Feature Request: Support for Private Git Repositories and npm Packages #2

New issue

2026-02-12T08:39:27Z

yorickshan commented

2026-02-12 08:39:27 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

🎯 Summary

Add support for installing skills from:

Private Git repositories (GitLab, Bitbucket, self-hosted)
npm packages (public and private registries)

🔍 Current Limitation

Currently, agent-skills-cli only supports:

✅ Public GitHub repositories
✅ GitHub repositories with authentication
❌ Private GitLab/Bitbucket repositories
❌ npm packages

Example that doesn't work:

# Private GitLab - fails with "Could not find..."
skills add git.company.com/team/skill-repo

# npm package - not supported
skills add @company/code-review-skills

💡 Use Cases

1. Enterprise Private GitLab/Bitbucket

Many organizations use self-hosted Git servers for internal tools:

# GitLab
skills add git.wosai-inc.com/ITFE/code-review-skills

# Bitbucket
skills add bitbucket.company.com/project/skill-repo

# Self-hosted GitLab with custom port
skills add git.company.com:8443/team/skills

2. npm Registry Distribution

Organizations often distribute internal tools via npm registries:

# From public npm
skills add @company/eslint-skills

# From private registry
skills add @company/internal-review-skills --registry=https://npm.company.com

# From GitHub packages
skills add @company/skills --registry=https://npm.pkg.github.com

🛠️ Proposed Solution

Option 1: Generic Git URL Support

Support any Git URL format with authentication:

# With SSH
skills add [email protected]:team/repo.git

# With HTTPS + token
skills add https://oauth2:[email protected]/team/repo.git

# Auto-detect from git config
skills add https://git.company.com/team/repo.git
# → uses credentials from ~/.gitconfig or SSH keys

Option 2: npm Package Support

Add npm as a source type:

# Basic npm install
skills add npm:@company/skills

# With specific registry
skills add npm:@company/skills --registry=https://npm.company.com

# Auto-detect from .npmrc
skills add npm:@company/skills
# → uses registry from ~/.npmrc or project .npmrc

Option 3: Configuration File

Support a .skillsrc config file:

{
  "sources": [
    {
      "type": "git",
      "url": "https://git.company.com/team/skills",
      "auth": "token"
    },
    {
      "type": "npm",
      "registry": "https://npm.company.com",
      "scope": "@company"
    }
  ]
}

📝 Implementation Details

Git Authentication

Check for existing Git credentials (SSH keys, credential helper)
Support environment variables: GIT_TOKEN, GITLAB_TOKEN
Fallback to interactive authentication

npm Authentication

Read from ~/.npmrc for registry config
Support .npmrc in project directory
Respect npm authentication tokens

Package Structure Detection

Both Git and npm sources should support the same skill structure:

repo-or-package/
├── skills/
│   └── my-skill/
│       └── SKILL.md
└── package.json (optional for npm)

🌟 Benefits

Enterprise Adoption: Enable companies with private repositories to use agent-skills-cli
npm Ecosystem: Leverage existing npm infrastructure for skill distribution
Access Control: Use existing Git/npm authentication and permissions
Version Management: npm packages provide semantic versioning out of the box

skills-npm - npm-based skill installer (inspiration for npm support)
Similar tools support both Git and npm: npx, bunx, degit

🙏 Additional Context

We're building a comprehensive code review skill (@sqb/code-review-skills) distributed via:

Internal GitLab: git.wosai-inc.com/ITFE/code-review-skills
Internal npm registry: @sqb/code-review-skills

Currently, users without GitLab access cannot use agent-skills-cli, forcing them to use alternative installation methods. Supporting npm would enable broader adoption.

## 🎯 Summary Add support for installing skills from: 1. **Private Git repositories** (GitLab, Bitbucket, self-hosted) 2. **npm packages** (public and private registries) ## 🔍 Current Limitation Currently, `agent-skills-cli` only supports: - ✅ Public GitHub repositories - ✅ GitHub repositories with authentication - ❌ Private GitLab/Bitbucket repositories - ❌ npm packages ### Example that doesn't work: ```bash # Private GitLab - fails with "Could not find..." skills add git.company.com/team/skill-repo # npm package - not supported skills add @company/code-review-skills ``` ## 💡 Use Cases ### 1. Enterprise Private GitLab/Bitbucket Many organizations use self-hosted Git servers for internal tools: ```bash # GitLab skills add git.wosai-inc.com/ITFE/code-review-skills # Bitbucket skills add bitbucket.company.com/project/skill-repo # Self-hosted GitLab with custom port skills add git.company.com:8443/team/skills ``` ### 2. npm Registry Distribution Organizations often distribute internal tools via npm registries: ```bash # From public npm skills add @company/eslint-skills # From private registry skills add @company/internal-review-skills --registry=https://npm.company.com # From GitHub packages skills add @company/skills --registry=https://npm.pkg.github.com ``` ## 🛠️ Proposed Solution ### Option 1: Generic Git URL Support Support any Git URL format with authentication: ```bash # With SSH skills add [email protected]:team/repo.git # With HTTPS + token skills add https://oauth2:[email protected]/team/repo.git # Auto-detect from git config skills add https://git.company.com/team/repo.git # → uses credentials from ~/.gitconfig or SSH keys ``` ### Option 2: npm Package Support Add npm as a source type: ```bash # Basic npm install skills add npm:@company/skills # With specific registry skills add npm:@company/skills --registry=https://npm.company.com # Auto-detect from .npmrc skills add npm:@company/skills # → uses registry from ~/.npmrc or project .npmrc ``` ### Option 3: Configuration File Support a `.skillsrc` config file: ```json { "sources": [ { "type": "git", "url": "https://git.company.com/team/skills", "auth": "token" }, { "type": "npm", "registry": "https://npm.company.com", "scope": "@company" } ] } ``` ## 📝 Implementation Details ### Git Authentication - Check for existing Git credentials (SSH keys, credential helper) - Support environment variables: `GIT_TOKEN`, `GITLAB_TOKEN` - Fallback to interactive authentication ### npm Authentication - Read from `~/.npmrc` for registry config - Support `.npmrc` in project directory - Respect npm authentication tokens ### Package Structure Detection Both Git and npm sources should support the same skill structure: ``` repo-or-package/ ├── skills/ │ └── my-skill/ │ └── SKILL.md └── package.json (optional for npm) ``` ## 🌟 Benefits 1. **Enterprise Adoption**: Enable companies with private repositories to use agent-skills-cli 2. **npm Ecosystem**: Leverage existing npm infrastructure for skill distribution 3. **Access Control**: Use existing Git/npm authentication and permissions 4. **Version Management**: npm packages provide semantic versioning out of the box ## 📚 Related Projects - [skills-npm](https://github.com/antfu/skills-npm) - npm-based skill installer (inspiration for npm support) - Similar tools support both Git and npm: `npx`, `bunx`, `degit` ## 🙏 Additional Context We're building a comprehensive code review skill (`@sqb/code-review-skills`) distributed via: - Internal GitLab: `git.wosai-inc.com/ITFE/code-review-skills` - Internal npm registry: `@sqb/code-review-skills` Currently, users without GitLab access cannot use agent-skills-cli, forcing them to use alternative installation methods. Supporting npm would enable broader adoption.

