agent-skills-nix MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

Declarative: skills defined in flake.nix or Home Manager module
Reproducible across machines — same lock, same skills
Pins skills to a specific git rev for stability
Plays nicely with Home Manager
No more 'works on my laptop' skill drift

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

agent-skills-nix-skill.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-skills-nix-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Kyure-A/agent-skills-nix",
        "~/.claude/skills/agent-skills-nix"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-skills-nix-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Kyure-A/agent-skills-nix",
        "~/.claude/skills/agent-skills-nix"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-skills-nix-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Kyure-A/agent-skills-nix",
        "~/.claude/skills/agent-skills-nix"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-skills-nix-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Kyure-A/agent-skills-nix",
        "~/.claude/skills/agent-skills-nix"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "agent-skills-nix-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Kyure-A/agent-skills-nix",
        "~/.claude/skills/agent-skills-nix"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "agent-skills-nix-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/Kyure-A/agent-skills-nix",
          "~/.claude/skills/agent-skills-nix"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add agent-skills-nix-skill -- git clone https://github.com/Kyure-A/agent-skills-nix ~/.claude/skills/agent-skills-nix

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use agent-skills-nix

How to declare your Claude skills in a Nix flake

👤 NixOS / Home Manager users ⏱ ~25 min intermediate

When to use: You want your Claude skill set tracked the same way as your shells, editors, and services.

Prerequisites

Nix with flakes enabled — echo 'experimental-features = nix-command flakes' >> ~/.config/nix/nix.conf
The flake added as an input — flake input agent-skills-nix.url = "github:Kyure-A/agent-skills-nix";

Flow

Add the input

Add agent-skills-nix to my flake inputs and wire it into Home Manager.✓ Copied

→ flake.nix updated with the input + module import
List the skills I want

Declare the skills I use: linear-claude-skill, symfony-ux-skills, mck-ppt-design-skill. Pin to current main.✓ Copied

→ A skills = { ... }; block with pinned revs
Build and switch

Run home-manager switch and verify ~/.claude/skills/ is populated.✓ Copied

→ All skills present as symlinked directories

Outcome: Reproducible skill set managed by Nix — wipe your dotfiles and get the same setup back in one command.

Pitfalls

Upstream skill changes break your workflow — Pin to a specific rev, only bump on purpose

Combine with: filesystem

Sync the same skill set across laptop and workstation

👤 Multi-machine developers ⏱ ~15 min intermediate

When to use: You switch between a laptop and a desktop and keep forgetting to clone the same skills on both.

Flow

Add to your shared HM module

Move the skills declaration into my shared home-manager module so both hosts import it.✓ Copied

→ Single source of truth, two hosts consuming it
Switch both hosts

Build and switch on both machines.✓ Copied

→ Matching ~/.claude/skills/ on both

Outcome: Both machines carry the same skill bundle automatically.

Pitfalls

Forgetting to commit and push before switching on the second machine — Use a self-flake with autoCommit or a shared git repo

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

agent-skills-nix-skill + filesystem

Claude reads your flake and suggests skills to add/remove

Read my flake.nix, check which of my installed skills haven't been used in 30 days, and suggest removals.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call	Cost
skill-declaration	set of { name, url, rev }	During home-manager switch / nixos-rebuild	nix build runtime
lock-management	flake.lock	When you want deterministic upgrades	0

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: none
Tokens per call: minimal — Nix declarations are short
Monetary: free
Tip: Keep your skill set small — every skill costs context tokens at load time

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: none

Data egress: fetches only the skill repos you declare

Nix fetches from the git URLs you declare — vet the source before adding to your flake

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Flake doesn't evaluate

Check input url format and run nix flake check for specific errors.

Verify: nix flake check

Skills dir empty after switch

Make sure the module is actually imported in your HM config, and home.activation is running.

Verify: ls ~/.claude/skills/

Pinned rev 404

The upstream repo may have rewritten history — update the rev.

Alternatives

agent-skills-nix vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
manual git clone	You're not on Nix and don't want to be	No reproducibility; easy drift
agent-skills-cli-skill	You want a CLI installer without Nix	Imperative rather than declarative

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

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