# The install pattern

Web page: https://academy.memberpress.ai/courses/skills-as-sops/l8/

Lesson 8 of 11 in [Skills as Standard Operating Procedures](https://academy.memberpress.ai/courses/skills-as-sops/), 18 min.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ0r5unpP-M

Writing a skill file is half the work. The other half is making it loadable — by you, by colleagues, and by any Claude instance without manual copy-paste. The install pattern is how that happens.

**What this actually is**

The install pattern is the mechanism by which a skill file moves from a registry into Claude's context window. When you run `npx skills add deploy-gh-pages`, three things happen: the registry fetches the skill file, validates the frontmatter, and injects the file into Claude's system prompt before your next message.

From that point forward, Claude knows the procedure as if you had pasted the entire file into the conversation yourself. The difference is that the injection is automatic, versioned, and reproducible.

**Walk-through**

Installing a skill from the registry:

```bash
# Install the latest version
npx skills add deploy-gh-pages

# # → Installing deploy-gh-pages@1.2.0...
# # → Injecting into system prompt...
# # → Done. Skill deploy-gh-pages is now active.
```

Pinning to a specific version:

```bash
npx skills add deploy-gh-pages@1.0.0
# # → Installing deploy-gh-pages@1.0.0...
```

Listing installed skills:

```bash
npx skills list
# # → deploy-gh-pages@1.2.0 (active)
# # → run-tests@2.0.1 (active)
```

Updating to the latest version:

```bash
npx skills update deploy-gh-pages
# # → Updated deploy-gh-pages 1.0.0 → 1.2.0
```

**How injection works**

When the skill is injected, it appears in Claude's system prompt under a `<skills>` block. Claude reads this block at the beginning of every turn and uses it to answer the question: "Do I have a procedure for what the user is asking?"

If you ask Claude to "deploy the site," and `deploy-gh-pages` is installed with `triggers: [deploy, ship, publish to github pages]`, Claude will recognize the trigger and offer to run the skill. You confirm, and it executes the steps.

This is why the `triggers` field in the frontmatter is not optional. Without triggers, Claude has to read the description of every installed skill on every turn to decide which one applies. With triggers, it can match quickly.

**Versioning and the lock file**

Skills use semantic versioning. `1.2.0` is the version you get if you do not pin. If a skill update breaks your workflow, pin to the last working version and open an issue with the skill maintainer.

When you pin skills in a project, the version constraints go in `.skills.lock` at the project root — the same pattern as `package-lock.json`. Check the lock file into version control so your team and your CI environment get the same versions.

```json
// .skills.lock
{
  "deploy-gh-pages": "1.0.0",
  "run-tests": "2.0.1"
}
```

**If you get stuck**

If `npx skills add` returns "skill not found": check the registry slug against the `name` field in the frontmatter. The registry is case-sensitive and uses hyphens.

If a skill installs but Claude does not use it: check the `triggers` field. If no triggers match your natural language, add a trigger and republish, or invoke the skill explicitly: "Use the deploy-gh-pages skill to deploy the site."

If you need a skill available in every Claude session without installing it each time: add it to your user-level `~/.skills.rc` file. Skills listed there are injected automatically.

**Cross-reference**

L5 (The Agent Skills format) covers the frontmatter fields — particularly `name` and `triggers` — that the install pattern depends on to function correctly.

**Deliverable**

Install one skill you have written (or a public skill from the registry) and verify it is active. Then ask Claude to execute the procedure using only natural language that matches one of the skill's triggers — do not name the skill explicitly. The success criterion: Claude recognizes the trigger and offers to run the skill without being told which skill to use.

## Try these prompts

- Walk me through what happens when I run `npx skills add deploy-gh-pages`. What does the registry do, where does the skill file end up, and how does Claude know to use it?
- I installed a skill but Claude does not recognize my natural language trigger. What should I check in the frontmatter and how do I invoke the skill explicitly as a fallback?
- Create a `.skills.lock` file entry for two skills pinned to specific versions. Explain why pinning matters for a team where a CI environment must match local versions.

Next: [Banned patterns: how skills shut down hallucination](https://academy.memberpress.ai/courses/skills-as-sops/l11/)