Gemini CLI Skills Extension

Run Anthropic-style Agent Skills in Gemini CLI using the skillz MCP server.

Installation

gemini extensions install https://github.com/intellectronica/gemini-cli-skillz

Note: If the GitHub release download fails with a 415 error, answer "Y" when prompted to install via git clone instead.

Setup

1. Create skills directory (if using default):

   mkdir -p ~/.skillz
   

   Or, if you already use Claude Code skills, create a symbolic link:

   ln -s ~/.claude/skills ~/.skillz
   

   This allows you to share the same skills directory between Claude Code and Gemini CLI without copying files or modifying the extension configuration.

2. Add skills to the directory. Each skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file.

3. Restart Gemini CLI to load the skills.

Example: Installing Anthropic Skills

cd ~/.skillz

# Clone specific skills from Anthropic's repository
git clone --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --sparse \
  https://github.com/anthropics/skills.git temp
cd temp
git sparse-checkout set document-skills/pdf
mv document-skills/pdf ../
cd ..
rm -rf temp

Using Skills

Skills are invoked automatically based on your task. Example:

> Extract form fields from this PDF
[Gemini invokes the pdf skill automatically]

Configuration

The extension uses ~/.skillz as the default skills directory (skillz's built-in default).

Using a Custom Skills Directory

To use a different skills directory, edit the extension configuration:

Edit ~/.gemini/extensions/skillz/gemini-extension.json and add your custom path to the args array:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skillz": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "skillz@latest",
        "/absolute/path/to/your/skills",
        "--verbose"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Important notes:

• Use an absolute path (e.g., /Users/you/my-skills)
• Tilde (~) won't expand - use full path like /Users/yourusername/.skillz
• Or use $HOME/.custom-skills if your shell expands it before Gemini CLI sees it

Then restart Gemini CLI.

Requirements

• uvx — Installed automatically with uv package manager
• Gemini CLI — Latest version recommended

Troubleshooting

Skills not loading:

• Check your skills directory exists (default: ~/.skillz)
• Verify SKILL.md files have valid YAML frontmatter
• Run /mcp list to see if skillz server connected

Skills not recognized:

• Restart Gemini CLI after adding skills
• Check skillz server logs with Gemini CLI debug mode

uvx command not found:

• Install uv: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Custom skills directory not working:

• Verify you're using an absolute path (no ~ tilde)
• Check that you edited gemini-extension.json correctly (see Configuration section)
• Ensure the path exists: ls -la /your/custom/path

About

This extension packages the skillz MCP server for Gemini CLI, enabling the same Agent Skills format used in Claude.ai and Claude Code.

Repository: https://github.com/intellectronica/gemini-cli-skillz

Skills are loaded from PyPI via uvx skillz@latest, ensuring you always have the latest version.

License

Same as skillz — see repository LICENSE file.