skill-scout

Use it when:: You're about to create a skill, or ask whether a skill for some job already exists.
It does:: Searches your installed and marketplace skills, then GitHub and the web, reads each outside match for risky commands, and ranks up to ten.
You get:: A ranked table of matches with what each one lacks, and a choice: use it, fork it or create a fresh skill.
Unlike skill-stocktake:: That one, from ECC, audits the skills you already have; this one checks what exists before you add one.

TL;DR

A search-before-you-build step for skills. The agent pulls the task, triggers, tools and three to five keywords with synonyms out of your request. It searches skill names and descriptions under ~/.claude/skills and ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces first, then GitHub, for example with gh repo and code searches, and at most three web queries. Before recommending anything from outside, it reads the SKILL.md for unexpected shell commands, file writes, network calls, credential handling or package installs, and checks that the repo looks maintained. Candidates are ranked by name match, description match, local source, maintained GitHub repo and web-only mention, capped at ten. You get a table of matches with why each fits and where it falls short, and three options: use an existing skill, fork or extend the closest one, or create a fresh one. It creates nothing until you choose that path or the search finds no close match, and it skips the search when you say to.

Summarizes the skill at d2ef268.

npx skills add https://github.com/affaan-m/ecc --skill skill-scout

skills.sh page Source on GitHub All skills from affaan-m/ecc

Total Downloads: 5,400 on skills.sh, Nov 9, 2026
Repo stars: 299,776 affaan-m/ecc
First seen: May 19, 2026 on skills.sh

Weekly Downloads

441

+69% over the 8 weeks to Nov 9

Weekly values

Week to	Installs
Sep 21	261
Sep 28	164
Oct 5	149
Oct 12	231
Oct 19	411
Oct 26	402
Nov 2	479
Nov 9	441

Category	category:skill-tools category:software-engineering Find, write, vet and route to other skills. Everything for building software: planning, coding, debugging, design, frameworks, cloud, agents and skills.
Type	type:workflow A multi-step process the agent follows: interview, debug, run a TDD loop, review.
Effect	effect:none Adds no side effects of its own. It shapes how the agent thinks, writes or reviews. Guidelines and routers are always effect:none, even when the task they support edits code.
Needs	needs:none Instructions only. Works in any agent that supports skills.
Publisher	by:community Everyone else. Unverified vendor claims default to community.
Topics	skill-discovery skill-security
Stack	stack:claude stack:github

SKILL.md

From affaan-m/ecc at d2ef268. Checked daily, last changed Nov 6, 2026.

Frontmatter

name: skill-scout
description: Search existing local, marketplace, GitHub, and web skill sources before creating a new skill. Use when the user wants to create, build, fork, or find a skill for a workflow.
metadata:
  origin: community

Skill Scout

Use this skill before creating a new skill. The goal is to avoid duplicating existing community or marketplace work, while still vetting anything external before adoption.

Source: salvaged from stale community PR #1232 by redminwang.

When to Use

The user says "create a skill", "build a skill", "make a skill", or "new skill".
The user asks "is there a skill for X?" or "does a skill exist that does Y?"
The user describes a workflow and you are about to suggest creating a new skill.
The user wants to fork or extend an existing skill.

If the user explicitly says to skip search or create from scratch, acknowledge that and proceed with the requested creation workflow.

How It Works

Step 1 - Capture Intent

Extract:

The task the skill should perform.
The trigger conditions for using it.
The domain, tools, frameworks, or data sources involved.
Three to five search keywords plus useful synonyms.

Step 2 - Search Local Sources

Search installed and marketplace skill names first. Local sources are preferred because they are already part of the user's environment.

find ~/.claude/skills -maxdepth 2 -name SKILL.md 2>/dev/null | grep -iE "keyword|synonym"
find ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces -path '*/skills/*/SKILL.md' 2>/dev/null | grep -iE "keyword|synonym"

Then search frontmatter descriptions:

grep -RilE "keyword|synonym" ~/.claude/skills ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces 2>/dev/null

Step 3 - Search Remote Sources

Use available GitHub and web search tools. Prefer concise queries:

gh search repos "claude code skill keyword" --limit 10 --sort stars
gh search code "name: keyword" --filename SKILL.md --limit 10

For web search, use at most three targeted queries such as:

"claude code skill" keyword
"SKILL.md" keyword
"affaan-m/ECC" keyword

Step 4 - Vet External Matches

Before recommending any external skill for adoption or forking:

Read the SKILL.md frontmatter and instructions.
Look for unexpected shell commands, file writes, network calls, credential handling, or package installs.
Check whether the repository appears maintained.
Prefer copying into a fresh local branch and reviewing the diff over editing marketplace originals.

Step 5 - Rank Results

Rank candidates by:

Exact keyword match in the skill name.
Keyword or synonym match in description.
Local installed or marketplace source.
Maintained GitHub source with recent activity.
Web-only mention.

Cap the final list at 10 results.

Step 6 - Present Decision Options

Give the user a short table:

Option	Meaning
Use existing	Invoke or install a matching skill as-is.
Fork or extend	Copy the closest skill and modify it.
Create fresh	Build a new skill after confirming no close match exists.

Only create a new skill after the user chooses that path or after the search finds no close match.

Examples

Result Table

| # | Skill | Source | Why it matches | Gap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | article-writing | Local ECC | Drafts articles and guides | Not focused on release notes |
| 2 | content-engine | Local ECC | Multi-format content workflow | Heavier than needed |
| 3 | blog-writer | GitHub | Blog writing skill with recent commits | Needs security review |

User-Facing Summary

I found two close local matches and one external candidate. The closest fit is
`article-writing`; it covers drafting and revision, but it does not include the
release-note checklist you asked for. I can either use it as-is, fork it into a
release-note variant, or create a fresh skill.

Anti-Patterns

Do not jump directly to new skill creation when a search is reasonable.
Do not install external skills without reading them first.
Do not present a long unranked list of weak matches.
Do not treat web-only mentions as trusted sources.
Do not edit installed marketplace originals in place.

search-first - General search-before-building workflow.
skill-stocktake - Audit installed skills for health, duplicates, and gaps.
agent-sort - Categorize and organize existing agents and skills.