Advanced Cursor Tutorial: Adding Claude Official Skills with OpenSkills

Preparation

Node.js environment: Ensure Node.js 22.xx or later is installed.

Terminal: Use the system terminal or Cursor’s built‑in terminal (Ctrl+~).

Step 1: Install OpenSkills

Run npm i -g openskills once globally.

Step 2: Install Skills (Anthropic official example)

Two options are provided:

Project‑local (recommended): openskills install anthropics/skills Global: openskills install anthropics/skills --global During installation OpenSkills clones the repository, selects all skills by default, and lets you deselect any with the space bar before confirming.

After a successful install a .claude/skills folder appears in the project root.

Step 3: Generate AGENTS.md (key step)

Create an empty AGENTS.md file in the project root.

Run openskills sync to synchronize configuration.

When prompted, use the space bar to select the skills you want to write into AGENTS.md.

Confirm; OpenSkills automatically writes the skill definitions and usage instructions into the file.

The Cursor AI reads AGENTS.md and, upon seeing the file, understands which capabilities (e.g., search, drawing) are available and how to invoke them.

Step 4: Invoke Skills in Cursor/Trae/Qoder

Now you can command the AI in Cursor’s Chat or Composer to call a specific skill, which yields more reliable results than relying on implicit discovery.

Example 1: Video‑editing SaaS landing page

Prompt: "Call frontend‑design skill to develop a video‑editing SaaS landing page in HTML and save as test‑video.html."

Example 2: Personal blog prototype

Prompt: "Call frontend‑design skill to create a modern personal blog prototype with home, article, and about pages, saved as test‑my.html."

The underlying frontend‑design skill is defined in a SKILL.md file that contains the prompt, design thinking guidelines, typography, color, motion, spatial composition, background details, and a list of prohibited generic AI aesthetics.

---
name: frontend-design
description: Create distinctive, production‑grade frontend interfaces ...
---
...

Additional Example: Convert webpage to PPT

Prompt: "Call pptx skill to convert test‑video.html into test‑video.ppt."

The resulting PPT demonstrates that Cursor can perform tasks that were previously unavailable.

Expert Tips for Creating High‑Quality Skills

Start by mimicking: Clone an official skill repository and let the AI read it; the skill‑creator helps the AI learn the standard structure.

Standardize the workflow: Clearly outline the workflow before coding; avoid shortcuts.

Adopt an MVP mindset: Build a minimal, runnable skill first, then iterate and manage versions with Git.

Use reverse engineering: Write the final script (e.g., Python) that works, then wrap it as a skill interface.

Conclusion

By combining OpenSkills with an AGENTS.md file, developers can give Cursor, Trae, or Qoder agent‑like tool‑calling abilities, breaking the editors’ native limitations and enabling a broader range of automated tasks.