Search existing local, marketplace, GitHub, and web skill sources before creating a new skill. Use when the user wants to create, build, fork, or find a skill for a workflow.

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. Then search frontmatter descriptions: Step 3 Search Remote Sources Use available GitHub and web search tools. Prefer concise queries: For web search, use at most three targeted queries such as: 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 User Facing Summary Anti Patterns Do not jump directly to new skill creation when a search is reasonable. Do not install external skills without reading them first. Do not present a long unranked list of weak matches. Do not treat web only mentions as trusted sources. Do not edit installed marketplace originals in place. Related search first General search before building workflow. skill stocktake Audit installed skills for health, duplicates, and gaps. agent sort Categorize and organize existing agents and skills.

skill-scout