CoWork Guide

Complete reference for the CoWork Skills CLI tool

Overview

CoWork Skills (cowork / co) is a CLI tool for managing Claude Code skills and plugins across 16+ AI coding agents:

• Install skills from GitHub repositories
• Generate skills from source code (Rust, TypeScript, Python)
• Manage project-level skill configuration via Skills.toml
• Security auditing and checksum verification
• Search GitHub for skill repositories

Installation

First, check if cowork is installed:

cowork --version

If not installed, install via one of these methods:

# Option 1: From crates.io (recommended)
cargo install cowork

# Option 2: From source
git clone https://github.com/ZhangHanDong/cowork-skills
cd cowork-skills/cli
cargo install --path .

Then initialize built-in skills:

cowork init

Note: If you installed cowork-skills via npx @anthropic-ai/claude-code add, you still need to install the cowork CLI separately using the commands above.

Command Alias

cowork = co   # 简写别名

Commands by Category

🚀 Quick Start (初始化)

Command	Description
co init	安装内置 skills 到全局/项目
co init --list	列出可用的内置 skills
co init --local	安装到项目 .claude/skills/
co init -r <name>	删除指定 skill

📦 Install & Uninstall (安装)

Command	Description
co install user/repo	从 GitHub 安装
co install user/repo -s skill1	安装指定 skills
co install user/repo --plugin	作为插件安装
co install user/repo -l	安装到项目本地
co install user/repo --update	更新到最新版本
co install --list	列出已安装仓库
co install --uninstall repo	卸载仓库

⚙️ Configuration (配置)

Command	Description
co config init	创建 Skills.toml
co config show	显示当前配置
co config add name repo	添加依赖
co config add name path --dev	添加开发链接
co config install	安装 Skills.toml 中的依赖
co config sync	同步锁文件状态
co config enable/disable	启用/禁用 skills
co config priority	设置触发优先级
co config router	生成动态路由
co config router --analyze	AI 分析生成智能路由

🔍 Discovery (发现)

Command	Description
co list	列出所有可用 skills
co search query	搜索 GitHub 仓库
co search topic --topic	按 topic 搜索
co generate user/repo	从源码生成 skills

🔌 Plugin Management (插件)

Command	Description
co plugins list	列出已安装插件
co plugins status	插件系统状态
co plugins enable/disable	启用/禁用插件
co plugins uninstall	卸载插件

🛡️ Security & Testing (安全)

Command	Description
co audit	安全审计
co verify	校验 checksums
co test	生成触发测试
co test --run	运行实际测试
co test --check-conflicts	检查触发冲突

📊 Status & Debug (状态)

Command	Description
co status	显示当前状态
co doctor	检查配置问题

Workflow 工作流

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        CoWork 工作流                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1. 初始化
   co init                          # 安装内置 skills

2. 安装外部 skills
   co install user/repo             # 从 GitHub 安装
   co install user/repo --plugin    # 作为插件安装

3. 项目配置 (可选)
   co config init                   # 创建 Skills.toml
   co config add rust ZhangHanDong/rust-skills
   co config install                # 安装依赖

4. 生成路由
   co config router --analyze       # AI 分析生成智能路由

5. 测试 & 验证
   co test --check-conflicts        # 检查触发冲突
   co audit                         # 安全审计

6. 日常使用
   co list                          # 查看所有 skills
   co status                        # 查看状态
   co doctor                        # 诊断问题

---

cowork init

Initialize built-in skills to ~/.claude/skills/.

# Install all built-in skills
cowork init

# List available built-in skills
cowork init --list

# Install specific skills only
cowork init -s memory-skills -s cowork-guide

# Force overwrite existing
cowork init --force

# Install to project local (.claude/skills/)
cowork init --local

# Remove specific skills
cowork init --remove memory-skills

Built-in Skills:

• memory-skills - CoALA-based memory system (remember, recall, reflect)
• cowork-guide - Complete CoWork CLI usage guide
• cowork-router - Unified router for installed plugins/skills
• code-review - Code review assistant with best practices
• github-generate - Generate skills from GitHub repositories
• github-search - Search GitHub for skill repositories

---

cowork install

Install skills from GitHub or local repositories.

