Skillpack Forge

Skillpack Forge turns one repo manifest into portable agent instructions, skills, rules, MCP resources, MCPB-ready manifests, and local MCPB bundles for AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, Claude, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and MCP clients.

AI coding tools now ask for the same project knowledge in different formats: AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, Claude Skills, Codex Skills, Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, MCP resources, local MCP bundle manifests, and .mcpb bundles. Skillpack Forge gives maintainers one source of truth.

Want to inspect a real generated repo first? Open the live fixture demo. It checks in one skillpack.yaml, every generated target file, a packed .mcpb bundle, and a passing GitHub Actions workflow.

Try It In 30 Seconds

npx skillpack-forge@latest init .
npx skillpack-forge@latest compile . --dry-run
npx skillpack-forge@latest compile .
npx skillpack-forge@latest doctor .
npx skillpack-forge@latest diff .
npx skillpack-forge@latest check . --strict
npx skillpack-forge@latest mcpb .

No global install is required: the CLI is published on npm and works through npx.

It scans the repo, writes skillpack.yaml, then compiles it into:

• AGENTS.md
• CLAUDE.md
• .claude/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md
• .codex/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md
• .cursor/rules/<project>.mdc
• .github/copilot-instructions.md
• .mcp/manifest.json
• .mcp/skillpack-server.mjs
• .mcp/README.md

Target Matrix

Target	Generated path	Intended client	Output type
agents	AGENTS.md	Codex and other AGENTS.md-aware coding agents	Repo instructions
claude-md	CLAUDE.md	Claude Code	Repo instructions
claude	.claude/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md	Claude Skills-compatible agents	Skill
codex	.codex/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md	Codex Skills-compatible agents	Skill
cursor	.cursor/rules/<project>.mdc	Cursor	Rule
copilot	.github/copilot-instructions.md	GitHub Copilot	Repo instructions
mcp	.mcp/manifest.json, .mcp/skillpack-server.mjs, optional .mcpb bundle	MCP clients and MCPB-aware installers	Local read-only MCP server plus MCPB packaging

Start from an automation template instead:

npx skillpack-forge@latest new browser-automation .
npx skillpack-forge@latest new playwright-browser .
npx skillpack-forge@latest new test-automation .
npx skillpack-forge@latest new ci-triage .
npx skillpack-forge@latest new data-pipeline .
npx skillpack-forge@latest compile . --dry-run

Browse the automation skillpack gallery for all templates and generated examples.

Import existing agent files into one manifest:

npx skillpack-forge@latest import . --force

Skillpack Forge is a compiler for repo-specific agent instructions, not a skill registry, skill installer, readiness-score linter, or agent runtime. See how it differs and the competitive analysis.

Why This Can Win Stars

The high-star signal is clear: developers are collecting agent instructions and skills, but the ecosystem is fragmented.

• agentsmd/agents.md: simple repo-level agent guidance format.
• github/awesome-copilot: community instructions, agents, skills, and configurations for GitHub Copilot.
• anthropics/skills: public repository for Agent Skills.
• addyosmani/agent-skills: production-grade engineering skills for coding agents.
• microsoft/playwright-mcp and github/github-mcp-server: MCP is becoming a default automation surface.
• vercel-labs/agent-browser: browser automation for AI agents is already a high-interest category.

Skillpack Forge sits between those trends: it is not another list of prompts, and it is not a full workflow platform. It is the missing compiler that lets any repo ship consistent agent context everywhere.

Quick Start

Use the npm CLI:

npx skillpack-forge@latest --help

Create a skillpack for any project:

npx skillpack-forge@latest init /path/to/project
npx skillpack-forge@latest compile /path/to/project --dry-run
npx skillpack-forge@latest compile /path/to/project
npx skillpack-forge@latest doctor /path/to/project
npx skillpack-forge@latest diff /path/to/project
npx skillpack-forge@latest check /path/to/project --strict
npx skillpack-forge@latest mcpb /path/to/project

Inspect a repo without writing files:

npx skillpack-forge@latest scan /path/to/project --json

Generate a template skillpack:

npx skillpack-forge@latest new --list
npx skillpack-forge@latest new release-automation /path/to/project

Import existing agent files:

npx skillpack-forge@latest import /path/to/project

Compile an Agentic Workflow Guard safety skillpack:

node ../agentic-workflow-guard/bin/agentic-workflow-guard.js skillpack > skillpack.yaml
npx skillpack-forge@latest compile . --dry-run
npx skillpack-forge@latest compile .
npx skillpack-forge@latest doctor .
npx skillpack-forge@latest diff .
npx skillpack-forge@latest check . --strict

This gives automation security projects a portable context bundle for AGENTS.md, Claude Skills, Codex Skills, Cursor rules, and Copilot instructions. See Agentic Workflow Guard for the scanner side of the workflow.

Example Manifest

See examples/skillpack.yaml and the generated files in examples/AGENTS.md, examples/.claude/skills, examples/.codex/skills, examples/.cursor/rules, and examples/.github/copilot-instructions.md.

