Canonical vocabulary for skilld v3.
Every public export, command, error, route, and document uses these terms.
| Term | Export or owner | Stability | Consumers | Customer word |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skill | Agent Skills specification | external standard | Agent, skilld CLI, Harness | Skill |
| transient Skill | skilld run |
published command | Agent, developer | transient Skill |
| skilld-maintained Skill | skills/* |
published asset | Agent, Harness | skilld-maintained Skill |
| skilld CLI | skilld |
published CLI | developer, CI | skilld CLI |
| Harness | skilld-harness |
published package | application, CI | Harness |
| Skill run | skilld-harness |
published type | Harness consumer | Skill run |
| Repository | GitHub | external standard | skilld.dev, skilld CLI | repository |
| Account | GitHub and skilld.dev | external standard | GitHub App, skilld.dev | account |
| Artifact | skilld.dev/api/v1 |
published protocol | skilld CLI | Artifact |
| Artifact attestation | skilld.dev/api/v1 |
published protocol | skilld CLI | attestation |
| Check result | skilld.dev/api/v1 |
published protocol | skilld CLI, developer | check result |
| Source status | lockfile and protocol | published value | skilld CLI, CI | source status |
| Update relation | skilld CLI JSON v1 | published value | Agent, developer, CI | update relation |
| Agent target | skilld CLI | published configuration | Agent | Agent target |
| registry | skilld.dev | published surface | developer, Agent | registry |
| curated | skilld.dev | published surface | developer | curated |
| author | GitHub | external standard | skilld.dev, developer | author |
| provenance | lockfile and protocol | published value | skilld CLI, developer | provenance |
| lockfile | .skills/skilld-lock.yaml |
published file | skilld CLI, CI | lockfile |
| Curator | skilld.dev | published route | skilld.dev, skilld CLI | curator |
| Collection | skilld.dev | published route | skilld.dev, skilld CLI | collection |
| Multi-skill ref | skilld run, skilld add |
published argument | developer, Agent | ref |
| Identifier | Term |
|---|---|
skilld search |
Skill search |
skilld run |
transient Skill load |
skilld run --file |
supporting file read |
skilld install |
Skill install |
skilld add |
multi-skill install |
skilld run gh:OWNER/REPOSITORY |
Skill index |
skilld list |
installed Skills |
skilld view |
Skill details |
skilld remove |
Skill removal |
skilld update |
Skill update |
skilld update --check --json |
update relation check |
skilld verify |
source verification |
skilld outdated |
outdated Skill report |
skilld outdated --all |
system-wide outdated Skill report |
skilld install skilld --global |
global skilld Skill install |
skilld auth login |
account login |
skilld auth status |
account authentication status |
skilld auth logout |
account logout |
skilld config get |
configuration read |
skilld config set |
configuration write |
skilld config list |
configuration list |
flowchart LR
OS[skilld-maintained Skill]
A[Agent]
H[Harness]
R[Skill run]
S[Skill]
API[skilld.dev API]
AR[Artifact]
AT[Artifact attestation]
CR[Check result]
CLI[skilld CLI]
T[Agent target]
OS --> A
OS --> H
H --> R --> S
A --> S
API --> AR
API --> AT
API --> CR
AR --> CLI
AT --> CLI
CR --> CLI
CLI --> T
T --> S
Collisions
Skill run and transient Skill sound alike and mean different things.
A Skill run is one Harness execution.
A transient Skill is one Skill that skilld run loads for a session.
The Rust type for the second is TransientSkill, never SkillRun.
Is: a directory that follows the Agent Skills specification.
Use for: authored instructions and their supporting files.
Never: prompt pack, guide, plugin.
Casing: Skill in product prose, skill in identifiers.
Is: a Skill maintained and published by the skilld project.
Use for: visible generation, review, search, and install instructions under skills/*.
Never: built-in prompt, hidden prompt, system prompt.
Casing: skilld-maintained Skill in prose.
Is: a Skill that skilld run loads for the current Agent session.
Use for: any Skill used without an install. A remote transient Skill never reaches disk.
Never: ephemeral skill, temporary install, one-off install, Skill run.
Casing: transient Skill in prose, TransientSkill in Rust.
Is: the Rust command line interface that searches, installs, updates, and removes Skills.
Use for: the command product and its manager logic.
Never: Skill manager in customer copy, generator, authoring engine, JavaScript CLI.
Casing: skilld CLI in prose, skilld for the executable.
Is: the JavaScript package that runs skilld-maintained Skills with strict output checks.
Use for: skilld-harness and its public interface.
Never: CLI engine, generator CLI, manager runtime.
Casing: Harness in product prose, harness in identifiers.
