README
¶
instill
A Go library for installing Agent Skills into AI coding agents.
An agent skill is just a directory with a SKILL.md file — markdown instructions with YAML frontmatter. Agents like Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf each expect these files in different locations. instill puts them there.
your-tool/
└── skills/
└── your-skill/
├── SKILL.md # instructions + frontmatter
└── references/ # optional detailed docs
└── commands.md
That's it. No SDK, no runtime, no protocol. Markdown files in the right directories.
Looking for a standalone tool to manage skills? Use vercel-labs/skills instead. instill is a Go library for CLI tools that want to bundle and install their own agent skills as part of their distribution.
Usage
import (
"embed"
"fmt"
"log"
"github.com/tiulpin/instill"
)
//go:embed skills
var skills embed.FS
func main() {
// Detect which agents are present
agents, _ := instill.Detect(".", false)
names := make([]string, len(agents))
for i, a := range agents {
names[i] = a.Name
}
// Install skill files to each agent's expected location
results, err := instill.Install(skills, instill.Options{
Agents: names,
ProjectDir: ".",
})
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
for _, r := range results {
fmt.Printf("%s: %s (existed=%v)\n", r.Agent, r.Path, r.Existed)
}
}
API
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
Detect(projectDir, global) |
Find which agents have config dirs present |
Install(fsys, opts) |
Copy skill files to each agent's skills directory |
Remove(name, opts) |
Delete an installed skill by name |
InstalledVersion(name, opts) |
Read version from an installed skill's frontmatter; returns (string, error) |
SkillVersion(fsys) |
Read version from a skill FS (e.g. embedded) |
AgentNames() |
List all 39 supported agent names |
What it does
- Reads your
SKILL.mdfrontmatter for the skillname - Resolves each agent's skills directory (project-local or global)
- Cleans the target directory (removes stale files from prior installs)
- Copies all skill files (
SKILL.md,references/, etc.) - Reports what was created vs updated, with prior version from frontmatter
Supported agents
39 agents supported. Paths sourced from vercel-labs/skills.
Run instill.AgentNames() for the full list, or see agents.go.
Documentation
¶
Index ¶
Constants ¶
This section is empty.
Variables ¶
This section is empty.
Functions ¶
func AgentNames ¶
func AgentNames() []string
AgentNames returns all known agent names in sorted order.
func InstalledVersion ¶
InstalledVersion returns the version from an installed skill's SKILL.md frontmatter. Returns "" if the skill is not installed or has no version field.
func SkillVersion ¶
SkillVersion returns the version from the first SKILL.md found in fsys. Returns "" if no version field is present.
Types ¶
type Agent ¶
type Agent struct {
Name string
DisplayName string
ProjectDir string // project-level skills dir (relative)
GlobalDir string // global skills dir (absolute)
}
Agent represents a detected AI coding agent
type Options ¶
type Options struct {
Agents []string // required: agent names to target
ProjectDir string // project root (for project-level operations)
Global bool // operate on global dirs instead of project-level
}
Options configure Install and Remove
type Result ¶
type Result struct {
Agent string
Path string
Existed bool // true if the skill was already present before this operation
PriorVersion string // version from previously installed SKILL.md ("" if new)
}
Result reports what happened for each agent
Source Files