openclaw-openclaw/docs/cli/skills.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
CLI reference for `openclaw skills` (search/install/update/verify/list/info/check/workshop)	You want to see which skills are available and ready to run You want to search ClawHub or install skills from ClawHub, Git, or local directories You want to verify a ClawHub skill with ClawHub You want to debug missing binaries/env/config for skills	Skills

openclaw skills

Inspect local skills, search ClawHub, install skills from ClawHub/Git/local directories, verify ClawHub skills, and update ClawHub-tracked installs.

Related:

• Skills system: Skills
• Skill Workshop: Skill Workshop
• Skills config: Skills config
• ClawHub installs: ClawHub

Commands

openclaw skills search "calendar"
openclaw skills search --limit 20 --json
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug>
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --version <version>
openclaw skills install git:owner/repo
openclaw skills install git:owner/repo@main
openclaw skills install ./path/to/skill --as custom-name
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --force
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --force-install
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --acknowledge-clawhub-risk
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --agent <id>
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --global
openclaw skills update @owner/<slug>
openclaw skills update @owner/<slug> --force-install
openclaw skills update @owner/<slug> --acknowledge-clawhub-risk
openclaw skills update @owner/<slug> --global
openclaw skills update --all
openclaw skills update --all --agent <id>
openclaw skills update --all --global
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug>
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug> --version <version>
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug> --tag <tag>
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug> --card
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug> --global
openclaw skills list
openclaw skills list --eligible
openclaw skills list --json
openclaw skills list --verbose
openclaw skills list --agent <id>
openclaw skills info <name>
openclaw skills info <name> --json
openclaw skills info <name> --agent <id>
openclaw skills check
openclaw skills check --agent <id>
openclaw skills check --json
openclaw skills workshop propose-create --name "qa-check" --description "QA checklist" --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop propose-update qa-check --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop list
openclaw skills workshop inspect <proposal-id>
openclaw skills workshop revise <proposal-id> --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop apply <proposal-id>
openclaw skills workshop reject <proposal-id> --reason "Not reusable"
openclaw skills workshop quarantine <proposal-id> --reason "Needs security review"

search, update, and verify use ClawHub directly. install @owner/<slug> installs a ClawHub skill, install git:owner/repo[@ref] clones a Git skill, and install ./path copies a local skill directory. By default, install, update, and verify target the active workspace skills/ directory; with --global, they target the shared managed skills directory. list/info/check still inspect the local skills visible to the current workspace and config. Workspace-backed commands resolve the target workspace from --agent <id>, then the current working directory when it is inside a configured agent workspace, then the default agent.

Git and local directory installs expect SKILL.md at the source root. The install slug comes from SKILL.md frontmatter name when it is valid, then the source directory or repository name; use --as <slug> to override it. --version is ClawHub-only. Skill installs do not support npm package specs or zip/archive paths, and openclaw skills update updates ClawHub-tracked installs only.

Gateway-backed skill dependency installs triggered from onboarding or Skills settings use the separate skills.install request path instead.

Notes:

Flag/behavior	Description
search [query...]	Optional query; omit it to browse the default ClawHub search feed.
search --limit <n>	Caps returned results.
install git:owner/repo[@ref]	Installs a Git skill. Branch refs may contain slashes, such as git:owner/repo@feature/foo.
install ./path/to/skill	Installs a local directory whose root contains SKILL.md.
install --as <slug>	Overrides the inferred slug for Git and local directory installs.
install --version <version>	Applies only to ClawHub skill refs.
install --force	Overwrites an existing workspace skill folder for the same slug.
install/update --force-install	Installs a pending GitHub-backed ClawHub skill before ClawHub's scan completes.
--global	Targets the shared managed skills directory; cannot combine with --agent <id>.
--agent <id>	Targets one configured agent workspace; overrides current working directory inference.
update @owner/<slug>	Updates a single tracked skill. Add --global to target the shared managed skills directory instead of the workspace.
update --all	Updates tracked ClawHub installs in the selected workspace, or the shared managed skills directory with --global.
verify @owner/<slug>	Prints ClawHub's clawhub.skill.verify.v1 JSON envelope by default. There is no --json flag because JSON is already the default. Bare slugs are accepted for compatibility when the skill is already installed or unambiguous; owner-qualified refs avoid publisher ambiguity.
verify provenance	When ClawHub returns server-resolved source provenance, verify JSON also includes a commit-pinned openclaw.verifiedSourceUrl. Unavailable or self-declared source URLs stay only in the raw provenance envelope and are not promoted.
verify version selector	verify uses .clawhub/origin.json for installed ClawHub skills, so it verifies the installed version against the registry it came from. --version and --tag override the version selector but keep that installed registry when origin metadata exists.
verify --card	Prints the generated Skill Card Markdown instead of JSON. Exits non-zero when ClawHub returns ok: false or decision: "fail"; unsigned signatures are informational unless ClawHub policy changes.
Skill Card fingerprint	Installed ClawHub bundles can include a generated skill-card.md. OpenClaw treats verification as a ClawHub server decision and does not reject an installed skill just because that generated card changes the bundle fingerprint.
check --agent <id>	Checks the selected agent's workspace and reports which ready skills are actually visible to that agent's prompt or command surface.
list	Default action when no subcommand is provided.
list/info/check output	Rendered output goes to stdout. With --json, the machine-readable payload stays on stdout for pipes and scripts.

Community ClawHub skill installs and updates check trust before downloading. Versioned community archive releases use exact-release trust metadata. Resolver-backed GitHub skills rely on ClawHub's install resolver to enforce scan and force-install policy before it returns a pinned commit; use --force-install to install a pending GitHub-backed skill before that scan completes. Malicious or blocked community releases are refused. Risky community releases require review and --acknowledge-clawhub-risk when a non-interactive command should continue after that review. Official ClawHub skill publishers and bundled OpenClaw skill sources bypass this release-trust prompt.

Skill Workshop

openclaw skills workshop manages pending skill proposals in the selected workspace. Proposals are not active skills until applied. For proposal storage, support-file safeguards, Gateway methods, and approval policy, see Skill Workshop.

openclaw skills workshop propose-create \
  --name "qa-check" \
  --description "Repeatable QA checklist" \
  --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop propose-create \
  --name "qa-check" \
  --description "Repeatable QA checklist" \
  --proposal-dir ./qa-check-proposal
openclaw skills workshop propose-update qa-check --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop list
openclaw skills workshop inspect <proposal-id>
openclaw skills workshop revise <proposal-id> --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop apply <proposal-id>
openclaw skills workshop reject <proposal-id> --reason "Duplicate"
openclaw skills workshop quarantine <proposal-id> --reason "Needs security review"

propose-create, propose-update, and revise also accept --goal <text> and --evidence <text> to record the proposal's motivation and supporting notes alongside the --proposal/--proposal-dir content.

Related

• CLI reference
• Skills