`.skill` archive syntax

Updated May 06, 2026

A .skill archive is a zip file containing exactly one top-level skill directory. The argument to the install command must be an absolute path ending in .skill. For example:

/tmp/reviewer.skill

The archive layout should look like:

reviewer/
reviewer/SKILL.md
reviewer/scripts/check.py
reviewer/REFERENCE.md

The archive is rejected when:

  • the path is relative;
  • the file is not a valid zip archive;
  • the archive contains zero or multiple top-level directories;
  • an entry uses an absolute path; or
  • an entry contains .. and could escape the extraction root.