quickstart.mdx

title	Install your first skill
description	Install a local skill, verify it, and make it available to an agent without an API key.

Before you start

Install FastSkill and open a Bash shell (Linux, macOS, or WSL). This walkthrough uses only local files. No account, registry, or API key is needed. Run it in a new directory so it does not affect an existing project.

1. Create a project and a skill

mkdir fastskill-demo
cd fastskill-demo
fastskill project init --yes --skills-dir .claude/skills
mkdir -p source/review-notes
cat > source/review-notes/SKILL.md <<'EOF'
---
name: review-notes
description: Review meeting notes and extract decisions, owners, and next actions.
metadata:
  version: "1.0.0"
---

When reviewing meeting notes:
1. List the decisions that were made.
2. Extract action items with an owner and due date when stated.
3. Mark missing owners or dates as unspecified; do not invent them.
EOF

The project manifest is skill-project.toml. The skill's source is separate from its installation directory, .claude/skills.

2. Install and verify

fastskill skill add ./source/review-notes --no-reindex
fastskill skill list --check
fastskill skill read review-notes
fastskill skill search "meeting" --local --embedding false --format json

skill add records the dependency and installs it. skill list --check must succeed; skill read prints the instructions above. Keyword search returns the installed skill as JSON without calling an embedding provider.

3. Use it with an agent

Open Claude Code in fastskill-demo and ask it to review some meeting notes using review-notes. The skill is available in .claude/skills/review-notes/SKILL.md. The agent decides when to load a skill; installation does not execute its instructions. See Claude Code or Cursor for discovery and troubleshooting.

4. Restore the recorded selection

fastskill project install --lock --offline
fastskill skill list --check

Keep skill-project.toml, skills.lock, and source/review-notes together when sharing this local-source project. The local source must remain available for restoration. For a portable artifact, use a team bundle.

Next steps

• Edit and manage skills: updates, ownership, and local changes.
• Configure sources: Git, local catalogs, and HTTP registries.
• Enable semantic search: optional embedding configuration.
• Use FastSkill from an agent: Markdown docs, JSON, and MCP tools.