---
name: multica-skill-importing
description: "Use when asked to import or install a specific skill into this Multica workspace from a URL or slug. Not for choosing which skill the user needs; never treat a local installer such as `npx skills add` as the final install."
user-invocable: false
allowed-tools: Bash(multica *)
---

# Importing skills into Multica

Use this skill when the user already provided a skill URL, slug, or a clear intent
to import a specific skill into the current Multica workspace.

Do not use this skill to decide which skill the user needs. If the user only
describes a capability and no URL is known, external search may produce candidate
URLs, but this import skill starts only once a URL or concrete import target is
known.

Every claim below is traced to source in
`references/skill-importing-source-map.md`. When in doubt, read that file.

## The invariant

A skill is installed for Multica only when it exists in the current workspace's
skill database. The single supported path that puts it there is the workspace
import endpoint. It accepts either a hosted URL or an uploaded local archive
(`.skill` / `.zip`), driven by this CLI:

```bash
multica skill import --url <url> --output json              # hosted source
multica skill import --file <path-to.skill> --output json   # local archive
```

The CLI defaults to `--on-conflict fail`. A URL import sends:

```text
POST /api/skills/import
Content-Type: application/json
body: { "url": "<url>", "on_conflict": "fail" }
```

A `--file` import hits the same route as `multipart/form-data` with a `file`
part (the `.skill` / `.zip` bytes) and an `on_conflict` field. `--url` and
`--file` are mutually exclusive; exactly one is required.

Do not finish with `npx skills add`. That installs into an external/local skill
environment, not the Multica workspace DB, so Multica cannot manage or bind it.

## Supported URL source families

`detectImportSource` accepts these hosts (and `www.` variants). Pass any of these
forms to `multica skill import --url <url> --output json`:

```bash
multica skill import --url clawhub.ai/owner/skill --output json
multica skill import --url skills.sh/owner/repo/skill --output json
multica skill import --url github.com/owner/repo --output json
multica skill import --url github.com/owner/repo/tree/main/path/to/skill --output json
multica skill import --url github.com/owner/repo/blob/main/path/to/SKILL.md --output json
```

- `clawhub.ai`, `skills.sh`, `github.com` are the recognized hosts.
- A GitHub URL may be a bare `owner/repo`, a `/tree/{ref}/...` directory, or a
  `/blob/{ref}/.../SKILL.md` file.
- A bare ClawHub slug (no host) is accepted and routed to ClawHub.
- Any other host is rejected with a 400 naming the supported sources.

## Local archive import (`.skill` / `.zip`)

`multica skill import --file <path> --output json` imports a skill from a local
archive instead of a hosted URL. A `.skill` file is a standard zip — the format
Anthropic's skill-creator `package_skill` produces — and a plain `.zip` of a
skill folder works too. The server:

- accepts the upload as `multipart/form-data` (a `file` part plus an optional
  `on_conflict` field) on the same `POST /api/skills/import` route;
- decompresses it and roots on the shallowest `SKILL.md`, so both a root-level
  `SKILL.md` and the nested `my-skill/SKILL.md` wrapper layout are accepted;
- takes the name/description from `SKILL.md` frontmatter, falling back to the
  wrapper directory name and then the uploaded filename;
- carries the supporting files — dropping any `SKILL.md`, dotfiles, `__MACOSX`,
  license files, and binary assets — under the same per-file (1 MiB),
  per-bundle (8 MiB), and file-count (256) caps as URL imports, and rejects path
  traversal (zip-slip);
- returns the same structured result envelope and honors the same
  `--on-conflict` strategies as URL imports.

The upload itself is capped at 16 MiB (compressed). Any source that is not a
local archive still goes through `--url`.

## Direct URL flow

1. When the request contains a concrete URL, the import endpoint can be called
directly; search is not required by the API:

```bash
multica skill import --url <url> --output json
```

2. Treat the response as the source of truth. Current CLI imports use the
structured import result envelope:

```json
{
  "status": "created|updated|conflict|skipped|failed",
  "reason": "...",
  "skill": { "...": "SkillWithFilesResponse when created/updated" },
  "existing_skill": { "id": "...", "name": "...", "can_overwrite": true }
}
```

For `created` / `updated`, `skill` is a workspace `SkillWithFilesResponse`: it
embeds the standard `SkillResponse` and adds the supporting `files` array. Report
the relevant fields:

- `status` and `reason` when present.
- `skill.id` / `skill.name` / `skill.description`.
- `skill.config.origin` (provenance: which source the skill was imported from —
  set only when the source supplied an origin, so treat it as possibly absent).
- `skill.files` / files count.
- `skill.created_at` / `skill.updated_at`.
- `existing_skill.id` / `existing_skill.name` when status is `conflict`,
  `skipped`, or `failed` due to an existing skill.

Because the response is structured, read these returned fields instead of guessing
whether the import succeeded.