Is: one Harness execution with one tagged input and one result.
Use for: PackageSkill, ProjectSkill, and ReviewSkill operations.
Never: job, task, session, workflow run.
Casing: Skill run in prose, SkillRun in TypeScript.
Is: a GitHub repository that contains one or more Skills.
Use for: source identity and OWNER/REPOSITORY input.
Never: repo in customer copy, package host, registry entry.
Casing: Repository in headings, repository in sentences.
Is: the user account authenticated with skilld.dev and GitHub.
Use for: authentication and private repository access.
Never: tenant or user identity in customer copy.
Casing: Account in headings, account in sentences.
Is: immutable Skill bytes resolved from one exact source commit.
Use for: remote delivery from skilld.dev to the skilld CLI.
Never: hosted Skill, registry package, upload.
Casing: Artifact in protocol types, artifact elsewhere.
Is: a signed claim that links one Artifact to its Repository, commit, contents, and check results.
Use for: provenance and integrity verification before installation.
Never: safety certificate, approval, endorsement.
Casing: Artifact attestation in headings, attestation in sentences and identifiers.
Is: one named check, version, finding, and outcome for an Artifact.
Use for: exact evidence inside an Artifact attestation.
Never: safety certificate, secure badge, guarantee.
Casing: Check result in headings, check result in sentences.
Is: the recorded provenance state for an installed Skill.
Use for: verified, local, or unverified lockfile values.
Never: safety state, trust score, verification tier.
Casing: Source status in headings, sourceStatus in identifiers.
Is: the Git relationship between an installed Skill commit and its current source commit.
Use for: current, available, behind, diverged, pinned, notTracked, or unavailable JSON values.
Never: upgrade status, version status, release status.
Casing: Update relation in headings, relation in JSON.
Is: an Agent installation destination managed by skilld.
Use for: Agent directory rules and copy or link mode.
Never: adapter, platform, destination type.
Casing: Agent target in prose, AgentTarget in types.
Is: a skilld.dev account that publishes collections at /@LOGIN.
Use for: the @LOGIN ref and curator profile pages.
Never: author, publisher, maintainer in this sense.
Casing: Curator in headings, curator in sentences.
Is: a curator's ordered, named list of Skills at /@LOGIN/SLUG.
Use for: the @LOGIN/SLUG ref and collection pages.
Never: pack, bundle, list, set.
Casing: Collection in headings, collection in sentences.
Is: one skilld run or skilld add argument that names more than one Skill: gh:OWNER/REPOSITORY, @LOGIN, or @LOGIN/SLUG.
Use for: the argument grammar and its index output.
Never: bulk selector, group source, target.
Casing: multi-skill ref in prose, MultiSkillRef in Rust.
Is: the per Skill status produced by skilld outdated.
Use for: current, outdated, unverified, local, and unmanaged Skill states.
Never: version check, drift report, health check.
Casing: Outdated Skill report in prose, outdated in commands.
Is: the curated index of Skills that skilld.dev publishes and the skilld CLI searches.
Use for: the skilld.dev catalogue as a whole and skilld search results.
Never: marketplace, store, hub, directory.
Casing: registry in sentences, skilld registry when the owner matters.
Is: admitted to the registry by a person, with a reason that person can state.
Use for: the registry and the Skills it lists.
Never: approved, certified, vetted, official.
Casing: curated in sentences.
Is: the GitHub account or person who wrote a Skill in their own Repository.
Use for: the credited writer of one Skill on every surface.
Never: creator, publisher, contributor, owner in customer copy.
Casing: author in sentences, Author in headings.
Is: the recorded facts about where a Skill came from: Repository, commit, author, Artifact attestation, and source status.
Use for: what skilld verify and the source status describe.
Never: trust, safety, reputation, security.
Casing: provenance in sentences.
Is: the .skills/skilld-lock.yaml file that records each installed Skill, its source, commit, digest, and source status.
Use for: the file skilld install writes and restores.
Never: manifest, lock, state file, config.
Casing: lockfile in prose, skilld-lock.yaml for the file name.
| Never | Use instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| safe, secure | name the exact checks | An attestation cannot guarantee safety. |
| private registry | private Artifact delivery | GitHub remains the source of truth. |
| Skill manager | skilld CLI | Match GitHub CLI customer language. |
| repo | repository | Match GitHub documentation. |
| tenant | account | Match GitHub account language. |
| audit receipt | Artifact attestation and check result | Match GitHub supply chain language. |
| trust state | source status | State exactly what is verified. |
| Skill generator CLI | skilld-maintained Skill or Harness | The skilld CLI has no generation logic. |
| hidden prompt | skilld-maintained Skill asset | Judgment instructions stay visible. |
None.