---
type: Reference
id: https://w3id.org/ktl/knowledge/references/gh-skill-cli
title: gh skill (GitHub CLI)
description: The GitHub CLI command group that installs, pins, and publishes agent skills from GitHub repositories; the publish path this repository uses for releases.
genre: reference
resource: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_skill_install
generated:
  by: process:ktl-librarian
  at: "2026-10-16T23:58:13Z"
status: draft
definedBy:
  - https://w3id.org/ktl/knowledge/references/agent-skills-specification
sources:
  - resource: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_skill_install
  - resource: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_skill
  - resource: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_skill_publish
  - resource: https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.90.0
  - resource: .github/workflows/validate.yml
  - resource: .github/workflows/publish.yml
verified:
  - by: process:ktl-librarian
    at: "2026-10-28T00:35:16Z"
---

# Overview

`gh skill install <repo> <skill[@version]>` installs one named skill from a GitHub repository or, with `--from-local`, from a local directory. With `--all` it installs every skill a repository offers. It installs into a host-specific directory at project or user scope, with `--pin` for a tag or commit SHA. `--agent` names the agent it installs for and `--scope` the scope, or `--dir` names a directory of its own. The default scope is project, and the default agent is `github-copilot` when the command runs non-interactively. The command group was added in GitHub CLI v2.90.0, whose release notes say it is launching in public preview and is subject to change without notice.

`gh skill publish` validates the repository's skills against the Agent Skills specification and creates the tag and GitHub release. `--dry-run` is the validation-only mode CI runs on every pull request. `--tag vX.Y.Z` is the non-interactive publish the release workflow calls.