3. Agent-skill binding is a separate mutable operation. `add` preserves existing
assignments and appends the new id:

```bash
multica agent skills add <agent-id> --skill-ids <skill-id> --output json
multica agent skills list <agent-id> --output json
```

After the final `multica agent skills list <agent-id> --output json`, verify the
target skill id is present before claiming the skill is available to that agent.

## Additive add vs replace-all set

`multica agent skills add` is additive: the server inserts the assignments without
clearing existing ones (`AddAgentSkills`).

`multica agent skills set` is replace-all: the server clears every current
assignment, then re-adds exactly the ids you pass (`SetAgentSkills`).
`set` is the replacement path. Passing only one id to `set` leaves the agent with
only that one skill and drops every previous assignment.

## Reserved SKILL.md supporting file

A skill's primary content is its `SKILL.md`. That filename is reserved: the daemon
writes the primary content to `SKILL.md` itself when preparing the execution
environment, so a *supporting* file may not also be named `SKILL.md`
(`IsReservedContentPath`; the check cleans the path and is case-insensitive, so
`./SKILL.md` and `sub/../SKILL.md` are caught too).

Practical effect when importing or creating a skill: if the manifest lists a
supporting file named `SKILL.md`, the server silently drops it — the import still
succeeds, but that entry will be absent from the returned `files`. So if a
supporting file you expected is missing, check whether it was named `SKILL.md`;
rename it to a non-reserved path. (The hard `400` rejection — "SKILL.md is reserved
for the primary skill content" — only fires on the dedicated single-file endpoint
`PUT /api/skills/{id}/files`, not on import.)

## Same-name conflicts: `--on-conflict`

Default behavior is safe: `multica skill import --url <url>` is equivalent to
`--on-conflict fail`. If the imported skill name already exists, the command
prints a structured `conflict` result and exits non-zero; no skill is created or
updated.

Choose an explicit strategy only when the user asked for it or the intent is
clear:

- `--on-conflict fail` (default): do nothing on conflict; report `status:
  conflict` with a reason that suggests overwrite or rename.
- `--on-conflict overwrite`: update the existing same-name skill in place, but
  only if the current user is the skill's original creator. This preserves the
  skill ID, `created_by`, `created_at`, and agent-skill bindings; it replaces
  description, content, provenance config, and supporting files. Non-creators get
  `status: failed`.
- `--on-conflict rename`: create a new skill with an automatic suffix such as
  `-2` / `-3`; the existing skill is untouched.
- `--on-conflict skip`: leave the existing skill untouched and report `status:
  skipped`.

Concrete examples:

```bash
# Safe default. Fails with status=conflict if review-helper already exists.
multica skill import --url https://skills.sh/acme/repo/review-helper --output json

# Replace the existing same-name skill, preserving its ID and agent bindings.
multica skill import --url https://skills.sh/acme/repo/review-helper --on-conflict overwrite --output json

# Keep the existing skill and import a copy such as review-helper-2.
multica skill import --url https://skills.sh/acme/repo/review-helper --on-conflict rename --output json

# Batch-friendly behavior: leave the existing skill alone and mark it skipped.
multica skill import --url https://skills.sh/acme/repo/review-helper --on-conflict skip --output json
```

Legacy compatibility: clients that do not send `on_conflict` keep the old
contract. A duplicate import returns `409` and the body carries the existing
workspace skill identity:

```json
{
  "error": "a skill with this name already exists",
  "existing_skill": {
    "id": "<skill-id>",
    "name": "<skill-name>"
  }
}
```

Current CLI normalizes that legacy shape into `status: conflict` and exits
non-zero for the default `fail` strategy. Treat `existing_skill.id` and
`existing_skill.name` as the source of truth, then fetch details if needed:

```bash
multica skill get <skill-id> --output json
```

Older servers may return a `409` whose body is only a string like `a skill with
this name already exists`, with no `existing_skill` key. Recover by finding the
existing workspace skill yourself:

```bash
multica skill list --output json
multica skill get <skill-id> --output json
```

Then report that the skill already exists and include its `id` / `name`. Do not
retry in a loop, and do not create a second skill under a different name just to
dodge the conflict.

## Incorrect → correct

Incorrect (bypasses Multica):

```bash
npx skills add https://skills.sh/owner/repo/skill
```

The skill may exist locally, but Multica cannot manage it as a workspace skill.

Incorrect agent binding for a normal add (replaces every existing assignment):

Using `set` with only the new skill id wipes the agent's other skills. For an add,
use `add`.

Correct import:

```bash
multica skill import --url https://skills.sh/owner/repo/skill --output json
```

Agent binding after import, when the caller intentionally wants to mutate that
agent's skill assignments:

```bash
multica agent skills add <agent-id> --skill-ids <skill-id> --output json
multica agent skills list <agent-id> --output json
```

## References

- `references/skill-importing-source-map.md` — every behavior above mapped to
  `file:line` in `server/`, plus the verification command to re-derive the lines.