BC Gov Agent Skills
A shared catalogue of agent skill profiles

Consume a Skill

Skills install with the skills CLI (from vercel-labs/skills). It clones this repo, finds every SKILL.md, and copies the matching skill folders — plus their scripts/, references/, and assets/ — into the right location for your agent. No registry, no auth token, no version pinning to maintain.

The skills CLI implements the agentskills.io open standard. GitHub Copilot and Claude Code load SKILL.md natively; for Codex CLI, Cursor, Cline, Continue.dev, and others, the CLI knows where to drop the folder so the tool you already use picks it up.

Prerequisites

What you need

You need npx on your PATH. npx is a command-line tool that ships with Node.js and npm (the Node Package Manager). It lets you run JavaScript packages directly without installing them globally.

No GitHub CLI, personal access token, or .npmrc setup is required. You only need Node.js.

Check if you have npx

Open a terminal and run:

npx --version

If that prints a version number (e.g., 10.2.4), you're ready. If you see command not found, 'npx' is not recognized, or a similar error, you need to install Node.js — see the next section.

Install Node.js (if you don't have it)

Pick your operating system:

Windows

After install, close and reopen your terminal so it picks up the new PATH. Then verify: npx --version

macOS

After install, open a fresh terminal and verify: npx --version

Linux

After install, open a fresh terminal and verify: npx --version

Need a specific version? The Node.js package manager guide covers each OS in detail.

Install

Pick a skill from the catalogue, then run:

# Interactive: pick the target agent (Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) and
# choose which of the bcgov/agent-skills skills to install.
npx skills add bcgov/agent-skills

# Install just one skill, non-interactively, into GitHub Copilot for this project.
npx skills add bcgov/agent-skills --skill azure-networking --agent github-copilot --yes

# Install one skill globally for an agent (available across all that agent's projects).
npx skills add bcgov/agent-skills --skill azure-networking --agent claude-code --global

# List the skills available in this catalogue without installing anything.
npx skills add bcgov/agent-skills --list

The CLI walks the cloned repo for SKILL.md files and copies each matching skill's whole folder (manifest plus scripts/, references/, assets/) into the destination it picked for your agent. Re-run any time to install another skill or pick up newer versions — the CLI re-copies the latest main.

Pinning to a specific commit

The default form installs from main, which is mutable. For CI, scripted setup, or any environment where reproducibility matters, install from a GitHub URL that includes a 40-char commit SHA you have audited — pick the latest green commit from bcgov/agent-skills/commits/main:

npx skills add https://github.com/bcgov/agent-skills/tree/<SHA> --skill azure-networking

This is the same advice our own github-actions skill gives for third-party Actions.

Supported agents

The CLI knows the install location for each agent it supports. The full list is in the skills CLI README; common values for --agent include:

Run npx skills add bcgov/agent-skills with no --agent flag to see the interactive picker, which auto-detects which agents are installed and offers them as choices.

Manual install (no CLI)

Every skill is a self-contained folder under skills/. If you'd rather not use the CLI, clone the repo (or download a release archive) and copy the skill's folder into whichever location your agent scans:

git clone https://github.com/bcgov/agent-skills.git
cp -r agent-skills/skills/azure-networking .github/skills/azure-networking

The folder name must match the manifest's name field exactly, which it already does for every skill in this repo.

Upgrading

Re-run the same npx skills add command. The CLI re-clones the source and re-copies the latest content, so the skill on disk matches whatever's currently on main (or the SHA you pinned to). There is no version metadata to maintain — the merge-to-main state of this repo is the released state.

Troubleshooting

npx: command not found or 'npx' is not recognized

You don't have Node.js installed. npx is bundled with Node.js, so when npx isn't found, node won't be either.

To fix:

  • Install Node.js from nodejs.org (pick the LTS version) or via your system's package manager. See the Install Node.js section above for platform-specific steps.
  • Important: After installing Node.js, close and reopen your terminal so the shell picks up the new PATH.
  • Verify the install: node --version and npx --version should both print version numbers.

If you're still seeing the error after install and restart, check that your terminal is using the right shell (not a stale environment). On macOS, if you use .zshrc or .bash_profile, Node.js installation may only update .bashrc — try opening a new login shell or manually sourcing the config file.

npx exists but is slow or times out

npx downloads and caches packages on first run. If you have a slow internet connection or are behind a corporate proxy, it may take a while or fail.

To diagnose:

  • Run npx --version first to confirm npx itself works.
  • Try npx skills add bcgov/agent-skills --list with a longer timeout: the first run may take 30–60 seconds as it clones the repo and indexes the skills.

To speed it up:

  • If behind a proxy, configure npm to use it: npm config set proxy http://proxy.example.com:8080 (and https-proxy if needed).
  • If your ISP or network is slow, consider running the command again later, or check your internet connection.
  • On Windows or Linux, a local firewall or antivirus may be slowing package downloads — check your system's network settings.

By default, npx caches downloaded packages in ~/.npm. Subsequent runs will be much faster.

npm ERR! or other npm-related errors

Sometimes npx encounters issues with the npm cache or registry.

To fix:

  • Clear the npm cache: npm cache clean --force
  • Try the command again: npx skills add bcgov/agent-skills --list

If errors persist, check your internet connection and confirm npm --version works. If you're behind a corporate proxy or firewall, you may need to configure npm's proxy settings (see above).

npx: command not found only happens in VS Code's integrated terminal

VS Code's integrated terminal sometimes inherits a stale environment, especially after a Node.js install.

To fix:

  • Close VS Code completely (not just the terminal pane).
  • Open a new terminal outside VS Code (Command Prompt, PowerShell, Terminal.app, etc.) and verify npx --version works.
  • Reopen VS Code. The integrated terminal should now have the updated PATH.

Alternatively, you can manually update VS Code's terminal shell environment. See VS Code's terminal docs for details.

npx skills add fails with a Git or network error

The skills CLI clones the bcgov/agent-skills GitHub repository to read the skill manifests. If it can't reach GitHub or clone the repo, the command will fail.

To diagnose:

  • Check your internet connection: ping github.com
  • Try cloning the repo manually: git clone https://github.com/bcgov/agent-skills.git (if you have Git installed)

If GitHub is unreachable:

  • You may be behind a firewall or proxy. Try running the command from a different network (e.g., a personal mobile hotspot) to confirm.
  • Check GitHub's status at githubstatus.com.

If git clone fails but the network is OK, see the Manual install section below for an alternative approach.

The CLI ran but my agent doesn't see the skill

Reload the agent (close and reopen VS Code, restart your Claude Code session, etc.) so it re-scans its skills folder. If the skill still isn't picked up, double-check that the destination folder on disk matches what your agent expects — in VS Code Copilot run Chat: Open Customizations and check the Skills tab; in Claude Code run /skills.

Both agents require the on-disk folder name to match the name field in SKILL.md exactly. The CLI preserves the original folder name, so this matches automatically as long as you didn't rename anything by hand.

I want to install from a private fork or branch

Replace bcgov/agent-skills with the GitHub URL of your fork or branch:

npx skills add https://github.com/<org>/agent-skills/tree/<branch-or-sha>

For private repositories, the CLI uses your existing Git credentials (SSH keys or gh auth), so make sure git clone <url> works first.

Can I opt out of the CLI's telemetry?

Yes. Set DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1 in your environment before running npx skills add. See the skills CLI README for details.