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File Structure

Directory layout and file locations for skillshare.

Overview​

~/.config/skillshare/        # XDG_CONFIG_HOME
├── config.yaml              # Configuration file
├── audit-rules.yaml         # Custom audit rules (optional)
├── skills/                  # Skills source (skills + metadata)
│   ├── .metadata.json       # Installed skill metadata (auto-managed)
│   ├── .skillignore         # Optional: exclude skills from sync
│   ├── my-skill/            # Regular skill
│   │   ├── SKILL.md         # Skill definition (required)
│   ├── code-review/         # Another skill
│   │   └── SKILL.md
│   └── _team-skills/        # Tracked repository
│       ├── .git/            # Git history preserved
│       ├── frontend/
│       │   └── ui/
│       │       └── SKILL.md
│       └── backend/
│           └── api/
│               └── SKILL.md
├── agents/                  # Agents source (single .md files)
│   ├── .agentignore         # Optional: exclude agents from sync
│   ├── reviewer.md          # Agent file
│   └── auditor.md           # Another agent
├── rules/                   # Extras source (if configured)
│   ├── coding.md
│   └── testing.md
└── commands/                # Extras source (if configured)
    └── deploy.md

~/.local/share/skillshare/   # XDG_DATA_HOME
├── backups/                 # Backup directory
│   ├── 2026-01-20_15-30-00/
│   │   ├── claude/          # Skills backup for claude
│   │   ├── claude-agents/   # Agents backup for claude
│   │   └── cursor/
│   └── 2026-01-19_10-00-00/
│       └── claude/
└── trash/                   # Uninstalled skills/agents (7-day retention)
    ├── my-skill_2026-01-20_15-30-00/
    │   └── SKILL.md
    └── old-skill_2026-01-19_10-00-00/
        └── SKILL.md

~/.local/state/skillshare/   # XDG_STATE_HOME
└── logs/                    # Operation logs (JSONL)
    ├── operations.log       # install, sync, update, etc.
    └── audit.log            # Security audit scans

~/.cache/skillshare/         # XDG_CACHE_HOME      
├── version-check.json       # Version check cache (24h TTL)
└── ui/                      # Web UI dist cache
    └── 0.13.0/              # Per-version cached assets
        ├── index.html
        └── assets/

Configuration File​

Location​

~/.config/skillshare/config.yaml

Override with XDG:

XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/custom/path → /custom/path/skillshare/config.yaml

Windows default:

%AppData%\skillshare\config.yaml

Contents​

# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/runkids/skillshare/main/schemas/config.schema.json
source: ~/.config/skillshare/skills
agents_source: ~/.config/skillshare/agents  # Optional; defaults to <source parent>/agents
mode: merge
targets:
  claude:
    path: ~/.claude/skills
    agents:                                 # Optional; enables agent sync for this target
      path: ~/.claude/agents
  cursor:
    path: ~/.cursor/skills
ignore:
  - "**/.DS_Store"
  - "**/.git/**"

See Configuration for full reference.

Metadata File​

Location​

~/.config/skillshare/skills/.metadata.json

Stores metadata about installed and tracked skills. Lives inside the source directory so it can be synced via git for multi-machine setups. Auto-managed by install, uninstall, and update — don't edit manually.

Contents​

{
  "skills": [
    {
      "name": "pdf",
      "source": "anthropics/skills/skills/pdf"
    },
    {
      "name": "_team-skills",
      "source": "github.com/team/skills",
      "tracked": true
    }
  ]
}

Each entry records the skill name and its install source. Tracked repos (prefixed with _) include the full repository URL for update and check operations.

Source Directory​

Location​

~/.config/skillshare/skills/

Windows:

%AppData%\skillshare\skills\

Structure​

skills/
├── .metadata.json                # Centralized skill metadata (auto-managed)
├── skill-name/                   # Skill directory
│   ├── SKILL.md                  # Required: skill definition
│   ├── examples/                 # Optional: example files
│   └── templates/                # Optional: code templates
├── frontend/                     # Category folder (via --into or manual)
│   └── react-skill/              # Skill in subdirectory
│       └── SKILL.md              # Synced as frontend__react-skill
└── _tracked-repo/                # Tracked repository
    ├── .git/                     # Git history
    └── ...                       # Skill subdirectories

Skill Files​

SKILL.md (Required)​

The skill definition file:

---
name: skill-name
description: Brief description
---

# Skill Name

Instructions for the AI...

