target

Manage sync targets (AI CLI skill directories).

skillshare target add <name> <path>    # Add a target
skillshare target remove <name>        # Remove a target
skillshare target list                 # List all targets
skillshare target <name>               # Show target info
skillshare target <name> --mode merge  # Change sync mode
skillshare target <name> --target-naming standard  # Change naming

When to Use

• Add a new AI CLI target after installing a new tool
• Remove a target you no longer use
• Change sync mode (merge, copy, or symlink) for a target
• Change target naming (flat or standard) for a target
• Tune compatibility target-by-target instead of forcing one global mode
• Set up include/exclude filters for selective skill syncing

Subcommands

target add

Add a new target for skill synchronization.

skillshare target add windsurf ~/.windsurf/skills

The command validates:

• Path exists or parent directory exists
• Path looks like a skills directory
• Target name is unique

target remove

Remove a target and restore its skills to regular directories.

skillshare target remove cursor           # Remove single target
skillshare target remove --all            # Remove all targets
skillshare target remove cursor --dry-run # Preview

What happens:

1. Creates backup of target
2. Detects sync mode:
   • Symlink mode: Removes the directory symlink, copies source contents back as a real directory
   • Merge mode: Removes only symlinks pointing to source (by path prefix), copies each skill back as real files. Local (non-symlink) skills are preserved.
   • Copy mode: Removes .skillshare-manifest.json. Managed copies and local skills are preserved as regular directories.
3. Removes target from config

target list

List all configured targets.

skillshare target list                 # Interactive TUI (default on TTY)
skillshare target list --no-tui        # Plain text output
skillshare target list --json          # JSON output for CI/scripts

Interactive TUI

On a TTY, target list launches an interactive terminal UI with:

• Split layout — target list on the left, detail panel on the right (falls back to vertical layout on narrow terminals)
• Fuzzy filter — press / to filter targets by name
• Mode picker — press M to change the sync mode (merge, copy, symlink) for the selected target
• Naming picker — press N to change the target naming (flat, standard) for the selected target
• Include/Exclude editor — press I or E to open the filter pattern editor for the selected target. Use a to add patterns, d to delete
• Remove target — press R to remove the selected target. Shows a confirmation prompt before proceeding (backs up and unlinks, same as target remove)
• Keyboard navigation — ↑/↓ to browse, Ctrl+d/Ctrl+u to scroll the detail panel, q to quit

Changes made through the TUI (mode, include/exclude) are saved to config immediately. Run skillshare sync to apply.

Use --no-tui to skip the TUI and print plain text instead:

Configured Targets
  claude       ~/.claude/skills (merge)
  cursor       ~/.cursor/skills (merge)
  codex        ~/.openai-codex/skills (symlink)

JSON Output

skillshare target list --json

{
  "targets": [
    {
      "name": "claude",
      "path": "~/.claude/skills",
      "mode": "merge",
      "targetNaming": "flat",
      "include": [],
      "exclude": []
    },
    {
      "name": "cursor",
      "path": "~/.cursor/skills",
      "mode": "merge",
      "targetNaming": "standard",
      "include": [],
      "exclude": []
    }
  ]
}

target info / settings

Show target details or change settings.

# Show info
skillshare target claude

# Change mode
skillshare target claude --mode symlink
skillshare target claude --mode merge

# Change target naming
skillshare target claude --target-naming standard
skillshare target claude --target-naming flat

skillshare sync  # Apply changes

Sync Modes

Mode	Behavior
merge	Each skill symlinked individually. Preserves local skills. Default.
copy	Each skill copied as real files. For AI CLIs that can't follow symlinks.
symlink	Entire directory is one symlink. Exact copies everywhere.

target --mode is the main compatibility control surface. Keep your global default simple, then override only where needed.

Target Naming

Naming	Behavior
flat	Nested skills flattened with __ separators (e.g. frontend__dev). Default.
standard	Uses SKILL.md name field directly (e.g. dev). Follows the Agent Skills spec.

target --target-naming controls how skill directories are named in targets. In standard mode, skills with invalid or colliding names are warned and skipped. Ignored in symlink mode.

