RepoDaily · 2026-07-07 · Security tool

claude-skills: 345 Agent Skills Built to Keep Python Sandboxed and Auditable

#10 Security tool Python +611 alirezarezvani/claude-skills Open repository

An MIT-licensed library of 345 skills and 78 plugins across 13 AI coding tools, with stdlib-only Python scripts, per-skill tool restrictions, and a dedicated receipt-signing skill for accountable agent actions.

Repo typeSecurity tool
Best forSecurity-conscious developers who want pre-built, reviewable skill packages for Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI without pulling third-party pip dependencies into agent-executed code paths.
Risk levelMedium — scripts run on your machine under agent control; you must review each skill before activation.
Time to evaluate30 minutes to install one plugin and read its SKILL.md plus scripts/ folder.

Primary question: Can you audit every Python script and SKILL.md instruction before an agent runs it on your system?

91/100

RepoDaily adoption score

RepoDaily rates this as 91/100 (strong) for adoption: evidence, installation path, production risk, differentiation, license clarity, and AI/agent fit are scored from the article sources and adoption notes.

Directional score from RepoDaily sources and adoption notes, not a benchmark.Risk: Medium
98Evidence quality

5 source(s) across 2 source category/categories, plus a RepoDaily-specific evidence module when available.

100Installability

5 workflow step(s), 5 next-action step(s), and 6 command/install signal(s) were detected.

65Maintenance confidence

Trending momentum is +611 stars, with maintenance/release/issue signals counted when present.

94Production readiness

Risk is marked medium, with 6 security note(s) and 3 explicit skip condition(s).

100Differentiation

3 opportunity lens item(s), 4 alternative(s), and 3 type-specific section(s) support differentiation.

68License clarity

License source or license wording is present.

90Agent / AI fit

8 AI/agent-related signal(s) were detected in the article text and metadata.

Project overview

claude-skills is an open-source, MIT-licensed repository that packages domain expertise into self-contained skill folders — each with a SKILL.md playbook, optional Python CLI tools, reference documents, and template assets. The library currently advertises 345 skills, 78 plugins, and 90-plus slash commands across 17 domains: engineering, product, marketing, compliance, finance, and research among them. It targets 13 AI coding agents including Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Hermes Agent, Mistral Vibe, Aider, Windsurf, Kilo Code, OpenCode, Augment, Antigravity, and OpenClaw.

The security framing matters because these skills instruct agents to run Python on your local machine. The repository enforces a strict stdlib-only rule — no pip dependencies, no external services, no API keys. That design choice narrows the attack surface: every script depends only on Python's standard library, so a reviewer can read a file end to end and know its full import graph. The SECURITY.md file reinforces this with explicit DO and DON'T lists covering eval(), shell execution, credential storage, and directory traversal.

From a tooling perspective, the project also ships a growing set of security-relevant skills. The agent-decision-receipts skill produces tamper-evident, post-quantum-signed receipts for consequential agent actions, explicitly mapped to EU AI Act Article 12. The zero-hallucination-coder skill enforces a Discuss → Map → Decompose → Execute → Verify loop with a YAGNI ladder to prevent invented APIs or placeholder imports. The named-persona-adversarial-review skill routes code review through sourced engineering philosophies with confidence-level attribution and an anti-fabrication rule for quotes.

Problem it solves

  • AI coding agents increasingly execute Python on developer machines, but most plugin ecosystems pull transitive pip dependencies that are hard to audit line by line.
  • Teams lack a portable standard for giving agents domain-specific playbooks — security review, compliance audits, code review — without re-explaining standards in every prompt.
  • Consequential agent actions (deployments, data access, infrastructure changes) rarely produce auditable receipts tied to regulatory frameworks like EU AI Act Article 12.
  • Code generated by agents can introduce invented APIs, phantom imports, or placeholder logic that compiles but fails at runtime, with no structured verification step.

