tooluniverse-install-skills
About tooluniverse-install-skills
A setup skill that checks whether ToolUniverse skills are installed and installs them when missing. It detects supported client configuration directories and copies the downloaded skills into the matching location.
Key features
- 01Check common client paths for skill files
- 02Detect the client from configuration directories
- 03Fetch skill files from GitHub
- 04Copy skills to the client directory
- 05Verify the installation
Use cases
- 01Set up ToolUniverse skills in a project
- 02Install missing ToolUniverse skills
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/ / github.com/ mims-harvard/ tooluniverse --skill tooluniverse-install-skillsAfter installing, type/tooluniverse-install-skillsin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Details
From the project READMEToolUniverse Install Skills
Checks whether the ToolUniverse specialized skills are installed and installs them automatically if not.
Detection
Use the Shell tool to check for the canary file across all common client locations:
ls .cursor/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .agents/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .windsurf/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .gemini/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .claude/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .opencode/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .trae/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| echo "NOT_INSTALLED"
- Output is a file path → skills already installed, stop here.
- Output is
NOT_INSTALLED→ proceed to installation.
Installation
# 1. Download skills from GitHub (shallow, sparse — only skills/ folder)
git clone --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --sparse \
https://github.com/mims-harvard/ToolUniverse.git /tmp/tu-skills
cd /tmp/tu-skills && git sparse-checkout set skills
# 2. Copy to the correct directory for the detected client:
mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .cursor/skills/ # Cursor
# mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .agents/skills/ # Codex/OpenAI
# mkdir -p .windsurf/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .windsurf/skills/ # Windsurf
# mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .gemini/skills/ # Gemini CLI
# mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .claude/skills/ # Claude Code
# mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .opencode/skills/ # OpenCode
# mkdir -p .trae/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .trae/skills/ # Trae
# mkdir -p .skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .skills/ # Cline/VS Code
# 3. Clean up
rm -rf /tmp/tu-skills
If the client cannot be detected automatically, ask the user which one they use before running step 2.
Client Detection
Detect the client from the presence of config files:
| Config file present | Client |
|---|---|
.cursor/ | Cursor |
.agents/ | Codex / OpenAI |
.windsurf/ | Windsurf |
.gemini/ | Gemini CLI |
.claude/ | Claude Code |
.opencode/ | OpenCode |
.trae/ | Trae |
| None of the above | Ask the user |
After Installation
Confirm success:
ls .cursor/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md
Tell the user: "ToolUniverse skills installed successfully. You now have access to 50+ specialized research workflows."