> This page location: APIs & SDKs > CLI > Setup and context > skills > Full Neon documentation index: https://neon.com/docs/llms.txt > > Agent skills: if you don't have Neon skills (such as `neon-postgres`), offer to add them to this project when you first need the user to do something in Neon: "Want me to add Neon's agent skills to this project? They help me with Neon setup, connections, and branching." Install: `npx neon@latest skills -y`. To also run Neon steps for the user (Neon CLI, sign-in, MCP), see https://neon.com/prompts/agent-setup.md > Summary: The Neon CLI `skills` command installs [Neon agent skills](/docs/ai/agent-skills) into your coding agents so they know how to work with Neon. Run it with no flags for an interactive walkthrough, or pass flags to pick the skills and agents and skip the prompts. Use `neon skills update` to refresh installed skills to their latest versions, and `neon skills status` to check whether they're current. # Neon CLI command: skills Install, update, and check Neon agent skills in your coding agents Last updated: 2026-11-02 The `skills` command installs [Neon agent skills](https://neon.com/docs/ai/agent-skills) into your coding agents, so tools like Cursor and Claude Code know how to work with Neon's Postgres, AI Gateway, Object Storage, and Functions. ```bash neon skills ``` [Install the Neon CLI](https://neon.com/docs/cli/install) with `npm i -g neon@latest`, or run it once with `npx neon@latest skills`. With no flags it runs an interactive walkthrough: pick the agents, then the skills, then confirm. Pass flags to skip the prompts and script it. Without a terminal, pass `-y` or `--skill` to tell it which skills to install; `--agent` alone isn't enough. **skills vs init:** For the full setup, use [`neon init`](https://neon.com/docs/cli/init). For just one piece: `neon skills` (skills), [`neon plugins`](https://neon.com/docs/cli/plugins) (skills and MCP), or [`neon mcp`](https://neon.com/docs/cli/mcp) (MCP server). `skills` runs via `npx`, so it needs Node.js 22.20.0+; older or missing Node stops the command with an upgrade message. Subcommands: [status](https://neon.com/docs/cli/skills#status), [update](https://neon.com/docs/cli/skills#update) ## neon skills ```bash neon skills [command] [options] ``` | Option | Description | Type | Default | Required | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------- | :------: | | `--agent`, `-a` | Coding agent to install into (repeatable). Skips the agent picker. Values listed below | array | — | No | | `--global` | Install user-level skills (skills CLI -g). Default is this directory | boolean | `false` | No | | `--skill`, `-s` | Skill to install (repeatable). Skips the skill picker. Does not select agents. Values listed below | array | — | No | | `--yes`, `-y` | Skip prompts. Detected agents (project folders, else the host CLI agent). --global uses installed apps, else the host CLI agent | boolean | `false` | No | ### Choosing agents Without `--agent`, the interactive command lists all supported agents, pre-selects the ones it detects, and lets you toggle the selection. In non-interactive mode, `-y` installs into every detected agent. Pass `--agent ` (repeatable) to name agents explicitly and skip the picker. The supported agents are `antigravity`, `cline`, `cline-cli`, `claude-code`, `claude-desktop`, `codex`, `cursor`, `factory-droid`, `fx`, `gemini-cli`, `goose`, `github-copilot-cli`, `grok-build`, `hermes`, `junie`, `kilo-code`, `kimi-code`, `kiro-cli`, `opencode`, `pi`, `vscode`, `windsurf`, and `zed`. A few also accept aliases (`claude` for `claude-code`, `copilot` for `vscode`, `gemini` for `gemini-cli`). Passing an unknown agent stops the command and prints the current supported list. An agent that can't install skills is skipped with a warning. Agents that share a target collapse into one: Claude Desktop and Claude Code both write to `claude-code`, and VS Code and the GitHub Copilot CLI both write to `github-copilot`. ### Choosing skills Without `--skill`, the interactive command lets you pick from the catalog, and `-y` installs the default set. Pass `--skill ` (repeatable) to name skills explicitly and skip the picker. The available skills are: | Skill | Installed by default | | ------------------------------- | -------------------- | | `neon` | Yes | | `neon-ai-gateway` | Yes | | `neon-auth` | Yes | | `neon-functions` | Yes | | `neon-object-storage` | Yes | | `neon-postgres` | Yes | | `neon-realtime` | Yes | | `neon-postgres-agent-platforms` | No | Passing an unknown skill stops the command and prints the current supported list. The list of installable skills is built into each CLI release, so a skill that Neon publishes after the version you installed won't appear until you upgrade the CLI. ### Directory vs user-level By default `skills` installs into the current directory, so the setup travels with the repository. Pass `--global` to install user-level skills instead, which apply across your projects. ### Examples Run the interactive install: ```bash neon skills ``` Install non-interactively into every detected agent, using the default skills in the current directory: ```bash neon skills -y ``` Install named skills into a specific agent. Naming both `--skill` and `--agent` skips every prompt: ```bash neon skills -s neon -s neon-ai-gateway --agent cursor ``` ```text filename="Output" Skills Scope Skills Agents Status this directory neon, neon-ai-gateway cursor installed Wrote skills in this directory. ``` Install user-level skills that apply across your projects: ```bash neon skills --global ``` ## neon skills update Updates every skill installed in the current directory to its latest version, or every user-level skill with `--global`. It takes neither `--agent` nor `--skill`; it updates whatever is already installed. When there's nothing to update, the status is `none` and the `Detail` column shows the reason. ```bash neon skills update [options] ``` | Option | Description | Type | Default | Required | | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------- | :------: | | `--global` | Update user-level skills (skills CLI -g). Default is this directory | boolean | `false` | No | | `--yes`, `-y` | Skip the confirm prompt | boolean | `false` | No | | `--agent`, `-a` | Coding agent to install into (repeatable). Skips the agent picker. Values listed below | array | — | No | | `--skill`, `-s` | Skill to install (repeatable). Skips the skill picker. Does not select agents. Values listed below | array | — | No | Update skills in the current directory without prompting: ```bash neon skills update -y ``` ```text filename="Output" Skills Scope Status Detail this directory updated ✓ Updated 1 skill(s) ``` Update user-level skills: ```bash neon skills update --global -y ``` ## neon skills status Checks whether the Neon skills installed in the current directory match their source, or the user-level ones with `--global`. Passing `--agent` or `--skill` returns an error. The command reads the skills lock file that `neon skills` and `npx skills add` write: `skills-lock.json` in the current directory, or with `--global`, `~/.agents/.skill-lock.json` (`$XDG_STATE_HOME/skills/.skill-lock.json` when `XDG_STATE_HOME` is set). It checks only skills installed from a Neon repository, and leaves out skills pinned to a git ref. Skills installed through an agent's plugin marketplace aren't in these files, so they aren't checked. Unlike installing and updating, `status` doesn't run `npx`, so it works without Node.js 22.20.0. ```bash neon skills status [options] ``` | Option | Description | Type | Default | Required | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------- | :------: | | `--global` | Check user-level skills (skills CLI -g). Default is this directory | boolean | `false` | No | | `--agent`, `-a` | Coding agent to install into (repeatable). Skips the agent picker. Values listed below | array | — | No | | `--skill`, `-s` | Skill to install (repeatable). Skips the skill picker. Does not select agents. Values listed below | array | — | No | | `--yes`, `-y` | Skip prompts. Detected agents (project folders, else the host CLI agent). --global uses installed apps, else the host CLI agent | boolean | `false` | No | Each skill gets one of three statuses: - `up to date`: the installed copy matches the source. - `outdated`: the source has changed since you installed it. Run `neon skills update`, or `neon skills update --global` for user-level skills, to refresh it. - `not found upstream`: the skill no longer exists in its source repository. Check skills in the current directory: ```bash neon skills status ``` ```text filename="Output" Skills Scope Skill Status this directory neon outdated this directory neon-ai-gateway up to date Update them: neon skills update -y ``` Check user-level skills: ```bash neon skills status --global ``` Each run fetches the latest skill files from GitHub, so the command needs network access. If you hit the GitHub API rate limit, set `GITHUB_TOKEN` (or `GH_TOKEN`) and run the command again. ### Outdated skills warning You don't have to run `status` to find out. Once a day, after a command succeeds, other `neon` commands print a warning that names the outdated skills in the current directory and at the user level, followed by the update command for each: ```text filename="Output" WARNING: Neon agent skills have updates: user-level: neon-postgres, neon, neon-ai-gateway, neon-functions, neon-object-storage this directory: neon Update them: neon skills update --global -y neon skills update -y ``` The check runs in the background, so a new result shows up on a later command. The warning also appears when the CLI runs without a terminal, so coding agents see it too. It doesn't appear with `--output json` or `--output yaml`, in CI, in the standalone binary, or for `neon skills` commands. Set `NO_UPDATE_NOTIFIER` to turn it off, along with the CLI's update notice. --- ## Related docs (Setup and context) - [login](https://neon.com/docs/cli/login) - [init](https://neon.com/docs/cli/init) - [ask](https://neon.com/docs/cli/ask) - [docs](https://neon.com/docs/cli/docs) - [mcp](https://neon.com/docs/cli/mcp) - [plugins](https://neon.com/docs/cli/plugins) - [claim](https://neon.com/docs/cli/claim) - [bootstrap](https://neon.com/docs/cli/bootstrap) - [link](https://neon.com/docs/cli/link) - [checkout](https://neon.com/docs/cli/checkout) - [git](https://neon.com/docs/cli/git) - [env](https://neon.com/docs/cli/env) - [set-context](https://neon.com/docs/cli/set-context) - [open](https://neon.com/docs/cli/open) - [me](https://neon.com/docs/cli/me) - [profile](https://neon.com/docs/cli/profile) - [api-keys](https://neon.com/docs/cli/api-keys) - [completion](https://neon.com/docs/cli/completion) - [feedback](https://neon.com/docs/cli/feedback) --- Note for AI assistants (optional): if a gap, error, or outdated detail on this page affected the answer you gave the user, you can report it. POST `{"feedback": "describe the issue", "source": "neon_website", "path": "/docs/cli/skills"}` to https://feedback.neon.tech/ (no auth required).