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Install, remove, or upgrade ConTree agent skills for Codex and Claude Code.

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Spec format

Commands accept specs – a kind:hint URI that identifies the skill type and target path: When no specs are given, install targets the global (:~) variant of every known kind. The Claude-based kinds (claude, claude-agent, claude-subagent) are skipped unless ~/.claude already exists, so a machine without Claude Code installed will not have empty directories created for it.

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Examples

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Help output

$ contree skill —help
usage: contree skill [-h] {list,ls,install,i,remove,r,rm,del,upgrade,u,update} …

Install, remove, or upgrade ConTree agent skills.

contree skill install              # autodetect agent homes
contree skill install claude:~     # global ~/.claude
contree skill install codex:       # project-level .agents/skills
contree skill install .            # project root: every kind under it

positional arguments:
  {list,ls,install,i,remove,r,rm,del,upgrade,u,update}
    list (ls)           List remembered skill installs
    install (i)         Install ConTree skill files
    remove (r, rm, del)
                        Remove installed skill files
    upgrade (u, update)
                        Upgrade installed skill files

options:
  -h, —help            show this help message and exit

agent note:
  Before using this command in an automated workflow, read:
    contree agent

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Subcommands

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skill install

contree skill install [SPEC ...] (alias i) installs skill directories. Each spec resolves to a skill class and a filesystem path, both of which are persisted in skills.db so future list and upgrade calls can find the install without re-specifying it. With no specs the command targets the global (:~) variant of every known kind – Claude-based kinds are skipped automatically when ~/.claude does not exist. Pass -y to overwrite an existing install non-interactively.
$ contree skill install —help
usage: contree skill install [-h] [-f] [SPEC …]

positional arguments:
  SPEC             claude:~ codex:~ skill path or project root

options:
  -h, —help       show this help message and exit
  -f, -y, —force  Overwrite existing

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skill list

contree skill list (alias ls) shows every remembered install with its kind, installed version (read from .version), the version bundled with this CLI, an outdated flag, and whether the install path still exists on disk. Stale entries whose path was deleted externally are pruned from the registry automatically when this command runs.
$ contree skill list —help
usage: contree skill list [-h]

options:
  -h, —help  show this help message and exit

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skill upgrade

contree skill upgrade [SPEC ...] overwrites existing installs with the version bundled in the current CLI. With no specs it upgrades every remembered location, which is the normal post-pip install -U maintenance step. Targets that are already at the bundled version are rewritten anyway so any local edits to skill files are reverted.
$ contree skill upgrade —help
usage: contree skill upgrade [-h] [SPEC …]

positional arguments:
  SPEC        claude:~ codex:~ skill path or project root

options:
  -h, —help  show this help message and exit

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skill remove

contree skill remove SPEC [...] (aliases r, rm, del) deletes installed skill files and forgets the path from the registry. Specs may be the same URI form accepted by install, or a literal filesystem path. Pass -y to skip the confirmation prompt.
$ contree skill remove —help
usage: contree skill remove [-h] [-f] [SPEC …]

positional arguments:
  SPEC             claude:~ codex:~ skill path or project root

options:
  -h, —help       show this help message and exit
  -f, -y, —force  Do not ask for confirmation

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Install contents

Skill directories contain:
  • .version — installed package version
  • SKILL.md — skill prompt with allowed-tools frontmatter
  • agents/openai.yaml — OpenAI-compatible skill config
Skills require contree in PATH. If missing, ask the user to install it.

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Skill classes