How to install Agent Skills in Cursor

Checked against Cursor's documentation on Oct 26, 2026. Commands and config blocks are generated from the same install data as each listing page.

1. 1. Know what a skill is

   This step covers the two required fields and the two places Cursor looks for skills, one for you and one for a single project.

   • name (required; lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, matching the folder) and description (required).
   • Where Cursor looks: ~/.cursor/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md for you, .cursor/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md for one project.

2. 2. Install a skill (diagnosing-superpowers)

   The docs describe no CLI install command. This step copies the folder by hand into ~/.cursor/skills/, and the notes also mention importing a skill from GitHub by packaging it in a plugin repository.

   git clone --depth 1 --branch main https://github.com/obra/superpowers.git skill-src
   mkdir -p ~/.cursor/skills
   cp -r skill-src/skills/diagnosing-superpowers ~/.cursor/skills/diagnosing-superpowers
   rm -rf skill-src

   Copy

   • The docs describe no CLI install command: create a folder with SKILL.md in a skills directory. To bring a skill in from GitHub, package it in a plugin repository and import it from Customize.
   • For one project only, copy it into .cursor/skills/ instead.

3. 3. Load it in a session

   Start a new session after copying the skill. The note says skills are discovered at startup and that the docs do not say whether edits reload.

   • Skills are discovered at startup. The docs do not say whether edits reload.