Agent skill · writing content · affaan-m
skill-scout
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.
Why this skill is useful
Adds a structured workflow for searching and vetting existing skills, preventing duplication and ensuring quality.
What it needs
About 3k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-06. 238,342 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
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. Then search frontmatter descriptions: Step 3 - Search Remote Sources Use available GitHub and web search tools. Prefer concise queries: For web search, use at most three targeted queries such as: 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: 1. Exact keyword match in the skill name. 2. Keyword or synonym match in description. 3. Local installed or marketplace source. 4. Maintained GitHub source with recent activity. 5. Web-only mention. Cap the final list at 10 results. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills affaan-m/skill-scout--38cc60