Environment Variables

All environment variables recognized by skillshare.

Configuration

SKILLSHARE_CONFIG

Override the config file path.

SKILLSHARE_CONFIG=~/custom-config.yaml skillshare status

Default: ~/.config/skillshare/config.yaml

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XDG_CONFIG_HOME

Override the base configuration directory per the XDG Base Directory Specification.

export XDG_CONFIG_HOME=~/my-config
# skillshare will use ~/my-config/skillshare/

Default behavior:

Platform	Default
Linux	~/.config/skillshare/
macOS	~/.config/skillshare/
Windows	%AppData%\skillshare\

Priority: SKILLSHARE_CONFIG > XDG_CONFIG_HOME > platform default.

note

If you set XDG_CONFIG_HOME after initial setup, move your existing ~/.config/skillshare/ directory to the new location manually.

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XDG_DATA_HOME

Override the data directory (backups, trash).

export XDG_DATA_HOME=~/my-data
# skillshare will use ~/my-data/skillshare/backups/ and ~/my-data/skillshare/trash/

Default: ~/.local/share/skillshare/

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XDG_STATE_HOME

Override the state directory (operation logs).

export XDG_STATE_HOME=~/my-state
# skillshare will use ~/my-state/skillshare/logs/

Default: ~/.local/state/skillshare/

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XDG_CACHE_HOME

Override the cache directory (version check cache, UI dist cache).

export XDG_CACHE_HOME=~/my-cache
# skillshare will use ~/my-cache/skillshare/

Default: ~/.cache/skillshare/

Automatic migration

Starting from v0.13.0, skillshare follows the XDG Base Directory Specification for backups, trash, and logs. If you're upgrading from an older version, these directories are automatically migrated from ~/.config/skillshare/ to their proper XDG locations on first run.

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GitHub API

GITHUB_TOKEN

GitHub personal access token.

Used for:

• GitHub API requests (skillshare search, skillshare upgrade, version check)
• Git clone authentication — automatically injected when installing private repos via HTTPS

Creating a token:

1. Go to https://github.com/settings/tokens
2. Generate new token (classic)
3. Scope: repo for private repos, none for public repos
4. Copy the token

Official docs: Managing your personal access tokens

Usage:

export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here
skillshare install https://github.com/org/private-skills.git --track

Windows:

# Current session
$env:GITHUB_TOKEN = "ghp_your_token"

# Permanent
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("GITHUB_TOKEN", "ghp_your_token", "User")

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GH_TOKEN

Alternative GitHub token variable. Used by the GitHub CLI (gh) and recognized by skillshare as a fallback.

Token resolution order: GITHUB_TOKEN → GH_TOKEN → gh auth token

If you already use gh and have authenticated via gh auth login, skillshare picks up the token automatically — no extra env vars needed.

export GH_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here
skillshare search "react patterns"

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Git Authentication

These variables enable HTTPS authentication for private repositories. When set, skillshare automatically injects the token during install and update — no URL modification needed.

See Private Repositories for details and CI/CD examples.

GITLAB_TOKEN

GitLab personal access or CI job token. Used for HTTPS clone of GitLab-hosted private repos.

Creating a token:

1. Go to https://gitlab.com/-/user_settings/personal_access_tokens
2. Add new token
3. Scopes: read_repository (pull only) or read_repository + write_repository (push & pull)
4. Copy the token (prefix glpat-)

Official docs: Token overview

Token types

Only Personal Access Token (glpat-) and Project/Group Access Token work for git operations. Feed Tokens (glft-) do not have git access.

export GITLAB_TOKEN=glpat-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
skillshare install https://gitlab.com/org/skills.git --track

Windows:

$env:GITLAB_TOKEN = "glpat-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

BITBUCKET_TOKEN

Bitbucket repository access token, or app password. Used for HTTPS clone of Bitbucket-hosted private repos.