Basic Usage

# Install from GitHub (user/repo format)
cowork install ZhangHanDong/rust-skills

# Install from full URL
cowork install https://github.com/user/repo

# Install current project to global
cowork install

# List installed repositories
cowork install --list

Installation Options

# Install specific skills only
cowork install user/repo -s skill1 -s skill2

# Install to specific agents
cowork install user/repo -a claude-code -a cursor

# Install as plugin (preserves full repo structure)
cowork install user/repo --plugin

# Install to project local (.claude/skills/)
cowork install user/repo --local

# Force reinstall
cowork install user/repo --reinstall

# Update to latest version
cowork install user/repo --update

# Include additional directories
cowork install user/repo --include-dir docs --include-dir examples

# Copy files instead of symlinks
cowork install user/repo --no-symlink

# Use npx add-skill backend
cowork install user/repo --use-add-skill

# Skip confirmation prompts
cowork install user/repo -y

Uninstall

cowork install --uninstall repo-name

Supported Agents

Install skills to 16+ coding agents:

Agent	Flag	Agent	Flag
Claude Code	-a claude-code	Amp	-a amp
Cursor	-a cursor	Antigravity	-a antigravity
Codex	-a codex	Clawdbot	-a clawdbot
GitHub Copilot	-a github-copilot	Droid	-a droid
Windsurf	-a windsurf	Gemini CLI	-a gemini-cli
Goose	-a goose	Kilo	-a kilo
Kiro CLI	-a kiro-cli	OpenCode	-a opencode
Roo	-a roo	Trae	-a trae

---

cowork config

Manage project-level skill configuration via Skills.toml.

Initialize Configuration

# Initialize with auto-detection of installed plugins/skills
cowork config init

# Skip auto-detection
cowork config init --no-detect

# Force overwrite existing
cowork config init --force

Auto-detection scans:

• ~/.claude/ for global plugins
• ~/.claude/skills/ for global skills
• .claude/ for project plugins
• .claude/skills/ for project skills

View Configuration

# Show current config
cowork config show

# List available skill groups
cowork config groups

Add Dependencies

# Add from GitHub (global)
cowork config add rust-skills ZhangHanDong/rust-skills

# Add to project local
cowork config add my-skills user/skills --local

# Add specific skills
cowork config add tokio user/tokio-skills -s tokio-runtime -s tokio-sync

# Add as plugin
cowork config add makepad user/makepad-skills --plugin

# Add as disabled
cowork config add old-lib user/old --disabled

# Add with git ref
cowork config add pinned user/repo --ref v1.0.0

# Add development link (symlink for testing)
cowork config add dora-dev /path/to/dora-skills --dev

Install Dependencies

# Install all dependencies from Skills.toml
cowork config install

Sync Configuration

# Sync enabled/disabled status with lock file
cowork config sync

# Also update remote repos (git pull)
cowork config sync --update

Enable/Disable

# Enable skill groups
cowork config enable rust-core makepad

# Enable individual skills
cowork config enable memory-filesystem

# Disable skills or groups
cowork config disable rust-domains

Trigger Configuration

# Set priority order
cowork config priority dora-router rust-router makepad-router

# Override specific trigger
cowork config override "async" rust-router
cowork config override "widget" makepad-router

Generate Output

# Generate SKILLS.md from config
cowork config apply

# Generate to custom path
cowork config apply -o ./docs/SKILLS.md

# Generate dynamic router based on installed plugins
cowork config router

# Generate router with hooks for auto-triggering
cowork config router --hooks

# Analyze trigger conflicts
cowork config router --analyze

# Skip cache
cowork config router --no-cache

---

Skills.toml

Project-level configuration file stored at .cowork/Skills.toml.

Basic Structure

[project]
name = "my-project"
description = "Project description"

[skills.global]
enabled = ["memory-filesystem"]
disabled = []

[skills.install]
rust-skills = "ZhangHanDong/rust-skills"

[skills.groups]
enabled = ["rust-core"]
disabled = []

[triggers]
priority = ["dora-router", "rust-router"]

[triggers.overrides]
"async" = "rust-router"

Dependency Forms

Simple form:

[skills.install]
rust-skills = "ZhangHanDong/rust-skills"

Detailed form:

[skills.install]
tokio = { repo = "user/tokio-skills", skills = ["tokio-runtime", "tokio-sync"] }
local = { path = "../my-local-skills" }
pinned = { repo = "user/repo", ref = "v1.0.0" }
makepad = { repo = "user/makepad-skills", plugin = true }
my-project = { repo = "user/skills", local = true }
old-lib = { repo = "user/old", enabled = false }

Dev Links

Development symlinks for testing local skills:

[skills.dev]
my-skill = "/path/to/my-skill-project"
dora-dev = { path = "/path/to/dora-skills" }
dora-plugin = { path = "/path/to/dora-skills", plugin = true }

Skill Groups

Group	Skills	Description
rust-core	8	Basic Rust (ownership, concurrency, error handling)
rust-patterns	7	Design patterns (domain modeling, performance)
rust-domains	7	Domain-specific (web, CLI, fintech, embedded)
makepad	11	Makepad UI framework
dora	8	Dora-rs robotics framework
dora-hubs	9	Dora hub integrations

---

cowork generate

Generate skills from source code of any GitHub repository.