See Skill Format for details.

.skillignore (Optional)​

Excludes skills from discovery. Supports two locations:

Repo-level — at the root of a tracked skill repository. Affects install discovery and all post-install commands (doctor, status, list, sync, etc.):

_team-skills/.skillignore
# Hide vendored packages from discovery
.venv
node_modules

# Exclude internal tooling
validation-scripts
prompt-eval-*

Source-root — at your source directory root (~/.config/skillshare/skills/.skillignore). Applies globally to all skills (tracked and non-tracked):

~/.config/skillshare/skills/.skillignore
# Temporarily mute a skill
my-experimental-skill

# Exclude all drafts
draft-*

Uses gitignore syntax — one pattern per line. Supports * (single segment), ** (any depth), ?, [abc] (character class), !pattern (negation), /pattern (anchored), pattern/ (directory-only), and \#/\! (escaped literals). Lines starting with # are comments. A group name like internal-tools excludes all skills under that directory; internal-tools/helper excludes only a specific skill. Both layers apply — if either matches, the skill is excluded.

tip

.skillignore is one of three filtering layers. See Filtering Skills for all scenarios including per-target filters and SKILL.md targets.

.skillignore.local (Optional)​

A local-only override file that works alongside .skillignore. Place it in the same directory as a .skillignore (source root or tracked repo root). Patterns from .skillignore.local are appended after .skillignore, so negation patterns (!pattern) can override the base file:

_team-skills/.skillignore.local
# The repo's .skillignore blocks private-*, but I need my own
!private-mine

This file should not be committed to version control — add it to .gitignore. It exists so that a repo consumer can locally override the repo maintainer's .skillignore without modifying it.

When active, sync -v, status, and doctor display a .local active indicator.

Agent Files​

Agents are a separate resource kind from skills. They live in a sibling source directory and are synced to agent-capable targets (Claude, Cursor, Augment, OpenCode).

Agent source directory​

~/.config/skillshare/agents/      # Global mode
.skillshare/agents/               # Project mode

The agents source is created automatically by skillshare init alongside skills/. You can override the global location with the agents_source config field; project mode always uses .skillshare/agents/.

Agent file format​

Each agent is a single Markdown file with frontmatter:

~/.config/skillshare/agents/reviewer.md
---
name: reviewer
description: Reviews pull requests for security and style issues.
---

# Reviewer

Instructions for the AI agent...

Agent filenames must use only a-z, 0-9, _, -, .. Unlike skills, agents are single files — they do not contain subdirectories.

See Agents for the full file format and discovery rules.

.agentignore (Optional)​

Excludes agents from sync. Lives at the agents source root:

~/.config/skillshare/agents/.agentignore
# Hide drafts
draft-*

# Disable a specific agent
experimental-reviewer

Uses gitignore syntax. The same pattern rules as .skillignore apply (*, **, !negation, # comments, etc.). Disabled agents remain in the source directory but are excluded from sync.

skillshare disable <agent> and skillshare enable <agent> add/remove entries automatically.

.agentignore.local (Optional)​

A local-only override file (same pattern as .skillignore.local). Place it next to .agentignore. Patterns are appended after .agentignore, so !negation patterns can re-enable agents the base file disables. Should not be committed to version control.

Backup Directory​

Location​

~/.local/share/skillshare/backups/

Structure​

backups/
└── <timestamp>/             # YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS
    ├── claude/              # Backup of target
    │   ├── skill-a/
    │   └── skill-b/
    └── cursor/
        └── ...

