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Centralized vs Local-First

Skill management tools generally follow one of two architectural approaches: centralized platforms or local-first. Neither is universally better — each comes with trade-offs. This page walks through both so you can decide which fits your workflow.

This is not a feature comparison

For feature-level differences (install flow, config format, etc.), see Comparing Skill Management Approaches. This page focuses on architectural trade-offs — where your data lives, how discovery works, and what you control.

Two Approaches​

Centralized Platform​

A centralized platform hosts a unified registry where skills are published, searched, and ranked. Install activity is aggregated into community metrics like download counts and trending rankings.

Strengths:

  • Built-in discovery — browse, search, and compare skills in one place
  • Community signals — download counts and trending help surface popular skills
  • Low friction — no setup required for discovery; just search and install

Considerations:

  • Install activity is tracked by the platform
  • Ranking and counting rules are managed by the platform operator

Local-First (skillshare)​

skillshare keeps all state on your machine. Skills are installed via git clone and managed through a local config file. Nothing is sent to a remote server.

Strengths:

  • Zero telemetry — no install tracking, no data sent anywhere
  • Full ownership — your skills live in your own filesystem
  • Works offline after initial install
  • Single binary, no runtime dependency

Considerations:

  • No built-in community metrics (download counts, trending)
  • Discovery requires setting up or connecting to a hub

Discovery​

Local-first doesn't mean no discovery. skillshare provides three discovery channels:

ChannelHow it works
GitHub searchskillshare search <query> — searches public GitHub repos directly
Public hubskillshare search --hub — queries the built-in community hub
Custom hubskillshare search --hub <url> — queries any hub you or your organization maintains

What Is a Hub?​

A hub is a static JSON file (skillshare-hub.json) that lists skills with their name, description, source, and tags. It can live anywhere — a Git repo, an HTTP server, or a local filesystem:

# Build an index from your installed skills
skillshare hub index

# Search an organization's internal hub
skillshare search --hub https://internal.corp/skills/hub.json

# Search a local index file
skillshare search --hub ./skillshare-hub.json

Hubs are independent — anyone can create one, and users can connect to multiple hubs simultaneously. This makes them well-suited for organizations that need to maintain private skill catalogs alongside public ones.

See the Hub Index Guide for a detailed walkthrough.

Self-Hosted Metrics​

skillshare itself doesn't track installs, but if you host a hub on your own server, you can add whatever analytics layer makes sense for you:

  1. Host skillshare-hub.json on your server
  2. Add request logging or a lightweight analytics endpoint
  3. Track search hits, install referrals, or any metric you care about

This lets skill authors or organizations measure adoption on their own terms.

Choosing the Right Approach​

A centralized platform may be a better fit if:

  • You want built-in community metrics and trending out of the box
  • You prefer a single browsing destination for discovering skills
  • You only use one AI CLI and don't need cross-tool sync

Local-first may be a better fit if:

  • You use multiple AI CLIs and want unified management
  • You prefer that install activity stays on your machine
  • You need offline operation or work in restricted network environments
  • You're an organization that needs control over which skills are available and discoverable

See Also​