5 Minutes to Manage Your Claude Code Skills

Getting Claude Code skills organized shouldn't take more than a coffee break. Here's how to go from zero to a fully managed skill library in under 5 minutes.

The Problem

Claude Code stores skills in ~/.claude/skills/. Over time, you accumulate skills from different sources — some you wrote, some from teammates, some from GitHub. Without structure, it becomes hard to track what's installed, what's outdated, and what conflicts with what.

Step 1: Install skillshare

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/runkids/skillshare/main/install.sh | sh

Or via Homebrew (macOS/Linux):

brew install skillshare

note

Homebrew releases may lag behind the latest version by a few days. For the newest release, use the install script above.

Verify:

skillshare version

Step 2: Initialize

skillshare init

This creates a source directory at ~/.config/skillshare/skills/ and auto-detects Claude Code as a sync target.

Step 3: Import Your Existing Skills

Already have skills in ~/.claude/skills/? Collect them into your source:

skillshare collect

skillshare copies each skill from Claude Code's directory into your source. Now you have a single place that holds everything.

Step 4: Install a Skill from GitHub

Let's add a popular skill set:

skillshare install anthropics/courses/prompt-eng

This clones the repository and places skills in your source directory. Run skillshare list to see everything:

skillshare list

Step 5: Sync

skillshare sync

By default, skillshare uses merge mode — creating per-skill symlinks from your source into ~/.claude/skills/. Your original local skills are preserved — only new ones are added.

Step 6: Verify

Open Claude Code and check that your skills are available:

claude
# Inside Claude Code, your skills should be loaded

Symlink Not Working? Use Copy Mode

Some platforms and tools have inconsistent symlink support — WSL, certain Docker setups, or AI tools that don't follow symlinks. If you run into issues:

skillshare target claude --mode copy
skillshare sync

Copy mode physically copies skill files instead of symlinking. The trade-off:

	Merge (symlink)	Copy
Source changes reflected	Instantly	After sync
Cross-platform compatibility	May have issues	Works everywhere
Local skill preservation	Yes	Yes

See Sync Modes for the full comparison.

What You Get

After these steps:

• Single source of truth — all skills live in ~/.config/skillshare/skills/
• Non-destructive sync — local Claude Code skills are untouched
• Version tracking — installed repos are tracked for updates via skillshare check
• Backup ready — skillshare backup snapshots your entire skill library

Next Steps

• Set up multi-tool sync if you also use Cursor, Codex, or other tools
• Create your first custom skill
• Share skills with your team