Publishing Guide

Prerequisites

A GitHub account
Sign in to Skill Vault using your GitHub account
A skill package ready to publish (see structure below)

Package Structure

The simplest Skill Vault package is a folder with a root SKILL.md. You can add optional files and folders for richer integrations:

my-package/
  SKILL.md — required for a skill package
  README.md — optional package docs
  commands/ — optional Claude commands
  statuslines/ — optional statusline scripts
  settings.json — optional Claude settings merge
  agents/ — optional agent markdown files
  docs/ — optional supporting docs

When you upload a zip from the web UI, Skill Vault also accepts packages wrapped in a single top-level folder.

Publishing via Web

Go to the Publish page
Fill in the package metadata — name, tagline, description, category, and tags
Upload a .zip file containing your package directory
Review the preview and click "Publish"

Your package name must be unique within your account. Use lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only (e.g., my-skill-package).

Publishing via CLI

The sv CLI provides the fastest way to publish directly from your terminal:

# Authenticate with your Skill Vault account
sv login

# Save your token and owner in ~/.svrc
cat > ~/.svrc <<'EOF'
SKILL_VAULT_TOKEN="svt_..."
SKILL_VAULT_OWNER="your-github-username"
EOF

# Publish from your package directory
sv push ./my-package --owner your-github-username --version 1.0.0

The CLI uploads the folder as a zip, creates package metadata if needed, and publishes the version you specify.

Package Metadata

The web publishing flow collects full metadata such as tagline, description, category, tags, and pricing. The CLI currently creates the package with a default category of other and uses the package folder name or name: frontmatter from SKILL.md.

Field	Description
name	Unique package identifier (lowercase, hyphens allowed)
tagline	Short one-line description (max 120 characters)
category	Primary category (e.g., web, devops, security, ai, testing)
tags	Comma-separated list of tags for discovery (max 5)
description	Full markdown description shown on the package page
pricing	Either "free" or a price in USD (e.g., "9.99")

Selling Paid Packages

Skill Vault supports selling premium packages through Stripe Connect. To get started:

Go to your Dashboard and click "Connect Stripe"
Complete the Stripe Express onboarding flow
Once connected, set a price when publishing your package

Skill Vault charges a 15% platform fee on each sale. The remaining 85% is deposited directly into your Stripe account. Payouts follow Stripe's standard schedule (typically 2 business days).

You can change a package from free to paid (or adjust the price) at any time from your dashboard. Existing users who downloaded the free version retain access.

Versioning

Skill Vault uses semantic versioning (semver) for all packages. When you publish an update:

Patch (1.0.0 → 1.0.1) — bug fixes, typo corrections
Minor (1.0.0 → 1.1.0) — new skills added, non-breaking enhancements
Major (1.0.0 → 2.0.0) — breaking changes, restructured skill files

To publish a new version, upload the updated package via the web UI or run:

sv push ./my-package --owner your-github-username --version 1.1.0

Each version can include a changelog entry describing what changed. Previous versions remain available for download, and users can pin to a specific version if needed.