Discover, browse, and compare agent skills from repositories. Shows new skills, updates, and helps users find relevant skills. Use when exploring available skills or checking for updates.
Discover and browse agent skills from GitHub repositories, compare with locally installed skills, and identify updates or new additions.
Use skill-browser when you need to:
Extract repository information from user request:
Repository Formats:
Branch:
Retrieve the repository's CATALOG.md file:
URL Construction:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/{owner}/{repo}/{branch}/CATALOG.md
```text
**Example**:
```text
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tnez/dot-agents/main/CATALOG.md
```text
**Use WebFetch** to download CATALOG.md content.
**Fallback if CATALOG.md Missing**:
If CATALOG.md doesn't exist (404 error):
1. Inform user catalog is not available
2. Suggest browsing GitHub repository directly
3. Or manually provide skill path for installation
### Step 3: Parse Catalog
Extract skill information from CATALOG.md:
**Expected Format**:
```markdown
## Category Name
### skill-name
- **Path:** category/skill-name
- **Added:** YYYY-MM-DD
- **Updated:** YYYY-MM-DD
- **Description:** Brief description
- **Files:** SKILL.md, CONTEXT.md, scripts/
- **Dependencies:** tool1, tool2
```text
**Extract for Each Skill**:
- Name
- Category (Examples, Documents, Meta)
- Path in repository
- Date added
- Date last updated
- Description
- Available files
- Dependencies (if any)
### Step 4: Check Local Installation
Compare catalog with locally installed skills:
**Discovery**:
Use Glob to find installed skills:
```text
.agents/skills/*/SKILL.md
.claude/skills/*/SKILL.md
~/.agents/skills/*/SKILL.md
~/.claude/skills/*/SKILL.md
```text
**For Each Installed Skill**:
1. Read SKILL.md
2. Extract skill name from YAML frontmatter
3. Add to list of installed skills
**Categorize Skills**:
- **New**: In catalog but not installed
- **Updates Available**: Installed but catalog shows newer date
- **Up to Date**: Installed and matches catalog
- **Local Only**: Installed but not in catalog (custom skills)
### Step 5: Filter and Sort
Organize skills based on user's request:
**By Status**:
- Show only new skills
- Show only updates available
- Show all skills
**By Category**:
- Examples
- Documents
- Meta
- All categories
**By Relevance** (if user specifies interest):
- Match description to user's stated needs
- Prioritize relevant categories
### Step 6: Present Results
Format and display skill information:
**Presentation Format**:
```text
# Available Skills from tnez/dot-agents
## 🆕 New Skills (not installed)
### find-local-events (examples/)
Search for local events with location/datetime disambiguation
- Added: 2025-11-16
- Files: SKILL.md, CONTEXT.md
### markdown-to-pdf (documents/)
Convert markdown to PDF with Pandoc
- Added: 2025-11-15
- Files: SKILL.md, scripts/convert.sh
- Dependencies: pandoc, texlive
## 🔄 Updates Available
### get-weather (examples/)
Fetch weather information using wttr.in
- Installed: 2025-11-10
- Updated: 2025-11-15 (5 days newer)
- Changes: Enhanced error handling
## ✅ Up to Date
### skill-creator (meta/)
Create new agent skills with templates
- Installed: 2025-11-15
- Latest: 2025-11-15 (current)
---
Install skills: "Install find-local-events from tnez/dot-agents"
Update skills: "Update get-weather"
Browse category: "Show me all document skills"
```text
## Examples
### Example 1: Discover New Skills
**User Request**:
"What's new in tnez/dot-agents?"
**Process**:
1. Fetch CATALOG.md from tnez/dot-agents
2. Parse all skills
3. Check local installation
4. Filter to only NEW skills (not installed)
5. Present list with descriptions
**Expected Output**:
```text
# New Skills Available
I found 2 new skills you haven't installed:
1. **find-local-events** (examples/)
Search for local events with location/datetime disambiguation
Added: 2025-11-16
2. **image-review-pdf** (documents/)
Review and analyze images in PDF documents
Added: 2025-11-16
Would you like to install any of these?
```text
### Example 2: Check for Updates
**User Request**:
"Check for updates to my installed skills"
**Process**:
1. Fetch CATALOG.md
2. Get list of installed skills
3. Compare dates/versions
4. Identify skills with updates
5. Show what's changed (if info available)
**Expected Output**:
```text
# Skill Updates Available
2 of your installed skills have updates:
1. **markdown-to-pdf**
Installed: 2025-11-10
Latest: 2025-11-15
- Added error handling for missing dependencies
- Improved PDF formatting options
2. **skill-creator**
Installed: 2025-11-13
Latest: 2025-11-15
- New templates added
- Enhanced validation
Update all? Or select individual skills?
```text
### Example 3: Browse by Category
**User Request**:
"Show me all document-related skills"
**Process**:
1. Fetch CATALOG.md
2. Filter to "Documents" category
3. Present all skills in that category
4. Mark installed vs available
**Expected Output**:
```text
# Documents Skills
## ✅ Installed
- **markdown-to-pdf**: Convert markdown to PDF with Pandoc
## 🆕 Available
- **image-review-pdf**: Review and analyze images in PDF documents
- **docx-to-markdown**: Convert Word documents to markdown
Install a skill: "Install image-review-pdf"
```text
### Example 4: Find Relevant Skills
**User Request**:
"I need skills for working with events and calendars"
**Process**:
1. Fetch CATALOG.md
2. Search descriptions for keywords: "event", "calendar"
3. Rank by relevance
4. Present matching skills
**Expected Output**:
```text
# Skills for Events and Calendars
Found 1 matching skill:
### find-local-events (examples/)
Search for local events, activities, and happenings in a specified location
and timeframe. Handles location disambiguation and datetime clarification.
