How to install SpecDD universal Agent Skills for any agent

How-To Set up your agent Beginner 1021010HOWTO-1021010

HOWTO-1021010Set up your agentBeginner

This guide shows you how to install the SpecDD universal Agent Skills package for a spec-driven development workflow in clients that support the open Agent Skills format.

Use this path when your agent supports Agent Skills but does not have, or does not need, a dedicated SpecDD plugin.

Source and install details: github.com/specdd/agentskills

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

an Agent Skills-compatible client
the SpecDD CLI installed
a SpecDD project, if you want a project-local install

The SpecDD tools reference lists many Agent Skills-compatible clients, including Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, VS Code, Claude, OpenHands, Roo Code, Kiro, Goose, Amp, Tabnine, TRAE, and others.

Steps

1. Choose project-local or user-level install

Use a project-local install when skills should live with one repository:

<project>/.agents/skills

Use a user-level install when your client reads shared user skills:

~/.agents/skills

The right choice depends on where your agent client looks for Agent Skills.

2. Deploy project-local skills

From the project root, run:

specdd agentskills deploy

This installs the SpecDD skills into:

.agents/skills

3. Deploy into another project directory

To deploy into a project that is not the current working directory:

specdd agentskills deploy path/to/project

This installs into that project’s Agent Skills directory:

path/to/project/.agents/skills

4. Deploy user-level skills

For a global user install:

specdd agentskills deploy --user

This installs into:

~/.agents/skills

Use this when your client loads user Agent Skills across projects.

5. Install manually

For manual installation, clone the universal Agent Skills package and copy the specdd-* skill directories into the target client’s skills directory.

git clone https://github.com/specdd/agentskills.git /tmp/specdd-agentskills
cp -R /tmp/specdd-agentskills/specdd-* path/to/target-skills-dir/

Use this path only when the CLI deployment path does not match how your client reads skills.

6. Confirm the project has SpecDD bootstrap files

Agent Skills give the agent procedural knowledge. The project still needs SpecDD framework files and specs.

In a SpecDD project, you should have:

AGENTS.md
.specdd/bootstrap.md
<root-name>.sdd

If the project has not been initialized yet:

specdd init

7. Verify the skills

Use:

Orient in this SpecDD project.

Then ask for a small explanation:

Explain the Itinerary spec.

The agent should respond with SpecDD-specific context rather than generic repository advice.

Common mistakes

Installing Agent Skills into .agents/skills when the client reads only ~/.agents/skills.
Installing skills without initializing the project.
Manually copying the wrong directory instead of the specdd-* skill directories.
Assuming universal Agent Skills replace dedicated plugins for every agent.
Skipping the orientation check after deployment.

How to verify the result

Universal Agent Skills are installed correctly when:

the specdd-* skills are present in the directory your client reads
the project contains .specdd/bootstrap.md
orientation requests trigger SpecDD-specific behavior
implementation plans mention specs, authority, constraints, and verification

Tools

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