👍 1

Karanjot786 commented

2026-02-12 15:50:44 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Hi @yorickshan, Thank you for the feature suggestion! I really appreciate the idea. I'll add this new feature and have it ready by tomorrow. Great suggestion!

👍 1

Karanjot786 commented

2026-02-13 07:39:11 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Hey! @yorickshan, This feature has been fully implemented and is now available. Here's what's included:

npx agent-skills-cli@latest install git.wosai-inc.com/ITFE/code-review-skills -a cursor

npx agent-skills-cli@latest install npm:@sqb/code-review-skills --registry https://your-npm-registry-url -a cursor

Note on --registry: You only need this flag if your private registry isn't already configured in your .npmrc. If npm install @sqb/... works in your terminal, npx agent-skills-cli@latest install will automatically pick it up without the flag!

🔐 Private Git Repos

SSH: npx agent-skills-cli@latest install [email protected]:team/repo.git
HTTPS + Token: npx agent-skills-cli@latest install https://git.company.com/team/repo --token=xxx
Bitbucket: npx agent-skills-cli@latest install https://bitbucket.org/team/repo
Turn generic domains into private Git URLs: git.wosai-inc.com/owner/repo
Auto credential resolution: --token flag → env vars (GH_TOKEN, GITLAB_TOKEN, BITBUCKET_TOKEN, GIT_TOKEN) → SSH keys → git credential helper → .netrc

📦 npm Packages

Public: npx agent-skills-cli@latest install npm:chalk
Scoped: npx agent-skills-cli@latest install npm:@company/[email protected]
Private registries: npx agent-skills-cli@latest install npm:@company/skills --registry https://npm.company.com

⚙️ .skillsrc Configuration

Project-level and user-level config files for enterprise setups
Define custom Git sources, npm registries, auth env vars, and default settings

Try it out, test it, and feel free to suggest any new features or improvements! 🚀

Hey! @yorickshan, This feature has been fully implemented and is now available. Here's what's included: ```bash npx agent-skills-cli@latest install git.wosai-inc.com/ITFE/code-review-skills -a cursor ``` ```bash npx agent-skills-cli@latest install npm:@sqb/code-review-skills --registry https://your-npm-registry-url -a cursor ``` **Note on** `--registry`: You only need this flag if your private registry isn't already configured in your `.npmrc`. If `npm install @sqb/...` works in your terminal, `npx agent-skills-cli@latest install` will automatically pick it up without the flag! 🔐 Private Git Repos - SSH: `npx agent-skills-cli@latest install [email protected]:team/repo.git` - HTTPS + Token: `npx agent-skills-cli@latest install https://git.company.com/team/repo --token=xxx` - Bitbucket: `npx agent-skills-cli@latest install https://bitbucket.org/team/repo` - Turn generic domains into private Git URLs: `git.wosai-inc.com/owner/repo` - Auto credential resolution: `--token` flag → env vars (`GH_TOKEN`, `GITLAB_TOKEN`, `BITBUCKET_TOKEN`, `GIT_TOKEN`) → SSH keys → git credential helper → `.netrc` 📦 npm Packages - Public: `npx agent-skills-cli@latest install npm:chalk` - Scoped: `npx agent-skills-cli@latest install npm:@company/[email protected]` - Private registries: `npx agent-skills-cli@latest install npm:@company/skills --registry https://npm.company.com` ⚙️ `.skillsrc` Configuration - Project-level and user-level config files for enterprise setups - Define custom Git sources, npm registries, auth env vars, and default settings Try it out, test it, and feel free to suggest any new features or improvements! 🚀

👍 1

yorickshan commented

2026-02-13 11:05:19 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Nice work, thx for your efforts!

❤️ 1

Karanjot786 commented

2026-02-13 13:27:31 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

You're welcome! Glad you found it helpful! 😊

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