Detect and auto-install missing ToolUniverse research skills by checking common client skill directories and cloning from GitHub if absent. Use when ToolUniverse specialized skills are not installed, when setting up a new project, or when the tooluniverse router skill needs to bootstrap its sub-skills before routing.
Install
npx skillscat add mims-harvard/tooluniverse/tooluniverse-install-skills Install via the SkillsCat registry.
ToolUniverse Install Skills
Checks whether the ToolUniverse specialized skills are installed and installs them automatically if not.
Detection
Use the Shell tool to check for the canary file across all common client locations:
ls .cursor/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .agents/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .windsurf/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .gemini/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .claude/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .opencode/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .trae/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| ls .skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null \
|| echo "NOT_INSTALLED"- Output is a file path → skills already installed, stop here.
- Output is
NOT_INSTALLED→ proceed to installation.
Installation
# 1. Download skills from GitHub (shallow, sparse — only skills/ folder)
git clone --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --sparse \
https://github.com/mims-harvard/ToolUniverse.git /tmp/tu-skills
cd /tmp/tu-skills && git sparse-checkout set skills
# 2. Copy to the correct directory for the detected client:
mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .cursor/skills/ # Cursor
# mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .agents/skills/ # Codex/OpenAI
# mkdir -p .windsurf/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .windsurf/skills/ # Windsurf
# mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .gemini/skills/ # Gemini CLI
# mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .claude/skills/ # Claude Code
# mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .opencode/skills/ # OpenCode
# mkdir -p .trae/skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .trae/skills/ # Trae
# mkdir -p .skills && cp -r /tmp/tu-skills/skills/* .skills/ # Cline/VS Code
# 3. Clean up
rm -rf /tmp/tu-skillsIf the client cannot be detected automatically, ask the user which one they use before running step 2.
Client Detection
Detect the client from the presence of config files:
| Config file present | Client |
|---|---|
.cursor/ |
Cursor |
.agents/ |
Codex / OpenAI |
.windsurf/ |
Windsurf |
.gemini/ |
Gemini CLI |
.claude/ |
Claude Code |
.opencode/ |
OpenCode |
.trae/ |
Trae |
| None of the above | Ask the user |
After Installation
Confirm success:
ls .cursor/skills/tooluniverse-drug-research/SKILL.mdTell the user: "ToolUniverse skills installed successfully. You now have access to 50+ specialized research workflows."