-quality
---

All public functions must have JSDoc.
Prefer composition over inheritance.
No `any` types in TypeScript.

.github/copilot-instructions.md:

## Code Review Standards

All public functions must have JSDoc.
Prefer composition over inheritance.
No `any` types in TypeScript.

---

Same instructions, every tool's native format, from one source file.

Already have AI instructions?

Import them from existing provider configs:

skillr import
# Detected 3 skills in .claude/CLAUDE.md
# Detected 2 skills in .cursor/rules/
# Imported 5 skills → .skillr/skills/

Commands

Command	Description
skillr init	Initialize .skillr/ in the current directory
skillr add <name>	Create a new skill from a template
skillr sync	Compile skills to all enabled provider configs
skillr diff	Preview what sync would change
skillr lint [slug]	Run prompt quality checks (11 rules)
skillr import	Import skills from existing provider configs
skillr test <slug>	Test a skill against an LLM (Anthropic or OpenAI)

skillr init --name "My Project" --providers claude,cursor
skillr sync --provider claude          # sync one provider only
skillr sync --dry-run                  # preview without writing
skillr lint --json                     # machine-readable output
skillr test my-skill --model gpt-4o   # override the skill's model

Supported Providers

Provider	Output	Format
Claude	.claude/CLAUDE.md	All skills under H2 headings
Cursor	.cursor/rules/{slug}.mdc	One MDC file per skill
GitHub Copilot	.github/copilot-instructions.md	All skills concatenated
Windsurf	.windsurf/rules/{slug}.md	One file per skill
Cline	.clinerules	Single flat file
OpenAI Codex (CLI / macOS / IDE)	AGENTS.md	All skills concatenated at project root
OpenAI (deprecated, removed in v1.2.0)	.openai/instructions.md	Use codex instead
Zed	.rules	Single flat file
Aider	CONVENTIONS.md + .aider.conf.yml	Aggregated conventions referenced by config
Continue	.continue/rules/{slug}.md	One file per skill
JetBrains AI (Junie)	.junie/guidelines.md	Single flat file

How It Works

A skill is a Markdown file with YAML frontmatter:

---
id: code-review
name: Code Review Standards
description: Enforce team code review conventions
tags: [code-quality, review]
includes: [base-instructions]
template_variables:
  - name: language
    default: TypeScript
---

You are a senior code reviewer. All code must be written in {{language}}.

## Rules
- No `any` types
- All public functions must have JSDoc
- Prefer composition over inheritance

## Output Format
Return a structured review with severity levels: critical, warning, suggestion.

Required fields: id, name. Everything else is optional.

Composition

Skills can include other skills via includes. Resolved recursively at sync time with circular dependency detection (max depth 5):

includes: [base-instructions, typescript-conventions]

Template Variables

{{variable}} placeholders with defaults, resolved per-project at sync time:

template_variables:
  - name: language
    default: TypeScript

Prompt Linting

11 built-in quality rules catch vague instructions, weak constraints, conflicting directives, missing output formats, role confusion, and more:

skillr lint                  # lint all skills
skillr lint code-review      # lint one skill

Skill Format

Simple skills are flat Markdown files. Complex skills use folder format:

.skillr/skills/api-standards/
    ├── skill.md           # main skill file
    ├── gotchas.md         # common pitfalls
    └── examples/
        └── response.json  # supplementary files

Frontmatter Fields

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Required. Unique identifier (kebab-case)
name	string	Required. Display name
description	string	When this skill applies
category	string	One of 10 predefined categories
skill_type	string	capability-uplift or encoded-preference
model	string	Target model (e.g., claude-sonnet-4-6)
max_tokens	number	Max output tokens
tags	string[]	Organizational tags
tools	object[]	Tool/function definitions
includes	string[]	Skill slugs to compose with
template_variables	object[]	{{variable}} definitions with defaults
gotchas	string	Common pitfalls and edge cases
conditions	object	file_patterns and path_prefixes for conditional application

Development

cd cli
npm install
npm run build          # compile TypeScript
npm run dev -- init    # run commands during development
npm test               # run tests (109 tests, vitest)

Web Dashboard

This repo also contains a web-based dashboard for teams that want a GUI. It's a separate application built on Laravel + React — see docs/guide/getting-started.md for setup instructions.

The CLI does not depend on the web dashboard. They share the same .skillr/ format.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup instructions and guidelines.

Security

If you discover a security vulnerability, please see SECURITY.md for responsible disclosure instructions. Do not open a public issue.

License

MIT — Copyright 2026 eooo.io