For template-driven examples, see the automation skillpack gallery and the generated examples index. For an end-to-end public fixture, see guorunjie/skillpack-forge-demo.

name: "my-agent-tool"
summary: "Browser automation CLI for recurring operator workflows"
targets:
  - "agents"
  - "claude-md"
  - "claude"
  - "codex"
  - "cursor"
  - "copilot"
  - "mcp"
principles:
  - "Preserve user changes and keep edits scoped"
  - "Inspect the current repo state before changing files"
  - "Run verification before claiming success"
commands:
  install: "npm install"
  test: "npm test"
  lint: "npm run lint"
skills:
  - name: "my-agent-tool-developer"
    description: "Use when changing, testing, or automating my-agent-tool."
    workflow:
      - "Inspect the current project context and nearby files"
      - "Run npm test before completion"
      - "Document any command that cannot be run"

CLI

scan

Detects project metadata, package managers, useful commands, docs, and automation capabilities.

skillpack-forge scan .
skillpack-forge scan . --json

init

Creates skillpack.yaml from the scan.

skillpack-forge init .
skillpack-forge init . --force

import

Creates skillpack.yaml from existing agent files such as AGENTS.md, .github/copilot-instructions.md, .cursor/rules/*.mdc, .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md, and .codex/skills/*/SKILL.md.

skillpack-forge import .
skillpack-forge import . --force
skillpack-forge import . --json

new

Creates a template manifest for common automation skillpacks.

skillpack-forge new --list
skillpack-forge new browser-automation .
skillpack-forge new playwright-browser .
skillpack-forge new test-automation .
skillpack-forge new ci-triage .
skillpack-forge new docs-automation .
skillpack-forge new release-automation .
skillpack-forge new ops-automation .
skillpack-forge new data-automation .
skillpack-forge new data-pipeline .

compile

Compiles skillpack.yaml into the selected targets. Use --dry-run first to list files that would be created or overwritten without changing the repo.

skillpack-forge compile .
skillpack-forge compile . --dry-run

mcpb

Packs the generated .mcp directory into a local .mcpb bundle without adding runtime dependencies. Run compile first so .mcp/manifest.json and .mcp/skillpack-server.mjs exist.

skillpack-forge mcpb .
skillpack-forge mcpb . dist/my-project-skillpack.mcpb

doctor

Checks that generated files exist and do not contain placeholder text.

skillpack-forge doctor .

diff

Checks whether generated files match the current skillpack.yaml. This exits non-zero when generated agent instructions are missing or stale, which makes it useful in CI.

skillpack-forge diff .

check

Runs doctor and diff as one CI-friendly command. Use --strict to also fail on unexpected old Skillpack Forge generated files.

skillpack-forge check .
skillpack-forge check . --strict

JSON Schema

Use skillpack.schema.json to validate manifest shape in editors or CI. The schema covers the current portable targets: AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, Claude Skills, Codex Skills, Cursor rules, Copilot instructions, MCP resources, and MCPB-ready manifests.

MCP Server

Add mcp to targets to generate a zero-dependency local MCP stdio server and MCPB manifest:

skillpack-forge compile .
node .mcp/skillpack-server.mjs

The generated server exposes read-only resources and tools for the manifest, summary, commands, and workflows. Pack the generated .mcp directory into a local .mcpb bundle:

skillpack-forge mcpb . my-project-skillpack.mcpb

Run an additional official MCPB schema check when needed:

npx -y @anthropic-ai/mcpb validate .mcp

See .mcp/README.md after compilation and the MCP packaging design note.

GitHub Action

Use the bundled action to keep generated files fresh in pull requests:

- uses: guorunjie/skillpack-forge@v1
  with:
    path: .

See the GitHub Action guide.

Positioning

Skillpack Forge is for:

• open-source maintainers who want every coding agent to understand their repo quickly;
• teams that already maintain separate Copilot, Cursor, Claude, and Codex instructions;
• automation tool builders who want reusable skill packs around browser, ops, data, or workflow tasks;
• agent framework authors who need a clean bridge from repo context to tool-specific instructions.

It is intentionally small: no hosted service, no database, no LLM dependency, no lock-in.

Roadmap

Recently delivered:

• Animated terminal demo for the README first screen.
• Target compatibility matrix across AGENTS.md, Claude, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, and MCP.
• Test automation template and generated example.
• CI triage template and generated example.
• Data pipeline automation template and generated example.
• MCPB-ready manifest generation for local MCP servers.
• Public automation skillpack gallery with generated examples for every template.
• Zero-dependency MCPB bundle packing via skillpack-forge mcpb.

Next:

• Optional MCPB signing and install-flow documentation after user feedback.
• Public gallery of reusable automation skillpacks.
• Community starter issues for templates, MCP docs, and importer improvements.

Development

npm test
node ./bin/skillpack-forge.js scan . --json
node ./bin/skillpack-forge.js doctor .
node ./bin/skillpack-forge.js diff .

The implementation is dependency-free Node.js so the CLI stays easy to audit and install.

Contributions are welcome. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md, browse the community roadmap, join Discussions, or open a template request for a workflow you want Skillpack Forge to generate. Sharing the project? Use the share kit.