How to Install Claude-Red for the Claude Skills System: Complete Setup Guide

Claude-Red installs into the Claude Skills system by cloning the SnailSploit repository and executing the install.sh script, which copies selected SKILL.md files from the Skills/ directory into ~/.claude/skills using interactive, target-specific, or category-filtered modes.

Claude-Red is a curated collection of offensive-security playbooks distributed as standalone SKILL.md files that extend Claude’s capabilities. According to the source code in SnailSploit/Claude-Red, the repository organizes these skills into categorical folders under Skills/, with each folder containing a single SKILL.md file describing a specific technique such as SQL injection or wireless attacks. The installation process simply places these markdown files into Claude’s skills directory so the AI can automatically load them as contextual knowledge.

Understanding the Repository Structure

Before installing, it is important to understand how the payload is organized. The repository contains four critical components that manage the installation and indexing of skills:

• install.sh — The primary entry point that handles file copying via cp or rsync while preserving permissions. This script supports three distinct installation modes.
• Skills/ — The root directory containing categorized subdirectories (e.g., web/, wireless/). Each subdirectory holds a SKILL.md file encoding a complete offensive methodology.
• convert_skills.py — A helper utility that transforms skill metadata into claude-skills.json, generating the aggregated manifest Claude uses for quick lookup.
• claude-skills.json — The JSON index automatically produced by the conversion script, mapping skill triggers to their respective file paths.

Prerequisites

To install Claude-Red, ensure your environment meets the following requirements:

• Git is installed and available in your system path.
• The Claude Skills directory exists at ~/.claude/skills (the default location for the Claude CLI and desktop applications).
• Write permissions to the target directory.

Installation Methods

The install.sh script provides three installation strategies depending on your automation needs and disk-space constraints.

Interactive Installation (Default)

For first-time users, the interactive mode walks you through target selection and optional category filtering. This is the recommended approach for manual setups:

git clone https://github.com/SnailSploit/claude-red ~/.claude/skills/claude-red
cd ~/.claude/skills/claude-red
./install.sh

The script prompts you to confirm the destination directory and asks whether to filter by specific categories before copying the files.

Target-Specific Installation

For automated CI/CD pipelines or scripted deployments, use the --target flag to specify the exact destination without interactive prompts. This mode copies the entire Skills/ tree into the provided path:

./install.sh --target ~/.claude/skills

This command copies all skill files directly into the Claude Skills system root, making them immediately available to the Claude CLI.

Category-Filtered Installation

If you require only a specific domain of offensive techniques (for example, web application testing), use the --category flag to minimize the installation footprint. As implemented in install.sh, this parameter restricts the copy operation to a single subdirectory of Skills/:

./install.sh --target ~/.claude/skills --category web

Valid category names correspond to folder names inside the Skills/ directory, such as web, wireless, or supply-chain.

Verifying the Installation

After running the installer, confirm that the SKILL.md files are present in the target directory. For example, to verify the SQL injection skill from the web category:

ls ~/.claude/skills/claude-red/Skills/web/offensive-sqli

You should see a SKILL.md file containing the full playbook content. If you used the --category flag, verify that only the selected category appears under the target path.

Loading Skills into Claude

Once installed, you must explicitly load a skill into Claude’s context. The Claude Skills system supports two primary integration methods:

Via Claude CLI

Pipe the skill file directly into a CLI session using the --system-file flag:

cat ~/.claude/skills/claude-red/Skills/web/offensive-sqli/SKILL.md | claude --system-file -

Via Claude.ai Web Interface

Navigate to a Project’s settings, paste the contents of any SKILL.md into the System Prompt field, and start a new conversation. Claude then answers prompts using the specialized methodology defined in that skill.

Summary

• Clone the SnailSploit/Claude-Red repository into a temporary location such as ~/.claude/skills/claude-red.
• Execute install.sh using one of three modes: interactive (default), --target <DIR> for automation, or --category <NAME> for selective installation.
• Verify that SKILL.md files appear under ~/.claude/skills or your specified target directory.
• Load skills via claude --system-file - for CLI usage or by pasting content into the Claude.ai System Prompt field.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Claude-Red install its skill files by default?

By default, the installer places files into the path specified by the --target flag. If you run ./install.sh without arguments, the interactive mode prompts you for a destination, typically defaulting to ~/.claude/skills. The installer uses cp or rsync to preserve file permissions during the transfer.

Can I install only specific offensive security categories?

Yes. The install.sh script accepts a --category parameter that limits the copy operation to a single subdirectory of Skills/. For example, ./install.sh --category wireless installs only the wireless attack playbooks, reducing disk usage and noise in the Claude Skills directory.

How do I load a Claude-Red skill into the Claude CLI?

Use shell redirection to pipe the SKILL.md file into the Claude CLI with the --system-file flag. The exact command is: cat ~/.claude/skills/claude-red/Skills/<category>/<skill-name>/SKILL.md | claude --system-file -. This injects the playbook context into your session without manual copy-pasting.

What is the purpose of the convert_skills.py script?

As referenced in the source analysis, convert_skills.py is a helper utility that scans the Skills/ directory and generates claude-skills.json, a JSON manifest aggregating all available skills. While the primary installation uses install.sh, this conversion script ensures Claude can perform quick metadata lookups when indexing the skills directory.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}