Productivity

skill-downloader

nicepkg/ai-workflow · updated Apr 8, 2026

$npx skills add https://github.com/nicepkg/ai-workflow --skill skill-downloader
summary

Download and install Claude Code skills from multiple sources.

skill.md

Skill Downloader

Download and install Claude Code skills from multiple sources.

Supported Sources

Source Type Examples
GitHub Repository https://github.com/user/repo, github.com/user/repo
Compressed Archive .zip, .tar.gz, .tgz, .skill (renamed zip)
Direct URL URL pointing to archive or skill folder

Usage

Download from GitHub

python scripts/download_from_github.py <repo-url> <skill-path> --output <target-dir>

Examples:

# Official Anthropic skills
python scripts/download_from_github.py https://github.com/anthropics/skills skills/docx --output ./.claude/skills/

# Community skills (root level)
python scripts/download_from_github.py https://github.com/gked2121/claude-skills social-repurposer --output ./.claude/skills/

# Nested skill path
python scripts/download_from_github.py https://github.com/MadAppGang/claude-code skills/content-brief --output ./.claude/skills/

Download from Archive

python scripts/download_from_archive.py <url-or-path> --output <target-dir>

Examples:

# From URL
python scripts/download_from_archive.py https://example.com/skills/my-skill.zip --output ./.claude/skills/

# From local file
python scripts/download_from_archive.py ./downloads/my-skill.tar.gz --output ./.claude/skills/

# .skill files (renamed zip)
python scripts/download_from_archive.py https://skillhub.club/download/awesome-skill.skill --output ./.claude/skills/

Unified Download Command

python scripts/download_skill.py <source> --output <target-dir>

Automatically detects source type:

  • GitHub URL → Uses git sparse checkout
  • Archive URL/path → Downloads and extracts
  • Directory path → Copies directly

Examples:

# Auto-detect GitHub
python scripts/download_skill.py https://github.com/anthropics/skills/tree/main/skills/docx --output ./.claude/skills/

# Auto-detect archive
python scripts/download_skill.py https://example.com/my-skill.zip --output ./.claude/skills/

Validation

All download methods validate:

  1. Skill folder contains SKILL.md
  2. SKILL.md has valid YAML frontmatter with name and description
  3. No malicious content patterns detected

Output Structure

Downloaded skills are placed in:

<output-dir>/
└── <skill-name>/
    ├── SKILL.md        # Required
    ├── scripts/        # Optional
    └── ...

Error Handling

Error Cause Solution
Skill already exists Target directory exists Use --force to overwrite
SKILL.md not found Invalid skill package Verify source contains SKILL.md
Invalid archive Corrupted or unsupported format Check file integrity
Network error Download failed Retry or check URL

Integration with Workflow Creator

When used with workflow-creator, download skills to workflow's .claude/skills/ directory:

# Create workflow first
python /path/to/workflow-creator/scripts/create_workflow.py my-workflow --path ./workflows

# Then download skills
python scripts/download_skill.py https://github.com/anthropics/skills/tree/main/skills/docx --output ./workflows/my-workflow/.claude/skills/

Skill Sources Reference

Popular skill repositories:

general reviews

Ratings

4.510 reviews
  • Shikha Mishra· Oct 10, 2024

    skill-downloader is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

  • Piyush G· Sep 9, 2024

    Keeps context tight: skill-downloader is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.

  • Chaitanya Patil· Aug 8, 2024

    Registry listing for skill-downloader matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.

  • Sakshi Patil· Jul 7, 2024

    skill-downloader reduced setup friction for our internal harness; good balance of opinion and flexibility.

  • Ganesh Mohane· Jun 6, 2024

    I recommend skill-downloader for anyone iterating fast on agent tooling; clear intent and a small, reviewable surface area.

  • Oshnikdeep· May 5, 2024

    Useful defaults in skill-downloader — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.

  • Dhruvi Jain· Apr 4, 2024

    skill-downloader has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.

  • Rahul Santra· Mar 3, 2024

    Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: skill-downloader is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.

  • Pratham Ware· Feb 2, 2024

    We added skill-downloader from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.

  • Yash Thakker· Jan 1, 2024

    skill-downloader fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.