# chainctl skills install

URL: https://edu.chainguard.dev/chainguard/chainctl/chainctl-docs/chainctl_skills_install.md
Last Modified: May 8, 2026
Tags: chainctl, Reference, Product

 chainctl skills install Download a skill and install it into agent directories.
Synopsis Download a skill and place it into the skills directories of detected agents.
By default, a shared canonical copy is written to .agents/skills// and agent-specific symlinks are created. Use –copy to write independent copies.
chainctl skills install <ref> [flags] Options -a, --agent stringArray Target specific agents by ID (repeatable). Use --agent '*' for all known agents. --copy Copy files per agent instead of using a shared canonical copy + symlinks. --global Install to global (~/) directories instead of project-local. Options inherited from parent commands --api string The url of the Chainguard platform API. (default "https://console-api.enforce.dev") --audience string The Chainguard token audience to request. (default "https://console-api.enforce.dev") --config string A specific chainctl config file. Uses CHAINCTL_CONFIG environment variable if a file is not passed explicitly. --console string The url of the Chainguard platform Console. (default "https://console.chainguard.dev") --force-color Force color output even when stdout is not a TTY. -h, --help Help for chainctl --issuer string The url of the Chainguard STS endpoint. (default "https://issuer.enforce.dev") --log-level string Set the log level (debug, info) (default "ERROR") -o, --output string Output format. One of: [csv, env, go-template, id, json, markdown, none, table, terse, tree, wide] -v, --v int Set the log verbosity level. SEE ALSO chainctl skills	- Skills registry related commands.