More Powers for Gemini

2 min read

Here are the primary places to find publicly available libraries:

The most direct source for curated “skills” is the official Gemini CLI Extension Gallery. These extensions often bundle custom slash commands, MCP (Model Context Protocol) server configurations, and specific GEMINI.md context files.

  • Access: You can browse these at https://geminicli.com/extensions/browse/.
  • Installation: In your terminal, you can list or add them directly:
    • gemini extensions list (To see what you have)
    • gemini extensions install <github-url> (To add community-contributed ones)

2. GitHub “Gemini-Skills” Topic

The community has standardized on the gemini-skills topic on GitHub. You can find over a thousand agentic skills here, ranging from DevOps automation to specialized research tools.

  • Key Repositories:
    • google-gemini/gemini-cli: The official repository’s “examples” folder contains templates for custom commands.
    • heilcheng/awesome-agent-skills: A massive, curated collection of SKILL.md files compatible with Gemini CLI, Claude Code, and other agentic terminals.
    • motherduckdb/agent-skills: Focuses specifically on software engineering workflows.

3. MCP (Model Context Protocol) Servers

Because the Gemini CLI supports MCP, you can use any MCP server as a “skill library.” This allows the CLI to interact with external tools like Google Maps, Slack, GitHub, or local databases.

  • Usage: You can find these on the Smithery.ai registry or the MCP GitHub organization.
  • Configuration: These are typically added to your ~/.gemini/settings.json or bundled within a .gemini/extensions/ directory.

4. Local “Skills” Management

If you are looking for a way to manage your own or community scripts, the agent-skills-cli tool is a popular way to pull down specific capabilities.

  • Command: npx skills add <author>/<repo> -a gemini-cli
  • This command places the necessary Markdown and configuration files into your ~/.agents/skills directory, which the Gemini CLI reads automatically.

Pro-Tip: The GEMINI.md File

If you find a script or “skill” you like but it isn’t packaged as an extension, you can simply drop the instructions into a GEMINI.md file in your project root. The Gemini CLI will automatically ingest this as its “system instructions” for that specific directory, effectively giving it those “skills” without a formal installation.