# chainctl skills registry install

URL: https://chainguard-docs-preview-git-create-pull-request-patch.chainguard.app/platform/chainctl/chainctl-docs/chainctl_skills_registry_install.md
Last Modified: October 8, 2026
Tags: chainctl, Reference, Product

 chainctl skills registry install Install the skill at an OCI reference into agent directories.
Synopsis Install the skill at an OCI reference into agent directories.
The artifact must be a skill (as published by “chainctl skills push” or “chainctl skills registry publish”). Like “chainctl skills install”, a shared canonical copy is written under .agents/skills/ and agent-specific symlinks are created; use –copy to write independent copies.
The installed directory is named for the last segment of the repository path (e.g. my-skill for skills.cgr.dev/chainguard/my-folder/my-skill); use –name to choose another. The install is recorded in the skills CLI lock file (skills-lock.json in the working directory, or ~/.agents/.skill-lock.json with –global) with the repository, tag, and image digest it came from. Installing fails if the lock records that name from a different source.
The skill’s signature is checked, as by “chainctl skills verify”, before anything is written; installing fails if it doesn’t pass. Only skills on skills.cgr.dev can be verified, so installing from any other registry requires –no-verify.
The install locations are shown for confirmation before anything is downloaded; pass –yes to skip the prompt.
chainctl skills registry install <ref> [flags] Examples # Install into the detected agents' project directories: chainctl skills registry install \ skills.cgr.dev/chainguard/my-folder/my-skill # Install globally for Claude Code only: chainctl skills registry install --global --agent claude-code \ skills.cgr.dev/chainguard/my-folder/my-skill # Install under a different name: chainctl skills registry install --name team-skill \ skills.cgr.dev/chainguard/my-folder/my-skill # Install from a registry chainctl can't verify signatures on: chainctl skills registry install --no-verify cgr.dev/my-org/my-skill:v1 # Install without confirming the locations: chainctl skills registry install --yes \ skills.cgr.dev/chainguard/my-folder/my-skill 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. --name string Name to install the skill under (default: the last segment of the repository path). --no-verify Install without checking the skill's signature. Required for registries chainctl can't verify, which is any but skills.cgr.dev. -y, --yes Automatic yes to prompts; assume "yes" as answer to all prompts and run non-interactively. 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 registry	- Publish and install skills in any OCI registry by reference.