- Status: Not installed
- Added: 2025-11-16
- Files: SKILL.md, CONTEXT.md
Install: "Install find-local-events"
```text
## Advanced Features
### Skill Comparison
When user wants to compare similar skills:
**Process**:
1. Identify skills with related functionality
2. Fetch SKILL.md for each
3. Compare features, dependencies, complexity
4. Present side-by-side comparison
**Example**:
```text
Comparing event-related skills:
| Feature | find-local-events | calendar-sync |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | ------------- |
| Search events | ✓ | ✗ |
| Location handling | ✓ (with disambig) | ✗ |
| Sync with cal | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dependencies | None | icalendar |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
Recommendation: For discovering events, use find-local-events
```text
### Dependency Checking
Before presenting skills, check if dependencies are available:
**Process**:
1. Extract dependencies from catalog
2. Check if tools are installed locally
3. Mark skills as "ready" or "requires setup"
4. Warn about missing dependencies
**Example**:
```text
### markdown-to-pdf
⚠️ Requires: pandoc, texlive (not installed)
Install dependencies first:
brew install pandoc basictex # macOS
apt-get install pandoc texlive # Linux
```text
### Update All
Batch update multiple skills:
**User Request**: "Update all my installed skills"
**Process**:
1. Check all installed skills for updates
2. Present list of updates
3. Ask for confirmation
4. Use skill-installer to update each one
5. Report results
## Integration with skill-installer
Seamlessly hand off to skill-installer for installation:
**Workflow**:
```text
User: "Browse skills in tnez/dot-agents"
Agent: [Uses skill-browser to show catalog]
Agent: "Found 3 new skills. Would you like to install any?"
User: "Install find-local-events and skill-creator"
Agent: [Uses skill-installer for each]
"Installing find-local-events..."
"Installing skill-creator..."
"Done! Both skills installed to .agents/skills/"
```text
## Best Practices
### Presentation
- **Be concise**: Don't overwhelm with too many skills at once
- **Categorize**: Group by status (new/updates/current)
- **Highlight**: Show most relevant or recently added first
- **Actionable**: Always suggest next steps (install, update, etc.)
### Filtering
- **Default to summary**: Show counts, not full lists initially
- **Allow drilling down**: User can request more details
- **Smart filtering**: Match user's stated interests
- **Status-aware**: Different views for new users vs established users
### Updates
- **Check dates**: Compare installation dates with catalog dates
- **Show changes**: If available, show what's new in updates
- **Batch operations**: Support "update all" efficiently
- **Preserve user data**: Warn about CONTEXT.md and customizations
## Common Pitfalls
- **CATALOG.md not found**: Have fallback strategy
- **Date parsing**: Handle various date formats
- **Missing local skills**: Glob might not find all installations
- **Ambiguous requests**: "Show me skills" - new? all? updates?
- **Large catalogs**: Don't dump 50 skills at once, paginate or summarize
## Error Handling
### Catalog Not Found
```text
✗ CATALOG.md not found in tnez/dot-agents
The repository may not have a skills catalog yet.
Try:
1. Browse repository directly: https://github.com/tnez/dot-agents
2. Install specific skill: "Install find-local-events from tnez/dot-agents"
3. Check if repository has different catalog format
```text
### Network Error
```text
✗ Cannot fetch catalog from tnez/dot-agents
Network error or repository unavailable
Try:
1. Check internet connection
2. Verify repository URL
3. Try again later
```text
### No Skills Installed
```text
ℹ️ No skills currently installed
You can install skills from tnez/dot-agents:
"Install skill-creator" - Create new skills
"Install find-local-events" - Search for local events
Or browse all available skills:
"Show me all available skills"
```text
## Dependencies
**None** - Pure agentic skill using:
- WebFetch (for downloading CATALOG.md)
- Glob (for finding installed skills)
- Read (for checking installed skill details)
No external tools required.
## Catalog Format Requirements
For repositories to work with skill-browser, CATALOG.md should follow this format:
```markdown
# Agent Skills Catalog
Last updated: YYYY-MM-DD
## Category Name
### skill-name
- **Path:** category/skill-name
- **Added:** YYYY-MM-DD
- **Updated:** YYYY-MM-DD
- **Description:** One-line description
- **Files:** SKILL.md, optional files
- **Dependencies:** comma-separated list or "None"
```text
This format enables automated parsing and presentation.
## Troubleshooting
### Q: Catalog shows skill but it's not found when installing
A: Path in catalog may be incorrect. Try:
- Check repository structure on GitHub
- Install using full path
- Report issue to repository maintainers
### Q: How do I know if a skill is compatible?
A: Check:
- Dependencies listed in catalog
- Agent requirements in SKILL.md
- Platform compatibility notes
### Q: Can I browse private repositories?
A: No - WebFetch only works with public repositories. For private repos, use GitHub authentication or clone locally.
### Q: Why don't I see my locally installed custom skills?
A: Skill-browser only shows repository catalogs. Your local-only skills won't appear in repository listings.
## Resources
- Agent Skills Repository: <https://github.com/tnez/dot-agents>
- CATALOG.md format specification (in this repository)
- skill-installer for installation
- Agent Skills Specification: <https://github.com/anthropics/skills/blob/main/agent_skills_spec.md>