Ov Skills

OpenViking (OV) Skills Management

The ov skills command group manages agent skills on OpenViking — including installation from local directories, Git repositories, GitHub URLs, or raw content; listing, searching, inspecting, updating, and removing skills; and validating skill format locally.

Goal

Guide an agent to correctly invoke ov skills subcommands for skill lifecycle operations without guessing flags, source types, or update semantics.

Load When

• User explicitly requests skill management: ov skills ..., install skill, update skill, delete skill, remove skill.
• User asks to validate a SKILL.md or skill directory.
• User asks to find or search installed skills.
• User asks to inspect a skill's content, files, or source.
• Agent needs to discover available skills before selecting one.

Inputs

Workflow

1. Identify the user's intent and map to the correct ov skills <subcommand>. 2. Determine the source type for add (local dir, local file, Git URL, GitHub tree URL, raw content). 3. Construct the command with appropriate flags. 4. Execute and report results.

Permissions

• ov skills add may download and install external code; verify the source when the user provides an untrusted URL.
• ov skills remove --all is destructive; confirm with the user before executing.
• ov skills update replaces skill content in-place; the old version is not retained.

Output

• CLI output returned directly to the user.
• Errors surfaced with suggested fixes.

Verification

• After add, list should include the new skill.
• After remove, list should no longer include the removed skill.
• After update, show <name> --source should reflect fresh content.

Boundaries

• Do not invent skill names or URLs. Use what the user provides.
• Do not execute ov skills remove --all without explicit user confirmation.
• Do not treat ov add-skill (legacy resource command) as equivalent to ov skills add.

Runtime Resources

• docs/upgrade-guide.md — migrating from legacy ov add-skill / resource commands.
• examples/commands.md — common command patterns by scenario.
• docs/source-types.md — deep dive on supported source formats and URL patterns.

Supported Skill Source Types

Local Directory

A directory containing a SKILL.md file at its root. All files in the directory become auxiliary files.

./my-skill/
  ├── SKILL.md
  ├── helper.py
  └── templates/
      └── template.txt

ov skills add ./my-skill

Local SKILL.md File

A single SKILL.md file. No auxiliary files are included.

ov skills add ./my-skill/SKILL.md

Git Repository URL

Any valid Git URL. The repository is cloned and processed.

ov skills add https://github.com/org/skills-repo.git
ov skills add git@github.com:org/skills-repo.git

GitHub Tree URL

Special support for GitHub tree URLs to install individual skills from monorepos.

Single Skill Path

The URL path ends at a specific skill directory:

ov skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills/tree/main/skills/algorithmic-art

This installs the algorithmic-art skill.

Skills Collection with Selector

The URL points to a parent directory containing multiple skills:

ov skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills/tree/main/skills --skill brand-guidelines

Branch Names with Slashes

Branch names containing / are supported as long as the skill path is under skills/...:

ov skills add https://github.com/org/repo/tree/feature/new-ui/skills/my-skill

Preview Available Skills

Use --list to see what skills are available at a source without installing:

ov skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills/tree/main/skills --list

Raw Content

Pipe SKILL.md content directly via stdin:

ov skills add - <<'EOF'
---
name: inline-skill
description: Created inline
---
# Inline Skill
Content here.
EOF

Source Metadata

When a skill is installed, its source is recorded in .source.json (hidden, not shown in --files):

This metadata enables ov skills update to automatically refresh from the original source.

Upgrade Guide: Legacy Skill Commands to ov skills

Legacy vs New Commands

Key Differences

1. Unified namespace: ov skills operates on a dedicated skills namespace, not the generic resources tree. 2. Source tracking: Skills installed via ov skills add record their source in .source.json, enabling automatic update. 3. Level-based viewing: ov skills show supports -L 0/1/2 to view abstract, overview, or full content. 4. GitHub tree support: Direct installation from https://github.com/.../tree/... URLs without manual clone.

Common ov skills Command Patterns

Listing Skills

# List all installed skills
ov skills list

# List in JSON format
ov skills list --json

Finding Skills

# Semantic search across installed skills
ov skills find "video generation"

# Search and return only abstracts (L0)
ov skills find "video generation" --level 0

# Search with result limit and score threshold
ov skills find "API design" --limit 5 --threshold 0.3

Adding Skills

From Local Directory

# Add a skill directory (must contain SKILL.md)
ov skills add ./skills/my-skill

# Add with wait for processing
ov skills add ./skills/my-skill --wait

# List skills available in a directory without installing
ov skills add ./skills --list

# Install specific skills from a directory
ov skills add ./skills --skill my-skill --skill another-skill

# Install all skills from a directory
ov skills add ./skills --skill "*"

From Local SKILL.md File

ov skills add ./skills/my-skill/SKILL.md

From Git Repository

ov skills add https://github.com/org/repo.git

From GitHub Tree URL

# Single skill from GitHub tree
ov skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills/tree/main/skills/algorithmic-art

# Specific skill from a skills collection
ov skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills/tree/main/skills --skill brand-guidelines

# List available skills in a GitHub tree without installing
ov skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills/tree/main/skills --list

From Raw Content

ov skills add - <<'EOF'
---
name: my-inline-skill
description: A skill defined inline
---
# My Skill
Skill content here.
EOF

Showing Skills

# Show full skill content (default: L0 + L1 + L2)
ov skills show video-generate

# Show only abstract (L0)
ov skills show video-generate --level 0

# Show only overview (L1)
ov skills show video-generate --level 1

# Show only full SKILL.md (L2)
ov skills show video-generate --level 2

# Show auxiliary files
ov skills show video-generate --files

# Show source information
ov skills show video-generate --source

# Combine flags
ov skills show video-generate --files --source

Updating Skills

# Update a specific skill
ov skills update video-generate

# Update multiple skills
ov skills update video-generate image-generate

# Update all updatable skills (interactive)
ov skills update

# Update all without confirmation
ov skills update --yes

# Wait for processing
ov skills update video-generate --wait

Update Behavior by Source

Removing Skills

# Remove a specific skill
ov skills remove video-generate

# Remove without confirmation
ov skills remove video-generate --yes

# Interactive selection (no name provided)
ov skills remove

# Remove all skills (destructive — confirm first)
ov skills remove --all

Validating Skills

# Validate a skill directory
ov skills validate ./skills/my-skill

# Validate a single SKILL.md file
ov skills validate ./skills/my-skill/SKILL.md

# Strict validation (name must match directory name)
ov skills validate ./skills/my-skill --strict

Validation Rules