---
name: discover-capabilities
description: Find missing agent capabilities or review how existing plugins and skills are distributed and updated. Compare maintained upstream packages, preserve plugin preferences and integrations, and avoid duplicate installs.
---

# Discover capabilities

Own the general discovery process across domains. Work Router chooses execution;
UI Router chooses the design lead and focused layers. Neither requires a new install
when an existing capability or direct work can finish the task.

For a broad review of bookmarks, starred repositories, and current discussions against
the whole skills and plugins ecosystem, use
[skills-ecosystem-audit](../skills-ecosystem-audit/SKILL.md). Keep focused capability
lookups here.

## Start from the missing outcome

Identify the task, host and actual gap. Check session-listed skills and tools first,
then relevant enabled plugins and project/user skill paths. Installed files, enabled
plugins, authenticated tools and capabilities loaded in this session are different
states. Do not scan every directory or tool on ordinary tasks.

Separate reusable instructions (skills), packages of skills/tools (plugins), live
integrations (often MCP), and implementation libraries or assets. A workflow skill
does not install its application. For UI work, use UI Router when available to choose
the domain lead; its visual resource map covers assets and inspiration.

## Choose sources by the question

Sources checked September 5, 2026; verify current upstream details for each candidate.

| Need | Start here | Expand only if useful |
|---|---|---|
| A specific skill | [skills.sh](https://skills.sh/) | [SkillsMP](https://skillsmp.com/) for broader public examples |
| A plugin or integration | The current host's official plugin catalog; [Claude Code official marketplace](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official) for Claude | [Skillselion](https://skillselion.com/) for skills, marketplaces and MCP discovery |
| Explore an unfamiliar category | [Skillselion](https://skillselion.com/) | SkillsMP or a domain curator |
| What's gaining attention | [Skill Leaderboard](https://skillleaderboard.com/) | Optional trend research, never a required install step |
| Verify a candidate | The creator's exact upstream repository | Current host/vendor documentation |

This is a conditional search workflow, not a federated crawler. Do not query every
source by default. SkillsMP indexes examples without certifying quality or safety.
Install counts, stars and leaderboard rank are leads, not evidence of task quality.

If the installed `find-skills` helper is useful, use it for skills.sh lookup and
current CLI syntax; do not launch a second full discovery pass. Its popularity
heuristics do not replace source inspection or exclude a well-supported niche skill.
The upstream [Skills CLI](https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills) supports
`npx skills find <keywords>`; check current syntax before installing.

For engineering method (spec, TDD, diagnosis, review, hardening), check the
[known collaborators](references/known-collaborators.md) before writing a new skill.
Those families are leads to inspect, not approved installs.

## Evaluate and adopt

For installation-source choices or a freshness audit of existing packages, read
[plugin distribution](references/plugin-distribution.md). Prefer a maintained,
host-supported plugin when that matches the user's preference; check the creator's
upstream plugin before falling back to standalone skills. Keep connectors and host
runtimes on their supported path unless a verified replacement preserves their behavior.

- Inspect the exact owner, complete SKILL.md, executable scripts, hooks, permissions,
  current activity/issues, license, host compatibility and update mechanism.
- Compare scope with installed capabilities. Prefer one owner per concern. A useful
  method may be a narrow improvement to an existing skill instead of another plugin.
- Distinguish free code from paid APIs, subscriptions or billing-required trials.
  Honor the user's cost constraints and existing authorization.
- Normally return at most three candidates with the missing capability, source,
  fit, meaningful overlap, cost and recommended action. State when none is needed.
- For an authorized install, state the exact package/source and scope, then proceed.
  Do not ask again for permission already granted; no authorization is implied by a
  directory rank. Prefer project-local evaluation when suitable.
- Verify with a representative task. Report installed, enabled and loaded separately;
  a package check is not proof that a workflow improves outcomes.

## Resolve overlaps without blanket disabling

For a candidate install, compare its scope with existing owners and retain useful
specialists. If the task is to consolidate installed skills or resolve competing
owners, use [deduplicate-skills](../deduplicate-skills/SKILL.md) for the inventory,
state checks and scoped cleanup. A matching name or stale config entry alone is
insufficient; a request to inspect conflicts does not authorize disabling them.

Treat outside advice as dated evidence. Verify the original source and current
support before adopting a reusable method, and do not import promotional claims,
old model rankings, or arbitrary popularity thresholds as policy.