Full guide
Follow the sections in order, then adapt commands to your current environment.
Cursor has native support for Agent Skills with automatic discovery and cross-platform compatibility.
Installation Paths
Global Skills
Terminal
~/.cursor/skills/- Available across all Cursor projects
- Personal skills that follow you across different repositories
Project Skills
Terminal
.cursor/skills/- Project-specific skills
- Shared with team members when committed to Git
- Higher precedence than global skills
Compatibility Paths
Cursor also supports skills from other platforms for easier migration:
.claude/skills/.codex/skills/
Installation Methods
Method 1: Manual Installation (Recommended)
For Global Skills:
bash
# Create the global skills directory
mkdir -p ~/.cursor/skills/my-skill
# Create the SKILL.md file
cat > ~/.cursor/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md << 'EOF'
---
name: my-skill
description: A brief description of what this skill does and when to use it
---
# My Skill
Detailed instructions for the Cursor agent when using this skill.
## When to Use
- Use this skill when...
- This skill is helpful for...
## Instructions
- Step-by-step guidance for the agent
- Domain-specific conventions
- Best practices and patterns
EOFFor Project Skills:
bash
# Create the project skills directory
mkdir -p .cursor/skills/my-skill
# Create the SKILL.md file
cat > .cursor/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md << 'EOF'
---
name: project-skill
description: Specialized instructions for this repository
---
# Project Specific Skill
Detailed instructions for this specific workspace...
EOFMethod 2: From Remote Repository (Global Rules)
- Open Cursor Settings
- Go to General > Rules for AI
- Add a link to your GitHub repository containing skills
- Cursor will automatically sync and index
SKILL.mdfiles
Method 3: Using Universal Installer
bash
# Install OpenSkills for universal access
npx openskills install anthropics/skills
npx openskills sync
# Install specific skill
npx openskills install user/repo --target .cursor/skillsSkill Discovery & Activation
Cursor Indexes your skills in the background to ensure fast response times.
Activation Process
- Background Indexing: Cursor automatically finds and indexes all
SKILL.mdfiles - Context Matching: When you ask a question, Cursor matches your intent against skill descriptions
- Skill Loading: Relevant skills are injected into the agent's context for that specific conversation
Using Skills in Cursor
Automatic Invocation
Cursor's Agent automatically uses skills when relevant. You don't need to do anything special—just describe your task.
Manual Invocation
You can mention specific skills in the chat using the @ symbol or by referencing them in your prompt:
Terminal
@my-skill help me with the current fileComposer Mode
Skills work seamlessly in Composer mode (Cmd+I), providing specialized instructions for large-scale code generations and refactors.