# Generate from GitHub repo
cowork generate user/repo

# Specify language(s)
cowork generate tokio-rs/tokio --lang rust
cowork generate vercel/next.js --lang typescript

# Only generate llms.txt
cowork generate user/repo --llms-only -o ./output

# Generate from existing llms.txt
cowork generate --from-llms ./llms.txt

# Specify git ref
cowork generate user/repo --ref v1.0.0

Supported Languages

Language	Parser	Extracts
Rust	syn	pub fn, struct, enum, trait, impl
TypeScript	tree-sitter	export function, class, interface, type
Python	tree-sitter	def, class (excluding _ private items)

Output

1. llms.txt - API documentation following llms.txt specification
2. SKILL.md - Generated skill files with triggers and references

---

cowork search

Search GitHub for skill repositories.

# Search by keyword
cowork search tokio

# Search by GitHub topic
cowork search agent-skill --topic

# Limit results
cowork search rust-skills --limit 5

# Show detailed results
cowork search rust-skills --verbose

---

cowork plugins

Manage Claude Code marketplace plugins.

# List marketplace plugins
cowork plugins list

# Show plugin status
cowork plugins status

# Uninstall a plugin
cowork plugins uninstall rust-skills

# Enable/disable plugins
cowork plugins enable rust-skills
cowork plugins disable rust-skills

# List marketplaces
cowork plugins marketplaces

# Remove a marketplace
cowork plugins remove-marketplace rust-skills

---

cowork test

Generate and run trigger tests for skills.

Generate Test Reports

# Generate trigger test report
cowork test

# List all triggers with their skills
cowork test triggers

# Check for trigger conflicts
cowork test --check-conflicts

# Output formats
cowork test -o triggers.json --format json
cowork test -o triggers.yaml --format yaml
cowork test -o triggers.md --format markdown

Run Actual Tests

# Run trigger tests using Claude
cowork test --run

# Test specific skills by pattern
cowork test --filter "rust-*" --run

# Limit triggers per skill
cowork test --run -n 5

# Scan specific locations
cowork test --global          # ~/.claude/skills/
cowork test --path ./skills   # Custom directory
cowork test --plugins         # Installed plugins
cowork test --all             # Project + global + plugins

---

cowork audit

Security audit of installed skills.

Basic Usage

# Scan all installed skills
cowork audit

# Verbose output with details
cowork audit --verbose

# Auto-fix issues where possible
cowork audit --fix

Scan Locations

cowork audit --global    # Scan ~/.claude/skills/
cowork audit --project   # Scan .claude/skills/
cowork audit --plugins   # Scan installed plugins

Output Formats

cowork audit -o report.txt --format text
cowork audit -o report.json --format json
cowork audit -o report.md --format markdown

Detection Capabilities

• Dangerous patterns: rm -rf, eval(), curl|sh, sudo
• Prompt injection: Attempts to override system prompts
• Credential leaks: API_KEY, PRIVATE KEY, password
• Risk levels: SAFE, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL

---

cowork verify

Verify checksums of installed skills against Skills.lock.

# Verify all skills
cowork verify

# Verify specific skill
cowork verify rust-skills

# Update checksums in lockfile
cowork verify --update

# Verbose output
cowork verify --verbose

---

Security Configuration

Add to Skills.toml:

[security]
# Trusted authors
trusted_authors = ["ZhangHanDong", "anthropics"]

# Custom blocked patterns (regex)
blocked_patterns = ["dangerous-pattern"]

# Paths to skip during scanning (glob patterns)
skip_paths = [
    "**/docs/**",
    "**/examples/**",
    "**/tests/**",
]

# Trusted marketplace plugins (skip scanning)
trusted_marketplaces = ["hookify", "rust-skills"]

# Auto-reject high risk skills
auto_reject_high_risk = false

---

Storage Locations

Location	Purpose
~/.cowork/repos/	Cloned GitHub repositories
~/.claude/skills/	Global skills directory
~/.claude/<plugin>/	Global plugins
.claude/skills/	Project-local skills
.claude/<plugin>/	Project-local plugins
.cowork/Skills.toml	Project configuration
.cowork/Skills.lock	Installed packages lock

---

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
GITHUB_TOKEN	Required for generate/search commands

---

Troubleshooting

Check Configuration

cowork doctor
cowork status

Common Issues

Skills not loading:

1. Check if skill exists: cowork list
2. Verify enabled status: cowork config show
3. Ensure triggers match: cowork test triggers

Installation fails:

1. Check GitHub token: echo $GITHUB_TOKEN
2. Verify repo exists: gh repo view user/repo
3. Try with verbose: cowork install user/repo --reinstall

Plugin conflicts:

1. Set trigger priority: cowork config priority router1 router2
2. Override specific triggers: cowork config override "keyword" skill-name
3. Check for conflicts: cowork test --check-conflicts