Advanced Installation

Use this guide when you need more control than the root README quickstart: non-interactive installs, specific agents, global vs project scope, updates, removals, or a manual fallback.

Requirements

• Node.js and npm available on your PATH. The examples use npx, which ships with npm.
• A current skills CLI — version 1.5.16 or newer. Running via npx skills@latest always uses the latest. Versions 1.5.15 and earlier do not create the Claude Code skills link, so installed skills won’t appear in Claude Code (Codex and other agents that read .agents/skills/ directly are unaffected).
• Access to https://github.com/NVIDIA/skills.
• An AI agent that supports Agent Skills, such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Windsurf, Gemini CLI, or another compatible agent.

List Skills Before Installing

$
npx skills add nvidia/skills --list

Use this when you want to inspect the catalog before selecting a skill.

Install One Skill

$
npx skills add nvidia/skills --skill cuopt-numerical-optimization-api

Use the skill name from the name: field in the skill’s SKILL.md. In this catalog, names usually match the leaf folder under skills/<product>/.

Install to a Specific Agent

$
npx skills add nvidia/skills --skill cuopt-numerical-optimization-api --agent codex
$
npx skills add nvidia/skills --skill cuopt-numerical-optimization-api --agent claude-code
$
npx skills add nvidia/skills --skill cuopt-numerical-optimization-api --agent cursor

You can pass --agent more than once:

$
npx skills add nvidia/skills \
>
  --skill cuopt-numerical-optimization-api \
>
  --agent codex \
>
  --agent claude-code

Choose Project or Global Scope

Project installs are the default. They place links under the current project’s agent-specific skills directory so the skills travel with that project.

$
npx skills add nvidia/skills --skill cuopt-numerical-optimization-api

Global installs make the skill available across projects for the selected agent:

$
npx skills add nvidia/skills \
>
  --skill cuopt-numerical-optimization-api \
>
  --agent codex \
>
  --global

Non-Interactive Install

Use --yes when scripting setup or bootstrapping a development environment:

$
npx skills add nvidia/skills \
>
  --skill cuopt-numerical-optimization-api \
>
  --agent codex \
>
  --global \
>
  --yes

Update or Remove Installed Skills

$
# See installed skills
$
npx skills list
$
$
# Check for updates
$
npx skills check
$
$
# Update all installed skills
$
npx skills update
$
$
# Remove a skill
$
npx skills remove cuopt-numerical-optimization-api

Manual Fallback

Prefer npx skills add because it handles agent directories, global vs project scope, and updates. If you cannot use Node.js or npm, you can still copy a skill directory manually:

1. Open the product folder under skills/.
2. Copy the specific skill directory containing SKILL.md.
3. Place it in your agent’s skills directory.

Common global locations are:

Manual installs do not participate in npx skills update, so use them only as a fallback.

Troubleshooting

Installed skills don’t appear in your agent

1. Check your CLI version first. Run npx skills --version. If it is older than 1.5.16, upgrade by installing via npx skills@latest .... Versions 1.5.15 and earlier fail to link skills into Claude Code’s .claude/skills/ directory, so the files install but the agent never sees them.
2. Reload skills in your session. In Claude Code, run /reload-skills (or restart the session) so newly installed skills are picked up.

Verify your agent can see an installed skill

After installing <skill-name>, confirm it landed where your agent looks:

If .claude/skills/<skill-name> is missing or empty on Claude Code, it is almost always the stale-CLI issue above — upgrade to 1.5.16+ and re-run the install.