Home · Cursor Skills · How to Add Skills
How to add skills to Cursor
Adding a skill to Cursor is a file-copy, not an install: one folder, in one of two directories. The two minutes are easy — the mistakes that make skills silently not appear are what this page saves you from.
Step 1 — Get the skill folder
Download or clone the skill's repository. You need the folder that directly contains SKILL.md — for example frontend-design/ from Anthropic's skills repo. If the folder contains scripts or reference files, keep them; they're part of the skill.
Before installing anything from a public repo, skim the SKILL.md and any scripts. A skill is instructions your agent will follow. Our frontend-design review shows what a clean one looks like — and what we check.
Step 2 — Put it in the right directory
| Scope | Path |
|---|---|
| Just this project | your-project/.cursor/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md |
| All your projects | ~/.cursor/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md |
The rule that breaks most installs: the folder name must match the name in the SKILL.md frontmatter, exactly. frontend-design in frontmatter means the folder is frontend-design, not frontend-design-main or the repo name.
Step 3 — Use it
Start a new chat (Cursor scans skills at session start). Then either describe a matching task and let the agent trigger the skill from its description, or invoke it explicitly:
/frontend-design build a landing page for a sauna club
Explicit invocation always works if the skill is installed correctly — which makes it the fastest install test there is.
Skill not showing up?
- Folder/name mismatch — folder name ≠ frontmatter
name. Fix the folder name. - Nested too deep — SKILL.md must be directly inside the skill folder, not another level down (a common unzip artefact).
- Broken frontmatter — invalid YAML, or a missing
description. No description, no trigger. - Stale session — old chat. Open a new one.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my skill not showing up in Cursor?
The three usual causes: the folder name does not match the name in the SKILL.md frontmatter, the frontmatter is invalid YAML or missing a description, or the folder is in the wrong place (it must sit directly inside a skills directory, e.g. .cursor/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md). Fix those, then start a new chat so Cursor re-scans.
Do Claude Code skills work in Cursor?
In almost all cases, yes. The SKILL.md format is shared, and Cursor discovers .claude/skills/ folders as well as its own. Platform-specific tool references inside a skill are the only occasional friction.
Can I share a skill with my team?
Yes — commit the skill folder under .cursor/skills/ (or .agents/skills/) in your repository. Everyone who opens the project gets it. Personal skills in ~/.cursor/skills/ stay private to your machine.
Next: the full Cursor skills guide — mechanics, rules vs skills, and the skills we've live-tested with scores and safety screens.