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[ARTICLE · art-59795] src=dev.to ↗ pub= topic=developer-tools verified=true sentiment=↑ positive

Stop re-explaining your codebase to every AI agent — `cast-skills`

Developer Pedro Castanha released cast-skills, a CLI tool that installs cross-tool AI skills for projects, enabling agents to load project knowledge progressively rather than re-explaining codebases every session. The tool supports Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex, Cursor, and Windsurf, using the open SKILL.md format for stable project memory across different AI coding assistants.

read2 min views66 publishedJul 15, 2026

Every session, the agent forgets:

So you re-explain. It rewrites. Context drifts. Tokens burn.

Dumping a 40k-token AGENTS.md

into every prompt is not a strategy. It’s a tax.

I wanted something simpler: write project knowledge once, in a format agents already understand, and install it into every tool I actually use.

That’s cast-skills.

npx cast-skills

cast-skills

is a small CLI that bootstraps cross-tool AI skills for your machine (or project):

Skill Job
using-project-skills
Always-on router. When you start a feature/fix/refactor, it loads project context and routes work through the right module + workflow.
creating-project-skills
Bootstrapper (/skill-creator ). Reads the repo, asks sharp questions, generates a project skill tree.
explaining-changes
After non-trivial work, offers a beginner-friendly explanation (ELI5 → runtime) as Markdown/HTML.

Skills use the open SKILL.md format — progressive disclosure: the agent loads what it needs, not your entire wiki every turn.

cast-skills is built around Anthropic's Agent Skills approach: instead of one massive prompt every session, the agent progressively loads only the knowledge it needs.

The wizard auto-detects what you have and drops skills in the right place:

Tool Where it goes Format
Claude Code ~/.claude/skills/
native SKILL.md
GitHub Copilot ~/.copilot/skills/
native
Gemini CLI ~/.gemini/skills/
native
Codex ~/.agents/skills/
native
Cursor
.cursor/skills/ (project)
converted .mdc
Windsurf
.windsurf/rules/ (project)
converted rules

Native tools get SKILL.md

as-is. Cursor/Windsurf get an auto-converted format so you’re not maintaining six copies by hand.

npx cast-skills
npm i -g cast-skills && cast-skills

Requires Node ≥ 18.

using-project-skills

explaining-changes

The point isn’t another chatbot persona. It’s stable project memory that survives sessions and tools.

Most of us don’t live in one harness.

Monday: Claude Code.

Tuesday: Cursor on a design-heavy UI.

Wednesday: Copilot in a boring enterprise repo.

If “project brain” only works in one tool, you still re-explain on Tuesday.

cast-skills

optimizes for write once → run everywhere that speaks skills/rules.

If your team has no conventions, the bootstrapper will still force a few useful questions. That’s a feature.

cd your-repo
npx cast-skills

Pick the tools you use → let it install the three skills → start a real task and see if the agent stops inventing your architecture from scratch.

Repo: github.com/pedrocastanha/cast-skills

npm: npmjs.com/package/cast-skills

If you try it, tell me:

Issues and PRs welcome — especially path fixes for tool updates (these CLIs move the goalposts often).

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