Creating a token (repository access token):

1. Go to Repository → Settings → Access tokens
2. Create token with Read permission (pull only) or Read + Write (push & pull)
3. Copy the token — uses x-token-auth automatically (no username needed)

Creating a token (app password):

1. Go to https://bitbucket.org/account/settings/app-passwords/
2. Create app password with Repositories: Read (pull only) or Repositories: Read + Write (push & pull)
3. Also set BITBUCKET_USERNAME (or include it in the URL as https://<username>@bitbucket.org/...)

Official docs: Access tokens

export BITBUCKET_USERNAME=your_bitbucket_username
export BITBUCKET_TOKEN=your_app_password
skillshare install https://bitbucket.org/team/skills.git --track

Windows:

$env:BITBUCKET_USERNAME = "your_bitbucket_username"
$env:BITBUCKET_TOKEN = "your_app_password"

BITBUCKET_USERNAME

Bitbucket username used with BITBUCKET_TOKEN when that token is an app password.

export BITBUCKET_USERNAME=your_bitbucket_username
export BITBUCKET_TOKEN=your_app_password
skillshare install https://bitbucket.org/team/skills.git --track

AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN

Azure DevOps Personal Access Token (PAT). Used for HTTPS clone of Azure DevOps-hosted private repos.

Creating a token:

1. Go to https://dev.azure.com/{org}/_usersSettings/tokens
2. Select + New Token
3. Scopes: Code → Read (pull only) or Code → Read & Write (push & pull)
4. Copy the token (84-character string with AZDO signature)

Official docs: Use Personal Access Tokens

export AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN=your_pat_here
skillshare install https://dev.azure.com/org/project/_git/repo --track

Windows:

$env:AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN = "your_pat_here"

SKILLSHARE_GIT_TOKEN

Generic fallback token for any HTTPS git host. Used when no platform-specific token is set.

export SKILLSHARE_GIT_TOKEN=your_token
skillshare install https://git.example.com/org/skills.git --track

Windows:

$env:SKILLSHARE_GIT_TOKEN = "your_token"

Token priority: Platform-specific (GITHUB_TOKEN, GITLAB_TOKEN, BITBUCKET_TOKEN, AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN) > SKILLSHARE_GIT_TOKEN.

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Testing

SKILLSHARE_TEST_BINARY

Override the CLI binary path for integration tests.

SKILLSHARE_TEST_BINARY=/path/to/skillshare go test ./tests/integration

Default: bin/skillshare in project root

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Usage Examples

Temporary override

# Single command
SKILLSHARE_CONFIG=/tmp/test-config.yaml skillshare status

# Multiple commands
export SKILLSHARE_CONFIG=/tmp/test-config.yaml
skillshare status
skillshare list
unset SKILLSHARE_CONFIG

Permanent setup (macOS/Linux)

Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

export GITHUB_TOKEN="ghp_your_token_here"

Permanent setup (Windows)

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("GITHUB_TOKEN", "ghp_your_token", "User")

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Summary

Variable	Purpose	Default
SKILLSHARE_CONFIG	Config file path	~/.config/skillshare/config.yaml
XDG_CONFIG_HOME	Base config directory	~/.config (Linux/macOS), %AppData% (Windows)
XDG_DATA_HOME	Data directory (backups, trash)	~/.local/share
XDG_STATE_HOME	State directory (logs)	~/.local/state
XDG_CACHE_HOME	Cache directory (version check, UI)	~/.cache
GITHUB_TOKEN	GitHub API + git clone auth	None
GH_TOKEN	GitHub API (fallback for GITHUB_TOKEN)	None
GITLAB_TOKEN	GitLab git clone auth	None
BITBUCKET_TOKEN	Bitbucket git clone auth	None
BITBUCKET_USERNAME	Bitbucket username for app password auth	None
AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKEN	Azure DevOps git clone auth	None
SKILLSHARE_GIT_TOKEN	Generic git clone auth (fallback)	None
SKILLSHARE_TEST_BINARY	Test binary path	bin/skillshare

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Related

• Configuration — Config file reference
• Windows Issues — Windows environment setup