I’d Rather Not Be My Agent’s Package Manager
Why I prefer plugins and catalogs for keeping agent skills up to date.
Installing a skill takes one command:
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npx skills add OWNER/REPO --skill SKILL-NAME
If the author later replaces an obsolete command, your agent may keep following the old instructions until you update your installed copy. With the Skills CLI, run:
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npx skills update
That works, but you have to remember to run it. For skills I use regularly, I prefer a client that can update them automatically.
Prefer plugins and catalogs
Plugins can package skills; catalogs let clients discover and download them.
If the skill’s publisher provides a GitHub Copilot plugin marketplace, register it and install the plugin through the CLI:
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copilot plugin marketplace add OWNER/REPO
copilot plugin install PLUGIN-NAME@MARKETPLACE-NAME
Unless you disable automatic updates, the CLI updates plugins from its built-in marketplaces at session start in trusted directories. For the custom marketplace above, you must also set autoUpdate: true on its extraKnownMarketplaces entry in your user settings to enable automatic updates. See the CLI update documentation for configuration details and exceptions.
In the GitHub Copilot app, you can browse and install plugins under Customize → Plugins. Enterprise-managed settings can enable automatic updates for individual marketplaces.
If the repository publishes an OpenCode catalog, configure your client to use it. In OpenCode V2, add the publisher’s catalog base URL to opencode.json:
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{
"skills": [
"https://example.com/team-skills/"
]
}
OpenCode reads the catalog’s index.json to discover and download skills. When a skill’s files change, the publisher increments that skill’s version in index.json so OpenCode refreshes its cache. The OpenCode V2 catalog docs explain the format.
Automatic updates mean accepting changed instructions, so use them for publishers you trust. If you need to review changes before adopting them, keep a fixed copy and update it deliberately.
Publish one reviewed release
For authors, I recommend maintaining one source for the skills and publishing plugins and catalogs from the same reviewed revision. Update the plugin version and the catalog version entry for each changed skill as part of the release.
For everyday use, I prefer a plugin or catalog with automatic updates enabled. It’s one less thing to remember.