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Miscellaneous

Source Metadata​

When you install a skill using ai-skills, a .aiskills.json file is automatically created inside the skill directory. This file records where the skill was installed from:

{
  "source": "owner/repo",
  "sourceType": "git",
  "repoUrl": "https://github.com/owner/repo.git",
  "subpath": "skills/my-skill",
  "localPath": null,
  "installedAt": "2026-04-01T12:00:00Z"
}

This metadata enables the update command to re-fetch skills from their original source. You do not need to create or edit this file manually — it is managed by ai-skills.

info

Skills installed before source metadata tracking was added will not have a .aiskills.json file. Re-install them once to enable updates.

Temporary Files​

ai-skills creates short-lived working directories during operations like install and update (for example, when cloning a Git repository). These are placed under the system's temporary directory — $TMPDIR if set, falling back to /tmp — instead of your home directory.

ai-skills removes these directories automatically when the operation finishes. Anything left behind by an unexpected exit is also cleared by the operating system on reboot, since the system temporary directory is ephemeral.