Skill Scout
Search installed, marketplace, GitHub, and web skills before you author or fork a duplicate workflow.
Overview
Skill Scout is an agent skill most often used in Build (also Validate scope) that searches local, marketplace, GitHub, and web skill sources before you create or fork a new SKILL.md.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/affaan-m/everything-claude-code --skill skill-scoutWhat is this skill?
- Captures task, triggers, domain, and 3–5 keywords before any search
- Searches ~/.claude/skills and marketplace paths first with grep-friendly find commands
- Extends discovery to GitHub and the open web when local matches are insufficient
- Requires vetting external hits before adoption instead of blind install
- Five-step scout workflow from intent capture through source ranking
- Five-step scout workflow from intent capture through external vetting
- Local search uses find with maxdepth 2 over installed skills and marketplace paths
Adoption & trust: 1.1k installs on skills.sh; 210k GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You are about to author a new agent skill without knowing whether the same workflow already exists locally, in a marketplace, or on GitHub.
Who is it for?
Indie builders extending Claude or Cursor skill libraries who want a disciplined search ritual before writing SKILL.md.
Skip if: Runs where the user explicitly ordered skip search or create-from-scratch with no discovery step.
When should I use this skill?
User wants to create, build, fork, or find a skill; asks if a skill exists for a workflow; or you are about to suggest a new skill.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a ranked picture of existing skills and keywords so you can fork, extend, or justify a net-new skill instead of duplicating community work.
- Keyword and synonym list tied to task and trigger conditions
- Ranked notes on matching local, marketplace, GitHub, and web skills with vetting guidance
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Skill discovery sits on the canonical Build shelf because extending agent capabilities is where new skills are adopted and installed. Agent-tooling is the right subphase for vetting and sourcing SKILL.md packages before creation or fork.
Where it fits
Scan local and web catalogs for skills that already automate competitive or research workflows before you commit to building custom agent tooling.
Answer whether an existing marketplace skill covers your MVP workflow so you can narrow scope instead of authoring from scratch.
Run find-and-grep across ~/.claude/skills and marketplaces immediately before drafting a new SKILL.md for your repo.
Locate a GitHub skill that wraps an API you need so you can fork and vet it rather than rewriting integration prompts.
How it compares
Use as a discovery gate before meta authoring skills like skill-creator—not as a substitute for writing or evaluating SKILL.md content.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is skill-scout for?
Solo and indie builders who install agent skills in Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex and want to avoid rebuilding workflows that already ship in local folders or marketplaces.
When should I use skill-scout?
Use it during Validate when scoping whether an existing skill covers your workflow, during Build before you create or fork agent-tooling, and whenever someone asks if a skill exists for a task or says create, build, or make a skill.
Is skill-scout safe to install?
It instructs filesystem search and may point you at external GitHub and web sources; review the Security Audits panel on this page and vet any third-party skill before you install it.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Skill Scout
# Skill Scout Use this skill before creating a new skill. The goal is to avoid duplicating existing community or marketplace work, while still vetting anything external before adoption. Source: salvaged from stale community PR #1232 by `redminwang`. ## When to Use - The user says "create a skill", "build a skill", "make a skill", or "new skill". - The user asks "is there a skill for X?" or "does a skill exist that does Y?" - The user describes a workflow and you are about to suggest creating a new skill. - The user wants to fork or extend an existing skill. If the user explicitly says to skip search or create from scratch, acknowledge that and proceed with the requested creation workflow. ## How It Works ### Step 1 - Capture Intent Extract: - The task the skill should perform. - The trigger conditions for using it. - The domain, tools, frameworks, or data sources involved. - Three to five search keywords plus useful synonyms. ### Step 2 - Search Local Sources Search installed and marketplace skill names first. Local sources are preferred because they are already part of the user's environment. ```bash find ~/.claude/skills -maxdepth 2 -name SKILL.md 2>/dev/null | grep -iE "keyword|synonym" find ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces -path '*/skills/*/SKILL.md' 2>/dev/null | grep -iE "keyword|synonym" ``` Then search frontmatter descriptions: ```bash grep -RilE "keyword|synonym" ~/.claude/skills ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces 2>/dev/null ``` ### Step 3 - Search Remote Sources Use available GitHub and web search tools. Prefer concise queries: ```bash gh search repos "claude code skill keyword" --limit 10 --sort stars gh search code "name: keyword" --filename SKILL.md --limit 10 ``` For web search, use at most three targeted queries such as: ```text "claude code skill" keyword "SKILL.md" keyword "everything-claude-code" keyword ``` ### Step 4 - Vet External Matches Before recommending any external skill for adoption or forking: - Read the `SKILL.md` frontmatter and instructions. - Look for unexpected shell commands, file writes, network calls, credential handling, or package installs. - Check whether the repository appears maintained. - Prefer copying into a fresh local branch and reviewing the diff over editing marketplace originals. ### Step 5 - Rank Results Rank candidates by: 1. Exact keyword match in the skill name. 2. Keyword or synonym match in description. 3. Local installed or marketplace source. 4. Maintained GitHub source with recent activity. 5. Web-only mention. Cap the final list at 10 results. ### Step 6 - Present Decision Options Give the user a short table: | Option | Meaning | | --- | --- | | Use existing | Invoke or install a matching skill as-is. | | Fork or extend | Copy the closest skill and modify it. | | Create fresh | Build a new skill after confirming no close match exists. | Only create a new skill after the user chooses that path or after the search finds no close match. ## Examples ### Result Table ```markdown | # | Skill | Source | Why it matches | Gap | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | article-writing | Local ECC | Drafts articles and guides | Not focused on release notes | | 2 | content-engine | Local ECC | Multi-format content workflow | Heavier than needed | | 3 | blog-writer | GitHub | Blog writing skill with recent commits | Needs security review | ``` ### User-Facing Summary ```markdown I found two close local matches and one external candidate. The closest fit is `article-writing`; it covers drafting and revision, but it does not include the release-note checklist you asked for. I can either use it as-is, fork it into a release-note variant, or create a fresh skill. ``` ## Anti-Patterns - Do not jump directly to new skill