Backups are created:

  • Automatically before sync and target remove
  • Manually via skillshare backup

Trash Directory​

Location​

~/.local/share/skillshare/trash/

Project mode:

<project>/.skillshare/trash/

Structure​

trash/
└── <skill-name>_<timestamp>/    # skill-name_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS
    ├── SKILL.md
    └── ...                      # All original files preserved

Trashed skills are:

  • Created by skillshare uninstall
  • Retained for 7 days, then automatically cleaned up
  • Named with the original skill name and a timestamp

Log Directory​

Location​

~/.local/state/skillshare/logs/

Project mode:

<project>/.skillshare/logs/

Target Directories​

Targets are AI CLI skill directories. After sync, they contain symlinks (or copies) to source.

Merge mode​

Each skill is symlinked individually. A manifest tracks managed skills for orphan cleanup:

~/.claude/skills/
├── my-skill -> ~/.config/skillshare/skills/my-skill
├── code-review -> ~/.config/skillshare/skills/code-review
├── local-only/              # Not symlinked (user-created, preserved)
└── .skillshare-manifest.json  # Tracks managed skills

Copy mode​

Each skill is copied as real files. The manifest tracks checksums for incremental sync:

~/.cursor/skills/
├── my-skill/                  # Real files (copied from source)
├── code-review/               # Real files
├── local-only/                # User-created, preserved
└── .skillshare-manifest.json  # Tracks managed skills + checksums

Entire directory is symlinked:

~/.claude/skills -> ~/.config/skillshare/skills/

Tracked Repositories​

Tracked repos (installed with --track) preserve git history:

_team-skills/
├── .git/                    # Git preserved
├── frontend/
│   └── ui/
│       └── SKILL.md
└── backend/
    └── api/
        └── SKILL.md

Naming conventions​

  • _ prefix: tracked repository
  • __ in flattened name: path separator

In source:

_team-skills/frontend/ui/SKILL.md

In target (flattened):

_team-skills__frontend__ui/SKILL.md

Platform Differences​

XDG Base Directory

skillshare respects the XDG Base Directory Specification. Override base directories with XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_STATE_HOME, and XDG_CACHE_HOME.

See Environment Variables for details.

macOS / Linux​

ItemPath
Config~/.config/skillshare/config.yaml
Metadata~/.config/skillshare/skills/.metadata.json
Skills source~/.config/skillshare/skills/
Agents source~/.config/skillshare/agents/
Backups~/.local/share/skillshare/backups/
Trash~/.local/share/skillshare/trash/
Logs~/.local/state/skillshare/logs/
Version cache~/.cache/skillshare/version-check.json
UI cache~/.cache/skillshare/ui/{version}/
Link typeSymlinks

Windows​

ItemPath
Config%AppData%\skillshare\config.yaml
Metadata%AppData%\skillshare\skills\.metadata.json
Skills source%AppData%\skillshare\skills\
Agents source%AppData%\skillshare\agents\
Backups%AppData%\skillshare\backups\
Trash%AppData%\skillshare\trash\
Logs%AppData%\skillshare\logs\
Version cache%AppData%\skillshare\version-check.json
UI cache%AppData%\skillshare\ui\{version}\
Link typeNTFS Junctions

XDG Base Directory Layout​

skillshare follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Unix systems:

XDG VariableDefault Pathskillshare Uses For
XDG_CONFIG_HOME~/.configskillshare/config.yaml, skillshare/skills/ (includes .metadata.json), skillshare/agents/
XDG_DATA_HOME~/.local/shareskillshare/backups/, skillshare/trash/
XDG_STATE_HOME~/.local/stateskillshare/logs/
XDG_CACHE_HOME~/.cacheskillshare/ui/ (downloaded web dashboard)

Windows Paths​

PurposePath
Config + Skills%AppData%\skillshare\
Data (backups, trash)%AppData%\skillshare\
State (logs)%AppData%\skillshare\
Cache (UI)%AppData%\skillshare\

Migration Note​

If upgrading from a version before the XDG split, skillshare automatically migrates data from the old location (~/.config/skillshare/) to the correct XDG directories on first run.