Skill Lookup
Parent: Claude Code Skills · Published reference · snapshot 2026-09-08 · skill skill-lookup
↓ Facts as markdownall context files
1. Search for skills matching the user's request using search_skills
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Workflow
- Search for skills matching the user's request using search_skills [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#workflow]
- Present results with title, description, author, and file list [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#workflow]
- If the user picks a skill, retrieve it with get_skill to get all files [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#workflow]
- Install by saving files to .claude/skills/{slug}/ and verify the SKILL.md exists [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#workflow]
- Confirm installation and explain what the skill does and when it activates [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#workflow]
Available Tools
- Use these prompts.chat MCP tools: [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#available-tools]
- search_skills - Search for skills by keyword [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#available-tools]
- get_skill - Get a specific skill by ID with all its files [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#available-tools]
How to Search for Skills
- Call search_skills with: [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-search-for-skills]
- query: The search keywords from the user's request [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-search-for-skills]
- limit: Number of results (default 10, max 50) [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-search-for-skills]
- category: Filter by category slug (e.g., "coding", "automation") [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-search-for-skills]
- tag: Filter by tag slug [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-search-for-skills]
- Present results showing: [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-search-for-skills]
- Title and description [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-search-for-skills]
- File list (SKILL.md, reference docs, scripts) [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-search-for-skills]
How to Get a Skill
- Call get_skill with: [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-get-a-skill]
- Returns the skill metadata and all file contents: [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-get-a-skill]
- SKILL.md (main instructions) [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-get-a-skill]
- Reference documentation [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-get-a-skill]
How to Install a Skill
- When the user asks to install a skill: [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-install-a-skill]
- Call get_skill to retrieve all files [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-install-a-skill]
- Create the directory .claude/skills/{slug}/ [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-install-a-skill]
- Save each file to the appropriate location: [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-install-a-skill]
- SKILL.md → .claude/skills/{slug}/SKILL.md [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-install-a-skill]
- Other files → .claude/skills/{slug}/{filename} [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-install-a-skill]
- Read back SKILL.md to verify the frontmatter is intact [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#how-to-install-a-skill]
Guidelines
- Always search before suggesting the user create their own skill [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#guidelines]
- Present search results in a readable format with file counts [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#guidelines]
- When installing, confirm the skill was saved successfully [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#guidelines]
- Explain what the skill does and when it activates [archived source: https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/skill-lookup/#guidelines]
Where this helps
- A user asks for a capability Claude doesn't have installed as a skill, and you need to search the prompts.chat registry before writing one from scratch. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Confirming whether a similar skill already exists before recommending the user build a custom one. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Installing a skill's full file set (SKILL.md plus reference docs) into .claude/skills/{slug}/ so it becomes available in a project. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Filtering skill search results by category (e.g. "coding", "automation") when a broad keyword search returns too many irrelevant hits. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
Project ideas
- Build a small wrapper flow that always calls search_skills before suggesting a user hand-roll a new skill, and only falls back to authoring one when the search comes back empty. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Write a script that batches get_skill calls for a shortlist of candidate skills and diffs their file lists before deciding which one to install. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Build an installer helper that automates the "create .claude/skills/{slug}/, save each file, verify SKILL.md exists" sequence so a human doesn't have to do it by hand. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Add a post-install verification step that confirms the installed skill activates on its documented triggers before telling the user it's ready. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
Antipatterns
- Recommending the user write a new skill from scratch without first running search_skills, missing an existing skill that already covers the request. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Installing a skill's files without verifying SKILL.md exists at the end, leaving a broken or partial skill directory that won't load. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Presenting raw search_skills output without title, description, author, and file list, leaving the user unable to judge whether a result actually fits their need. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Skipping the confirm-and-explain step after install — a silently-installed skill the user doesn't understand when it activates is as unhelpful as no skill at all. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
Known issues
- Search results depend on how well the prompts.chat registry's keyword and category metadata match the user's phrasing; an oddly-worded query can miss a relevant skill that exists under different terminology. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- The default result limit (10, max 50) means a very broad query can silently truncate the candidate list before a good match is reached. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Installing a skill only copies its files into .claude/skills/{slug}/ — it does not vet the skill's content for quality or accuracy, so an installed skill can still be wrong or poorly written. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- This tool only searches and installs from the prompts.chat registry, so it has no visibility into locally-authored skills or other marketplaces. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
Where this helps
- A user asks for a capability Claude doesn't have installed as a skill, and you need to search the prompts.chat registry before writing one from scratch. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Confirming whether a similar skill already exists before recommending the user build a custom one. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Installing a skill's full file set (SKILL.md plus reference docs) into .claude/skills/{slug}/ so it becomes available in a project. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Filtering skill search results by category (e.g. "coding", "automation") when a broad keyword search returns too many irrelevant hits. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
Project ideas
- Build a small wrapper flow that always calls search_skills before suggesting a user hand-roll a new skill, and only falls back to authoring one when the search comes back empty. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Write a script that batches get_skill calls for a shortlist of candidate skills and diffs their file lists before deciding which one to install. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Build an installer helper that automates the "create .claude/skills/{slug}/, save each file, verify SKILL.md exists" sequence so a human doesn't have to do it by hand. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Add a post-install verification step that confirms the installed skill activates on its documented triggers before telling the user it's ready. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
Antipatterns
- Recommending the user write a new skill from scratch without first running search_skills, missing an existing skill that already covers the request. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Installing a skill's files without verifying SKILL.md exists at the end, leaving a broken or partial skill directory that won't load. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Presenting raw search_skills output without title, description, author, and file list, leaving the user unable to judge whether a result actually fits their need. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Skipping the confirm-and-explain step after install — a silently-installed skill the user doesn't understand when it activates is as unhelpful as no skill at all. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
Known issues
- Search results depend on how well the prompts.chat registry's keyword and category metadata match the user's phrasing; an oddly-worded query can miss a relevant skill that exists under different terminology. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- The default result limit (10, max 50) means a very broad query can silently truncate the candidate list before a good match is reached. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- Installing a skill only copies its files into .claude/skills/{slug}/ — it does not vet the skill's content for quality or accuracy, so an installed skill can still be wrong or poorly written. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
- This tool only searches and installs from the prompts.chat registry, so it has no visibility into locally-authored skills or other marketplaces. [source] — AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.
Children
- Skill Discovery (frontier)
- Skill Installation (frontier)
- Skill Search Workflow (frontier)
Frontier under this node: Skill Discovery, Skill Installation, Skill Search Workflow