# Set target to copy mode (for Cursor, Copilot CLI, etc.)
skillshare target cursor --mode copy
skillshare sync  # Apply the change

Mixed strategy example

# Keep default merge behavior for most targets
skillshare target claude --mode merge

# Compatibility-first for one target
skillshare target cursor --mode copy

# Exact mirror for another target
skillshare target codex --mode symlink

skillshare sync

Target Filters (include/exclude)

Manage per-target include/exclude filters for both skills and agents from the CLI:

# Skills
skillshare target claude --add-include "team-*"
skillshare target claude --add-exclude "_legacy*"
skillshare target claude --remove-include "team-*"
skillshare target claude --remove-exclude "_legacy*"

# Agents
skillshare target claude --add-agent-include "team-*"
skillshare target claude --add-agent-exclude "draft-*"
skillshare target claude --remove-agent-include "team-*"
skillshare target claude --remove-agent-exclude "draft-*"

After changing filters, run skillshare sync to apply.

Filters work in merge and copy modes. Patterns use Go filepath.Match syntax (*, ?, [...]). In symlink mode, filters are ignored.

Agent filters are only available for targets that have an agents path, either from a built-in target definition or an explicit agents.path override in config.

See Configuration for pattern cheat sheet and scenarios.

tip

Target filters are one of three filtering layers. See Filtering Reference for how they interact with .skillignore and SKILL.md targets.

Options

target add

No additional options.

target remove

Flag	Description
--all, -a	Remove all targets
--dry-run, -n	Preview without making changes

target list

Flag	Description
--json	Output as JSON
--no-tui	Disable interactive TUI, use plain text output

target info / settings

Flag	Description
--mode, -m <mode>	Set sync mode (merge, copy, or symlink)
--agent-mode <mode>	Set agents sync mode (merge, copy, or symlink)
--target-naming <naming>	Set target naming (flat or standard)
--add-include <pattern>	Add an include filter pattern
--add-exclude <pattern>	Add an exclude filter pattern
--remove-include <pattern>	Remove an include filter pattern
--remove-exclude <pattern>	Remove an exclude filter pattern
--add-agent-include <pattern>	Add an agent include filter pattern
--add-agent-exclude <pattern>	Add an agent exclude filter pattern
--remove-agent-include <pattern>	Remove an agent include filter pattern
--remove-agent-exclude <pattern>	Remove an agent exclude filter pattern

Supported AI CLIs

skillshare auto-detects these during init:

CLI	Default Path
Claude Code	~/.claude/skills
Cursor	~/.cursor/skills
OpenCode	~/.opencode/skills
Windsurf	~/.windsurf/skills
Codex	~/.openai-codex/skills
Gemini CLI	~/.gemini/skills
Amp	~/.amp/skills
... and 45+ more	See supported targets

Examples

# Add custom target
skillshare target add my-tool ~/my-tool/skills

# Check target status
skillshare target claude

# Switch to copy mode (for AI CLIs that can't read symlinks)
skillshare target cursor --mode copy
skillshare sync

# Switch to symlink mode
skillshare target claude --mode symlink
skillshare sync

# Configure agent sync mode
skillshare target claude --agent-mode copy
skillshare sync

# Add/remove skill filters
skillshare target claude --add-include "team-*"
skillshare target claude --add-exclude "_legacy*"
skillshare target claude --remove-include "team-*"
skillshare sync

# Add/remove agent filters
skillshare target claude --add-agent-include "team-*"
skillshare target claude --add-agent-exclude "draft-*"
skillshare sync

# Remove target (restores skills)
skillshare target remove cursor

Project Mode

Manage targets for the current project:

skillshare target add windsurf -p                                # Add known target
skillshare target add custom ./tools/ai/skills -p                # Add custom path
skillshare target remove cursor -p                                # Remove target
skillshare target list -p                                         # List project targets
skillshare target claude -p                                  # Show target info
skillshare target claude --add-include "team-*" -p          # Add filter
skillshare target claude --add-agent-include "team-*" -p    # Add agent filter

How It Differs

	Global	Project (-p)
Config	~/.config/skillshare/config.yaml	.skillshare/config.yaml
Paths	Absolute (e.g., ~/.claude/skills)	Relative or absolute (e.g., .claude/skills)
Sync mode	Merge, copy, or symlink	Merge, copy, or symlink (default merge)
Mode change	--mode flag	--mode flag

Project Target List Example

Project Targets
  claude    .claude/skills (merge)
  cursor         .cursor/skills (merge)
  custom-tool    ./tools/ai/skills (merge)

Targets in project mode support:

• Known target names (e.g., claude, cursor) — resolved to project-local paths
• Custom paths — relative to project root or absolute with ~ expansion

See Also

• sync — Sync skills to targets
• status — Show target status
• Targets — Target management guide
• Project Skills — Project mode concepts