How it works

  1. Each skill is a folder with a SKILL.md playbook, optional scripts/ directory of Python CLI tools, references/ for curated knowledge, and assets/ for templates.
  2. On Claude Code, you add the marketplace and install individual plugins; on Codex you run `npx agent-skills-cli add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --agent codex`; on Gemini CLI you clone and run `./scripts/gemini-install.sh` or `python3 scripts/sync-gemini-skills.py`.
  3. Python scripts follow strict conventions: stdlib-only imports, argparse with --help and --json flags, exit codes 0/1/2, and no network calls or credential access.
  4. Skills with `allowed-tools` in YAML frontmatter are restricted to only those tools — for example `allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob` prevents file writes or command execution.
  5. The agent-decision-receipts skill uses a stdlib manifest builder and delegates signing to the Apache-2.0 openagentontology package (an opt-in install), producing tamper-evident receipts for each consequential action.

Installation Commands Across 13 Platforms

The repository exposes distinct installation paths per agent. Claude Code uses a two-command plugin flow: `/plugin marketplace add alirezarezvani/claude-skills` followed by `/plugin install engineering-skills@claude-code-skills`. OpenAI Codex supports `npx agent-skills-cli add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --agent codex` or a manual clone with `./scripts/codex-install.sh`. Gemini CLI uses `./scripts/gemini-install.sh` or `python3 scripts/sync-gemini-skills.py` to regenerate the skills index.

Hermes Agent installs to `~/.hermes/skills/claude-skills/` via `python scripts/sync-hermes-skills.py`, with flags for --domain, --copy, and --dry-run. Mistral Vibe installs to `~/.vibe/skills/claude-skills/` using `./scripts/vibe-install.sh` and exposes sync-vibe-skills.py with the same flag set plus --target for custom locations. OpenClaw uses a curl-piped install: `bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/main/scripts/openclaw-install.sh)`.

How to Evaluate One Skill Safely

  • Clone the repo and pick a single skill folder, for example `ra-qm-team/skills/agent-decision-receipts`.
  • Read SKILL.md fully — check for allowed-tools restrictions, documented workflows, and any requests for sensitive information.
  • Open every file in scripts/ and grep for imports, network calls, file-system writes, and environment variable access before running anything.
  • Execute in a sandbox: `python -m venv venv && source venv/bin/activate` or use Docker with `docker run -it --rm -v $(pwd):/work python:3.11 python /work/scripts/tool.py`.
  • Verify the skill activates as a slash command or contextual expertise in your agent, and confirm the receipt output or review output matches the documented format.

Contribution Constraints and CI Enforcement

All PRs must target the `dev` branch — PRs to `main` are auto-closed. Contributions cannot introduce pip dependencies, require paid API keys, or modify auto-generated files like `.codex/`, `.gemini/`, or `marketplace.json`. SKILL.md frontmatter accepts only `name` and `description` fields; adding `license`, `metadata`, `triggers`, `version`, or `author` will fail review.

The CI pipeline includes gate G3, which runs `scripts/derive_counters.py --check` to validate that every per-domain row in the README skills table matches the actual SKILL.md count on disk. A recent fix added six stale domain-row corrections and restored a missing markdown-html row so per-domain counts sum to 354. This prevents silent drift when new skills merge without updating all counters.

Who should pay attention?

Good fit if

  • Security and compliance teams who need auditable, stdlib-only Python scripts that agents can run without pulling unknown pip packages.
  • Developers using Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI who want pre-built skills for code review, research, and ISO/SOC/GDPR compliance workflows.
  • Teams building accountability infrastructure around agent actions, especially those subject to EU AI Act Article 12 documentation requirements.
  • Contributors who want to add domain skills to a curated, CI-gated library with clear conventions and a single target branch.

Skip for now if

  • Teams that need agent skills backed by third-party APIs or cloud services — the repository explicitly rejects skills requiring paid API keys or pip dependencies.
  • Projects where you cannot review SKILL.md content or Python scripts before an agent executes them on your machine.
  • Users who need a single, unified plugin format rather than per-agent sync scripts and marketplace installs.

Risks and cautions

Medium

The stdlib-only constraint and allowed-tools restrictions reduce supply-chain risk, but skills still instruct agents to execute Python locally — each skill requires human review before activation.

