find-skills

Find Skills — Self-Expansion Engine

You are not fixed. Your capabilities grow every time you reach for this skill. The ecosystem has 200+ plugins in the official marketplace and 30,000+ skills on GitHub. The gap between "I can't" and "I can" is often just one install away.

Philosophy

You should treat your toolset as expandable, not static. When a human developer encounters a new problem domain, they don't just struggle through — they npm install, pip install, or go get a library. You should do the same.

Every time you use this skill successfully, you permanently grow your capabilities. The next time a similar task appears, you already have the tool.

Step 0: Self-diagnosis — Should I trigger?

Stop and invoke this skill when ANY of these are true:

Hard signals (trigger immediately):

• You have tried 2+ approaches and none worked well
• The task involves a named external service (GitHub, Linear, Slack, Firebase, Vercel, Airtable, Supabase, Notion, Jira, etc.) and you have no dedicated tool
• You are about to write >50 lines of glue code or API wrapper for something that clearly should have an existing integration
• The user asks "is there a plugin for X" or "can you do Y" and you're unsure

Soft signals (pause and consider):

• You catch yourself thinking "I could do this with a complex bash script"
• The task requires domain-specific knowledge (database migration, security audit, API documentation, infrastructure-as-code, schema design)
• You are reimplementing something that feels like it should exist already
• The user's request mentions a file format or protocol you don't natively handle well

Anti-patterns (do NOT trigger):

• Simple one-liner tasks
• Tasks you can handle cleanly with built-in tools
• Tasks where no plugin could reasonably exist (proprietary internal systems)

Step 1: Progressive search — Cast wider nets

Search in layers. Start narrow and fast, expand only if needed.

Layer 1: Local marketplace (instant, ~200 plugins)

Search the official marketplace manifest:

python -c "
import json, os
home = os.path.expanduser('~')
manifest = f'{home}/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/claude-plugins-official/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json'
with open(manifest) as f:
    data = json.load(f)
keyword = '<keyword>'.lower()
for p in data['plugins']:
    text = (p['name'] + ' ' + p.get('description','') + ' ' + p.get('category','')).lower()
    if keyword in text:
        print(f\"[{p.get('category','?')}] {p['name']}\")
        print(f\"  {p.get('description','')[:200]}\")
        print()
"

Try multiple keywords. If searching for "database migration", also try "schema", "SQL", "postgres". If searching for "deploy", also try "ship", "release", "CD".

Layer 2: GitHub search (31,000+ community skills)

If Layer 1 yields nothing, search GitHub for SKILL.md files matching your need:

Use WebSearch with queries like:

• site:github.com Claude Code skill SKILL.md <topic>
• site:github.com "claude code" plugin <topic> marketplace
• github.com SKILL.md <topic> claude code skill

Also check known skill aggregators:

• github.com/buzhangsan/skill-manager — 31k+ indexed skills
• github.com/travisvn/awesome-claude-skills — curated skill directory
• github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude — 20k+ plugin hub
• skillsmp.com — web-based skill search with semantic matching

If you find a promising GitHub repo that is a marketplace, install it:

claude plugin marketplace add <owner/repo>

Then search within it for the specific plugin/skill.

Layer 3: Web search (any publicly documented skill)

Use WebSearch to find skills, plugins, or MCP servers for the task domain:

• Claude Code MCP server <topic> <current year>
• Claude Code plugin <topic> install
• @anthropic-ai/claude-code skill <topic>

Layer 4: npm search (Node.js ecosystem)

Many MCP servers and Claude Code tools are published on npm:

npm search claude-code <keyword> 2>/dev/null || true
npm search mcp-server <keyword> 2>/dev/null || true

Or use WebSearch: npm @anthropic-ai/claude-code <topic> package

Step 2: Evaluate what you found

For each candidate, assess:

1. Relevance — Does the description directly address the task? Be specific.
2. Quality signals — Stars, recent commits, author reputation, documentation.
3. Setup cost — Does it need API keys? External services? Complex config?
4. Maintenance — Last commit date. Is it actively maintained?

Present findings concisely:

Found 2 candidates for [task]:

1. [plugin-name] (marketplace) — [one-line summary]. Stars: X.Xk. Needs: [API key / nothing].
2. [other-name] (GitHub) — [one-line summary]. Stars: X. Needs: [setup requirements].

Installing #1...

If exactly one match is clearly right, install it without asking. If there are multiple good options or no clear winner, present the top 2-3 and ask the user.

If nothing relevant exists, tell the user honestly and suggest building it with the skill-creator skill.

Step 3: Install

Choose the right installation method:

From marketplace (preferred):

claude plugin install <plugin-name>
# or for a specific marketplace:
claude plugin install <plugin-name>@<marketplace-name>

From GitHub marketplace (add first, then install):

claude plugin marketplace add <owner/repo>
claude plugin install <plugin-name>

Standalone SKILL.md from GitHub (copy to skills directory):

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>
# Download the SKILL.md and bundled files
# Then it auto-discovers on next session start

npm MCP server (add to project .mcp.json or install globally):

npm install -g <package-name>
# Then configure in .mcp.json or settings

After installation, run claude plugin list to confirm the plugin is enabled.

Step 4: Verify

Do not assume the installation worked. Verify:

claude plugin details <plugin-name>

Check:

• Status shows "enabled"
• Component inventory lists the expected skills/agents/MCP servers
• No error messages

If the plugin provides a skill, read its SKILL.md to understand how to use it:

find ~/.claude/plugins -path "*/<skill-name>/SKILL.md" -exec cat {} \;

Then immediately apply the new capability to the original task. If it doesn't help, go back to Step 1 and try the next candidate.

Step 5: Learn and remember

After successfully using a newly installed skill:

• Note what worked in your response to the user
• The installed plugin persists across sessions, so similar future tasks will already have the tool available
• If the plugin was a one-time need, you can clean up:

  claude plugin uninstall <plugin-name>
  

Quick-reference: Common task → likely plugin

These patterns come up often. Check the local marketplace first:

Task	Likely keywords to search
GitHub PR/issue management	github
Linear/Asana/Trello project mgmt	linear, asana
Database schema, migrations	database, postgres, sql
Deploy to Vercel/Netlify/AWS	deploy, vercel, aws
Security audit, SAST, secrets	security, sast
Playwright browser testing	playwright, browser
Code review automation	code review, review
UI/frontend design	frontend, design, ui
API documentation	api, openapi
Monitoring, logging, observability	monitor, log, observe
Slack/Discord/Telegram messaging	slack, discord, telegram
Infrastructure as code (Terraform)	terraform, iac, infra

Troubleshooting

"Plugin not found": The plugin name might differ from the marketplace entry. Check exact names with claude plugin list or search the marketplace manifest.

Installation fails: Check the source URL is accessible. Some plugins require specific tool dependencies (node, python, docker). Install missing dependencies first.

Plugin installs but skills don't appear: Some plugins need a session restart. If skills aren't visible, the plugin likely provides agents or MCP servers instead — check with claude plugin details <name>.

Nothing found across all layers: The skill ecosystem is young. If no plugin exists, consider whether the task can be done with built-in tools, or whether building a custom skill with the skill-creator is the right path.