--- title: "Solving AI Agent Skills Fragmentation with npx skills" canonical_url: "https://techvoyage.dev/article/centralised-the-skills-for-agents" last_updated: "2026-06-14T11:05:19.296Z" meta: description: "Running multiple AI agents like Claude Code or Kimi? Learn how to fix skills fragmentation and manage a single, centralized skills folder using npx skills CLI." "og:description": "Running multiple AI agents like Claude Code or Kimi? Learn how to fix skills fragmentation and manage a single, centralized skills folder using npx skills CLI." "og:title": "Solving AI Agent Skills Fragmentation with npx skills" "twitter:description": "Running multiple AI agents like Claude Code or Kimi? Learn how to fix skills fragmentation and manage a single, centralized skills folder using npx skills CLI." "twitter:title": "Solving AI Agent Skills Fragmentation with npx skills" --- [Home](https://techvoyage.dev/) ![How to solve AI agent skills fragmentation using npx skills](https://inimages.techvoyage.dev/articles/Centralised%20the%20skills%20for%20agents/Solving-AI-Agent-Skills-Fragmentation-with-npx-skills.webp) # **Solving AI Agent Skills Fragmentation with npx skills** Running multiple AI agents like Claude Code or Kimi? Learn how to fix skills fragmentation and manage a single, centralized skills folder using npx skills CLI. Jun 4, 2026 -4 MIN READ If you run multiple AI agents or CLIs on your computer—whether it's Hermes, Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, Kimi, or other supported tools—you've probably hit a frustrating issue: **skills fragmentation**. Every agent or CLI maintains its own separate `**skills**` folder, which leads to duplicate installations, version drift, and management overhead. In our work with AI agents, we frequently ran into the following issues: - **Multiple installs**: Installing a new skill for one agent, then install it again and again for others. - **Version drift**: Customising or fixing a skill for one agent, forgetting to update the rest, and ending up with agents behaving differently. - **Skills management**: Having to go through every `**skills**` folder for each agent across our system to see what skills were actually installed. The `**npx skills**` CLI, an open-source CLI from Vercel, solves the issue by letting you manage one centralised `**skills**` folder and share it across all your agents. You can check out the [`**npx skills**`**GitHub repo**](https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills). ## Centralised Folder The concept is simple: if we point every agent's `**skills**` folder to the **same physical folder**, the fragmentation problem completely disappears. When you install a skill using `**npx skills**` CLI, the skill is downloaded to the centralised folder on your machine (`**~/.agents/skills**`). The CLI then creates a **symlink** (which is just a pointer) from each agent's `**skills**` folder back to that centralised folder. For example, when Claude Code looks for skills in `**~/.claude/skills/**`, it gets transparently redirected to `**~/.agents/skills**`. If you make a tweak to a skill in that centralised folder, every single agent sees the update instantly. No manual copying, no sync scripts, and no wasted disk storage. ## Installing `**npx skills**` and Adding a Skill Run the following command to get it started, and add our first skill: ``` npx skills add https://github.com/coleam00/excalidraw-diagram-skill --skill excalidraw-diagram ```![Using npx skills add command to install a skill from GitHub](https://inimages.techvoyage.dev/articles/Centralised%20the%20skills%20for%20agents/npx-skills-add-command.webp) The CLI will ask whether to set this up for a specific project or globally. We usually recommend choosing **global** so all supported agents can access it: ![Selecting global installation option in npx skills CLI](https://inimages.techvoyage.dev/articles/Centralised%20the%20skills%20for%20agents/npx-skills-install-global-prompt.webp) Next, make sure to select `**Symlink**` to ensure a **single source of truth**: ![Choosing symlink method for skill synchronization](https://inimages.techvoyage.dev/articles/Centralised%20the%20skills%20for%20agents/npx-skills-symlink-option.webp)![Successful installation and symlink creation confirmation in CLI](https://inimages.techvoyage.dev/articles/Centralised%20the%20skills%20for%20agents/npx-skills-installation-completed.webp) Once done, we can verify that the skill is installed in the centralised folder at `**~/.agents/skills**`: ![Verifying installed skills in the centralized directory](https://inimages.techvoyage.dev/articles/Centralised%20the%20skills%20for%20agents/npx-skills-directory-verification.webp) Open up the Kimi CLI (or any other agent), and the `**excalidraw-diagram**` skill is available and ready to use! ![Kimi CLI showing loaded and ready centralized skills](https://inimages.techvoyage.dev/articles/Centralised%20the%20skills%20for%20agents/kimi-cli-skills-integration.webp) ## Creating a Skill from Scratch To build your own skills, you can use Anthropic's `**skill-creator**` tool. Install it like this:``` npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills --skill skill-creator ``` Now, in Kimi or any other agent, enter the following prompt:``` Use the skill-creator to help me build a skill for creating a product landing page ``` Kimi or your agent will automatically pick up the `**skill-creator**` and walk you through the process step-by-step: ![Interactive skill-creator wizard executing in Kimi CLI](https://inimages.techvoyage.dev/articles/Centralised%20the%20skills%20for%20agents/kimi-cli-skill-creator-setup.webp) ## Other Handy `**npx skills**` Commands Here are some other handy commands: - `**npx skills ls -g**`: List all globally installed skills - `**npx skills update**`: Keep all skills up to date with one command - `**npx skills remove**`: Interactively uninstall/remove a skill Please refer to the [`**npx skills**`** GitHub repo**](https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills) for more commands and reference. ## Taking It a Step Further Since all skills are now in one place (`**~/.agents/skills**`), we can initialise it as a Git repository and push it to GitHub or GitLab.``` cd ~/.agents/skills git init git add . git commit -m "Initial skills folder" git remote add origin https://github.com/Tech-Voyage-Dev/skills git push -u origin main ``` Now, we have a complete history of all skill changes, meaning we can easily roll back if an update breaks something. Plus, we can seamlessly sync the skills across multiple machines (like a laptop and desktop) by running a quick `**git pull**`. ## A Few Things to Keep in Mind (Security & Risks) - **Compatibility varies**: Not all agent platforms support every feature (like custom hooks or specific allowed tools) yet. A skill might work great in one agent but fall short in another. - **Trust the source**: Only install skills from trusted sources. - **Review before running**: If you are using a custom or third-party skill, review the files (especially in the `**scripts/**` folder) before letting your agent run it. - **Least privilege**: Try not to give a skill more tool permissions or access than it absolutely needs to do its job. - **Never hardcode secrets**: Keep your API keys and secrets out of your skill files. Setting up a centralised "single source of truth" with `**npx skills**` has saved our team from frustration and duplicate work. It is highly recommended to give it a try—the AI capabilities scale as skills grow! 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