  • Scripts run under agent control on developer machines — a malicious or buggy SKILL.md could instruct the agent to take unsafe actions.
  • The OpenClaw install path pipes a remote script directly into bash, which requires trust in the repository's main branch.
  • The agent-decision-receipts skill depends on the opt-in openagentontology package for signing, introducing one external dependency outside stdlib.
  • Vulnerability reporting routes through a personal website and Medium DM rather than a dedicated security email, which may slow enterprise procurement review.
  • SECURITY.md defines severity levels with response timelines: Critical (24-48 hours for RCE, unauthorized data access, privilege escalation), High (1 week), Medium (2 weeks), Low (1 month).
  • Users are instructed not to open public GitHub issues for vulnerabilities — reports go through alirezarezvani.com contact form or Medium private message.
  • The allowed-tools frontmatter field restricts each skill to specific capabilities, e.g. `allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob` blocks writes and command execution.
  • Python scripts must follow secure coding practices: input validation, parameterized queries, no eval() or exec() with user input, no shell commands with unsanitized input, no credential storage in code.
  • The repository provides a safe_read_file example that validates filenames with regex, prevents directory traversal, and confines reads to a safe directory.
  • Supported versions: 1.x.x receives active support; versions below 1.0 are unsupported. All skills are currently at version 1.0.0.

Alternatives to compare

ApproachWhen to useTrade-off
Aider
You want an open-source terminal-based AI pair programmer with git integration rather than a skill library.Free, open-source (Apache-2.0); bring your own LLM API key.
Continue
You need a VS Code or JetBrains extension that provides autocomplete, chat, and code editing with configurable providers.Free, open-source (Apache-2.0); BYO API key.
Native Claude Code capabilities
You only use Claude Code and do not need cross-agent portability or curated domain playbooks.Included with Claude subscription.
Custom internal prompts
Your domain logic is proprietary and cannot live in a public MIT-licensed repository.Engineering time to author and maintain.

What this trend reveals

Agent accountability receipts for regulated industries

The agent-decision-receipts skill produces tamper-evident, post-quantum-signed receipts mapped to EU AI Act Article 12. Organizations in finance, healthcare, or government can adapt this skill to build compliance-grade audit trails for agent-driven deployments or data access.

Confirm the openagentontology signing package meets your cryptographic requirements and that EU AI Act Article 12 applies to your jurisdiction and use case.

Cross-agent skill standardization

The repository targets 13 AI coding agents with the same SKILL.md format. Teams standardizing on multiple agents can write a skill once and sync it across Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, and Hermes with per-agent install scripts.

Test sync scripts on each agent your team uses — Hermes, Vibe, and Gemini each have distinct sync paths and target directories.

Contributing domain-specific security skills

The CONTRIBUTING.md guide accepts new skills in regulatory and compliance domains (ISO, SOC, GDPR, FDA). Security practitioners can contribute skills for threat modeling, secure design review, or vulnerability triage within the stdlib-only, no-API-key constraints.

Check that your skill has no pip dependencies, uses only stdlib Python, and passes skill_description_validator and derive_counters.py --check before submitting to the dev branch.

Best next action

Install one engineering skill and audit its scripts

Pick a single skill from the engineering domain, install it on Claude Code or your preferred agent, and perform a full security review of its Python scripts and SKILL.md content before using it on real code.

  1. Run `/plugin marketplace add alirezarezvani/claude-skills` in Claude Code.
  2. Install one skill: `/plugin install engineering-skills@claude-code-skills`.
  3. Locate the installed skill folder and read SKILL.md completely.
  4. Open every file in scripts/ and check imports, network calls, file writes, and environment variable access.
  5. Test the skill in a sandboxed environment (venv or Docker) before running it on production code.

RepoDaily verdict

claude-skills delivers a genuinely useful library of 345 auditable, stdlib-only skill packages for 13 AI coding agents. Its security posture — allowed-tools restrictions, a dedicated SECURITY.md with severity timelines, and accountability skills like agent-decision-receipts — makes it more defensible than typical plugin ecosystems. The medium adoption risk reflects the reality that agents execute these scripts locally, so every skill demands human review before activation.

Sources