Use SkillsCat inside OpenClaw

There are two routes here. If you use clawhub, point it at the https://skills.cat/openclaw compatibility surface. If you use our native skillscat CLI, keep using the primary SkillsCat /registry and do not switch to the compatibility layer.

Compatibility Auto-Install

If you want to keep the default OpenClaw or ClawHub workflow, point both site and registry at SkillsCat. Search, install, update, inspect, and publish operations will then flow through the SkillsCat /openclaw compatibility endpoint instead of the native registry.

clawhub search "seo audit" --site https://skills.cat --registry https://skills.cat/openclaw
clawhub inspect <owner>~<skill> --site https://skills.cat --registry https://skills.cat/openclaw
clawhub install <owner>~<skill> --site https://skills.cat --registry https://skills.cat/openclaw
clawhub update <owner>~<skill> --site https://skills.cat --registry https://skills.cat/openclaw
clawhub publish ./my-skill --slug <owner>~<skill> --version 1.0.0 --site https://skills.cat --registry https://skills.cat/openclaw

• SkillsCat uses ~ in ClawHub-compatible slugs, such as owner~skill or owner~path~to~skill.
• Clients can auto-discover the compatibility API through https://skills.cat/.well-known/clawhub.json.
• The clawhub compatibility surface stays under /openclaw; the native skillscat CLI still uses /registry.
• If you run clawhub publish, use the compatible slug format there as well.

Host CLI Install

If you care more about deterministic installs, stable directory layout, and one CLI contract, use the native SkillsCat CLI directly. It does not go through /openclaw; it keeps using the primary SkillsCat registry and APIs.

npx skillscat info <owner>/<repo>
npx skillscat add <slug> --agent openclaw
npx skillscat add <slug> --agent openclaw --global
npx skillscat convert openclaw --from agents

• Run info before add when you only know the repository and need to discover the published slug.
• Prefer the exact published slug for install, including nested slugs like owner/path/to/skill.
• --agent openclaw writes the bundle into the layout OpenClaw expects.
• convert openclaw --from agents is useful when migrating existing .agents content.

Override Site and Registry

If you want SkillsCat to become the default source for future installs, move the config into environment variables or a shell alias so you do not have to repeat --site and --registry on every command.

export CLAWHUB_SITE=https://skills.cat
export CLAWHUB_REGISTRY=https://skills.cat/openclaw

clawhub search "calendar"
clawhub install <owner>~<skill>
clawhub update <owner>~<skill>

If you only want a temporary override, pass the flags on a single command. The key thing to remember is that CLAWHUB_SITE is the site root, but CLAWHUB_REGISTRY must point at /openclaw because the native /registry path is for the SkillsCat CLI.

Paths and Bundle Layout

Whether you install through the native SkillsCat CLI or the ClawHub compatibility path, the important part is that the full bundle lands intact. Do not copy only SKILL.md, and do not strip out templates, scripts, JSON, YAML, or other companion files.

• OpenClaw reads the whole folder, not a single file.
• If both local and global installs exist, check the current workspace skills/ directory first.
• After install, starting a fresh OpenClaw session is more reliable than relying on hot reload.

Private Skills and Tokens

For private skills or write actions, first make sure you know which CLI is in use. clawhub browser login returns a SkillsCat-compatible token, while skillscat keeps its own native auth flow.

clawhub login --site https://skills.cat
clawhub login --token <skillscat-api-token> --site https://skills.cat --registry https://skills.cat/openclaw
npx skillscat login
npx skillscat add <slug> --agent openclaw

• clawhub login --site https://skills.cat opens the compatibility auth page and pins the registry back to /openclaw.
• If you prefer manual tokens, create one with read, write, and publish scopes on the API tokens page.
• The compatibility layer supports authenticated search and known-slug installs. For deeper private browsing, repo-level choices, or more complex private workflows, prefer the native skillscat CLI.
• skillscat login only affects the SkillsCat CLI and does not rewrite clawhub registry config.

Troubleshooting

• If the install does not take effect, confirm the target directory first and then start a fresh OpenClaw session.
• If you picked the wrong skill from a multi-skill repository, run npx skillscat info owner/repo and install again with the exact slug.
• If you only want OpenClaw to auto-pull the bundle, prefer npx skillscat add <slug> --agent openclaw.
• For private-skill or permission issues, verify token scopes first and then confirm whether the command is using skillscat or clawhub.

For the native skillscat CLI command details, go back to the CLI docs. This guide is focused on the clawhub compatibility layer and OpenClaw install paths.