installing-skills-system

name Installing Skills System description Fork, clone to ~/.clank, run installer, edit CLAUDE.md when_to_use Initial setup, installing clank for the first time version 2.0.0 languages bash Installing Skills System Overview Installs the clank skills repository to ~/.clank/clank and configures Claude to use it. For Claude agents: Follow the "Installation Steps for Claude" section below. For humans: Follow the "Quick Install" section. Installation Steps for Claude When instructed to install clank, follow these steps exactly: Step 1: Clone Repository With GitHub CLI (if available): mkdir -p ~/.clank cd ~/.clank gh repo fork obra/clank -- clone --remote-name upstream Without GitHub CLI: mkdir -p ~/.clank cd ~/.clank git clone https://github.com/obra/clank.git Step 2: Run Installer cd ~/.clank/clank ./skills/meta/installing-skills/install.sh This creates symlinks for skills and commands. Step 3: Update CLAUDE.md Use the Edit tool to add this XML section to the very beginning of ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md : < EXTREMELY_IMPORTANT > You have a personal skills wiki at ~/.claude/skills/ with proven techniques, patterns, and tools that give you new capabilities. STOP. Before doing ANYTHING else in this conversation, read this file: skills/getting-started That file tells you how to find and use your skills. ONLY after reading getting-started, are you allowed to proceed with the user's request. CRITICAL: If a skill exists for your task, you MUST use it - even if you think you're already good at that. You're not. The skill prevents mistakes you don't know you make. SKILLS EXIST AND YOU DIDN'T USE THEM = FAILED TASK. </ EXTREMELY_IMPORTANT > Step 4: Verify Installation ls -la ~/.claude/skills ls -la ~/.claude/commands ~/.claude/skills/getting-started/skills-search 'test.*driven' Step 5: Restart Tell your human partner: "Installation complete. Please restart your Claude session to pick up the new CLAUDE.md configuration." Quick Install (for humans) curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/obra/clank/main/skills/meta/installing-skills/install.sh | bash # Then manually add CLAUDE.md section from Step 3 above What install.sh Does Validates you're running from clank repo root (expects ~/.clank/clank) Backs up existing ~/.claude/skills (if exists) to timestamped backup Creates skills symlink : ~/.claude/skills → ~/.clank/clank/skills Symlinks individual commands from ~/.clank/clank/commands/*.md to ~/.claude/commands/ Verifies tools available (skills-search at ~/.claude/skills/getting-started/skills-search ) Prints CLAUDE.md XML snippet to add and verification steps Verification After installation, verify it worked: # Should show symlink to ~/.clank/clank/skills ls -la ~/.claude/skills # Should show individual command symlinks ls -la ~/.claude/commands/ # Test skills-search tool ~/.claude/skills/getting-started/skills-search 'test.*driven' What Gets Installed Skills ( ~/.claude/skills/ ): Library of proven techniques, patterns, and tools Referenced with @ syntax in code and documentation Searchable with skills-search tool Commands ( ~/.claude/commands/ ): Individual symlinks to clank command files Slash commands for Claude ( /brainstorm , /write-plan , /execute-plan ) Each command references a skill using @ syntax Makes common workflows one command away Tools ( ~/.claude/skills/getting-started/ ): skills-search - Find relevant skills using grep patterns Logs failed searches for gap analysis Why Fork? Forking lets you: Customize skills and commands for your workflow Contribute improvements back via PR (see skills/contributing-skills) Stay synced with upstream updates ( git pull upstream main ) Track your customizations in version control Configure CLAUDE.md After installation, edit your ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md and add this section: < extremely_important_skills_library > You have a personal skills wiki at `~/.claude/skills/` with proven techniques, patterns, and tools that give you new capabilities. STOP. Before doing ANYTHING else in this conversation, read this file: `skills/getting-started` That file tells you: - Which phrases trigger brainstorming automatically (like "I've got an idea", "Let's make...") - How to search for skills before ANY task - When to announce which skill you're using After reading getting-started, proceed with the user's request. CRITICAL: If a skill exists for your task, you MUST use it - even if you think you're already good at that. You're not. The skill prevents mistakes you don't know you make. SKILLS EXIST AND YOU DIDN'T USE THEM = FAILED TASK. </ extremely_important_skills_library > This enables: Automatic skill discovery before every task Mandatory skill usage enforcement Gap tracking for missing skills (logged searches) Updating Skills After initial install, update with: cd ~/.clank/clank git pull origin main # Pull your changes git pull upstream main # Pull upstream updates (if configured) The symlinks stay valid - no need to reinstall. Troubleshooting "Error: Not running from clank repository root" The script expects to be run from ~/.clank/clank/ . Clone it first: mkdir -p ~/.clank cd ~/.clank gh repo fork obra/clank -- clone cd clank ./skills/meta/installing-skills/install.sh "~/.claude/skills already exists" The installer automatically backs it up with timestamp. Check backups: ls -la ~/.claude/skills.backup.* Symlinks broken Remove and reinstall: rm ~/.claude/skills rm ~/.claude/commands/*.md # Remove individual command symlinks cd ~/.clank/clank ./skills/meta/installing-skills/install.sh Uninstalling # Remove symlinks rm ~/.claude/skills rm ~/.claude/commands/brainstorm.md rm ~/.claude/commands/write-plan.md rm ~/.claude/commands/execute-plan.md # Restore backup if desired mv ~/.claude/skills.backup.YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS ~/.claude/skills # Remove from CLAUDE.md # Delete the "Skills Library" section from ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md # Remove cloned repo rm -rf ~/.clank/clank Implementation See @install.sh for the installation script.