Get your first agent skill running
Install a free skill, check that your agent loaded it, run it with one plain request and know it worked. The first result, step by step.
- For
- Anyone who has never installed a skill
- Written for
- Claude CodeCodexCursorGitHub CopilotGemini CLIOpenCodeAny agent that reads SKILL.md folders
- Time
- 3 min read · updated Oct 26, 2026
The short answer
- Use an agent you already have: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI or OpenCode.
- Install a free skill with its install prompt or one command, and approve the sign-in link it shows.
- Start a new session, check the agent lists the skill, then ask for what you want in plain words.
What you need
An agent
One that reads SKILL.md folders. Where skills live lists six.
Node.js 20 or newer
The installer is one file that Node.js runs. Check with node --version.
A Lookbook account
Every install signs in, free skills included. You approve it once in your browser.
Pick a first skill
Free skills install the same way as Pro ones, and each skill page shows its result before you install. This guide uses Editorial OG Card, which makes link-preview images for your posts. It needs Node.js 18 or newer and Chrome, Chromium or Edge. The two others below are also free.
Install it
Best when you would rather let the agent do the typing.
Step 1: Copy the install prompt
Open the skill page and choose Copy install prompt.
Step 2: Paste it into your agent
The agent runs the installer and shows you a sign-in link and a short code.
Step 3: Approve the link
Open it, check the page shows the same code, and choose Approve. Then tell the agent you approved, so it runs the install again.
Best when you want to see exactly what runs.
In your own terminal the command waits while you approve the link. In an agent’s shell it prints the link and stops with exit code 3, because the agent only sees output when a command ends. Approve, then run the same command again. Nothing is added to your PATH.
Best when you can’t run the command.
Download the ZIP from the skill page, then unzip it so the folder lands inside your agent’s skills folder, with SKILL.md one level down. Install a skill in any agent has the folder for each agent.
Check that your agent loaded it
Start a new session, then ask the agent to list its skills. Editorial OG Card should be on the list.
Run it
Ask for what you want in plain words. Here is the request from the skill’s page:
The agent reads the skill’s SKILL.md, asks for anything it can’t work out, and follows the steps.
If a step fails, find what you see in Skill not working? Find your symptom.
Common questions
- Do I have to pay?
- No, for the free skills. A Pro skill needs Pro or a one-time purchase of that skill, and the installer tells you when one does. It signs you in either way.
- Which agent should I start with?
- The one you already use. Every agent in this guide works the same way: a folder with
SKILL.md, listed and run through the agent. - Where did the skill go?
- Into
~/.agents/skills/<skill>,~/.claude/skills/<skill>, or both. Where skills live says which agent reads which. - Is it safe to run?
- A skill is instructions and code your agent may run, so treat it like software. Safety checks before running a skill lists what to look at.
Sources
What this guide says about other companies’ tools comes from their own documentation, checked on Oct 26, 2026.
- Claude Code: extend Claude with skills (opens in a new tab)
- Claude Code: commands (opens in a new tab)
- Codex: build skills (opens in a new tab)
- Cursor: Agent Skills (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Copilot CLI: adding agent skills (opens in a new tab)
- VS Code: Agent Skills (opens in a new tab)
- Gemini CLI: Agent Skills (opens in a new tab)
- OpenCode: Agent Skills (opens in a new tab)
Did this guide help?
Read next
All guidesInstall a skill in any agent
Install a Lookbook skill in Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI or OpenCode: where each looks, how to check it loaded and how to run it.
Write a description that makes a skill trigger
How an agent picks a skill, what to put in its description, and how to test that it triggers when it should and stays quiet when it shouldn’t.
Skill not working? Find your symptom
Fix a Lookbook skill by what you see: the agent can’t find it, it won’t trigger, the wrong skill runs, output looks off, a render fails or install stops.
See a skill’s result before you install it.
Every skill page shows what it makes, what it needs and which agents can run it.