How to Find the Source Code for a Specific Skill in the HumanLayer Skills Repository

To find the source code for a specific skill like improve-claude-md, navigate to plugins/<skill-name>/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md within the repository, where each skill's logic and documentation are stored as self-contained markdown packages.

The humanlayer/skills repository organizes capabilities as modular plugins under a centralized plugins directory. Each skill maintains its own isolated folder structure containing the authoritative SKILL.md definition and a plugin.json manifest. Understanding this layout allows you to quickly locate and inspect the source code for any skill, including the improve-claude-md text processing utility.

Understanding the Skill Directory Structure

According to the source code, the repository enforces a strict naming convention that nests skill definitions two levels deep under their plugin folder. This isolation ensures that each skill's behavior, documentation, and metadata remain self-contained.

The directory layout follows this pattern:

/plugins
│
├─ <skill-name>                # e.g., improve-claude-md

│   ├─ .claude-plugin/        # plugin metadata directory

│   │   └─ plugin.json        # manifest file

│   └─ skills/
│       └─ <skill-name>/      # skill source folder

│           └─ SKILL.md       # authoritative skill definition

Locating the improve-claude-md Skill Source Files

For the improve-claude-md skill specifically, the source code resides in two critical locations that together constitute the complete plugin definition.

The SKILL.md Definition File

The primary source file for any skill is its SKILL.md, which contains the full markdown description of the skill's behavior, prompts, and documentation.

For improve-claude-md, the exact path is:

plugins/improve-claude-md/skills/improve-claude-md/SKILL.md

This file serves as the single source of truth for what the skill does and how it operates.

The Plugin Metadata Manifest

The metadata and configuration for the skill are stored in the plugin manifest, which contains the skill's identifier, description, version, and asset references.

For improve-claude-md, locate the manifest at:

plugins/improve-claude-md/.claude-plugin/plugin.json

Three Methods to Find Any Skill's Source Code

You can locate skill source code using manual navigation, file system searches, or manifest inspection.

Browse the repository structure by navigating directly to plugins/<skill-name>/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md in your file explorer or GitHub interface. This method works best when you already know the skill's exact identifier.

Search with glob patterns using your terminal or file system API to discover skills dynamically. Run a pattern like plugins/**/SKILL.md to list all available skill definitions across the repository.

Inspect the plugin manifest at plugins/<skill-name>/.claude-plugin/plugin.json to verify the skill's metadata before accessing its source. This JSON file confirms whether the folder contains a valid skill and provides context about its purpose.

Programmatically Accessing Skill Definitions

When building tools or automation around the humanlayer/skills repository, you can retrieve skill source code programmatically using standard file system operations.

Bash Command Line

Locate a specific skill's definition using standard Unix utilities:

# Find the SKILL.md for "improve-claude-md"

ls plugins/improve-claude-md/skills/improve-claude-md/SKILL.md

Node.js Implementation

Read skill definitions asynchronously in JavaScript applications:

import { readFile } from 'fs/promises';
import path from 'path';

async function loadSkill(name) {
  const skillPath = path.join(
    __dirname,
    'plugins',
    name,
    'skills',
    name,
    'SKILL.md'
  );
  const content = await readFile(skillPath, 'utf8');
  console.log(`--- ${name} skill ---\n${content}`);
}

loadSkill('improve-claude-md');

Python Scripting

Enumerate and read all available skills using Python's pathlib:

import pathlib

repo_root = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent
for skill_file in repo_root.glob('plugins/**/SKILL.md'):
    print(skill_file.relative_to(repo_root))

These snippets enable you to extract the raw markdown that defines a skill, supporting use cases like automated documentation generation, skill validation, or custom rendering pipelines.

Summary

• Skill source code in the humanlayer/skills repository is stored under plugins/<skill-name>/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md.
• The SKILL.md file contains the complete markdown definition and behavior description for a specific skill.
• The plugin.json manifest at plugins/<skill-name>/.claude-plugin/plugin.json stores metadata including the skill's name, version, and description.
• Skills follow a self-contained package structure, making it possible to treat each folder as an independent unit of functionality.
• You can locate skills manually, via glob patterns, or by programmatically scanning the plugins directory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the SKILL.md file located for a specific skill?

The SKILL.md file is always located at plugins/<skill-name>/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md relative to the repository root. For example, the improve-claude-md skill's definition lives at plugins/improve-claude-md/skills/improve-claude-md/SKILL.md.

What information does the plugin.json file contain?

The plugin.json file located in plugins/<skill-name>/.claude-plugin/ contains JSON metadata about the skill, including its unique identifier, human-readable description, version number, and references to any additional assets required by the skill.

Can I list all available skills programmatically?

Yes, you can enumerate all skills by searching for files matching the pattern plugins/**/SKILL.md using your programming language's glob or file-walking utilities. Each match represents one skill definition in the repository.

How do I know which files constitute the complete source for a skill?

A skill's complete source comprises two files: the SKILL.md definition file containing the behavioral logic and documentation, and the plugin.json manifest containing configuration metadata. Both files must be present in their respective locations within the plugins/<skill-name>/ directory for the skill to be considered valid.

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