Sync Guide

Skrills synchronizes skills, commands, MCP server configurations, and preferences between Claude Code, Codex CLI, and GitHub Copilot CLI. This enables you to maintain a single source of truth while using multiple CLIs.

Sync Direction

By default, sync-all syncs from Claude to all other CLIs (Codex and Copilot). No flags required.

# Claude → ALL other CLIs (simplest form)
skrills sync-all

# Codex → ALL other CLIs
skrills sync-all --from codex

# Claude → Codex only (specific target)
skrills sync-all --to codex

What Gets Synced

Skills

Skills are copied between skill directories:

Claude: ~/.claude/skills/
Codex: ~/.codex/skills/ (discovery root; skills must be **/SKILL.md)
Copilot: ~/.copilot/skills/ (same SKILL.md format as Codex)

Codex skills are disabled by default; enable them in ~/.codex/config.toml:

[features]
skills = true

skrills sync                # Skills only
skrills sync-all            # Everything including skills

Slash Commands

Commands are synced byte-for-byte, preserving non-UTF-8 content:

Claude: ~/.claude/commands/
Codex: ~/.codex/prompts/
Copilot: Does not support slash commands (skipped during sync)

skrills sync-commands --from claude --to codex
skrills sync-commands --from claude --to codex --skip-existing-commands

MCP Server Configurations

MCP server definitions are synchronized between configuration files:

Claude/Codex: Share similar MCP configuration format
Copilot: Uses mcp-config.json (separate from main config)

skrills sync-mcp-servers --from claude --to codex
skrills sync-mcp-servers --from claude --to copilot

User Preferences

Preferences and settings are synchronized:

Copilot: Uses config.json with security field preservation

skrills sync-preferences --from claude --to codex
skrills sync-preferences --from claude --to copilot

Sync-All Command

The most common workflow is to sync everything at once:

# Sync from Claude to all other CLIs (no flags needed)
skrills sync-all

# Sync to a specific target only
skrills sync-all --to codex --skip-existing-commands

Options:

--from: Source CLI (default: claude)
--to: Target CLI (default: all other CLIs)
--dry-run: Preview changes without writing
--skip-existing-commands: Preserve local commands (Claude/Codex only)
--validate: Run validation after sync
--autofix: Auto-fix validation issues

Preview Changes

Before syncing, preview what will change:

skrills sync-status --from claude

This shows:

Files that would be added
Files that would be updated
Configuration differences

Mirror Command

The mirror command syncs files and updates AGENTS.md:

skrills mirror --skip-existing-commands

Use --dry-run to preview:

skrills mirror --dry-run

MCP Tools

When running as an MCP server, these sync tools are available:

Tool	Description
`sync-from-claude`	Copy Claude skills to Codex or Copilot
`sync-from-copilot`	Copy Copilot skills to Claude or Codex
`sync-to-copilot`	Copy skills from Claude or Codex to Copilot
`sync-skills`	Sync skills with direction option (all 6 combinations)
`sync-commands`	Sync slash commands (Claude/Codex only)
`sync-mcp-servers`	Sync MCP configurations
`sync-preferences`	Sync preferences
`sync-all`	Sync everything
`sync-status`	Preview sync changes

Environment Variables

SKRILLS_MIRROR_SOURCE: Override mirror source root (default ~/.claude)

Best Practices

Always preview changes with a dry run before syncing to avoid unexpected overwrites. Sync regularly to keep configurations aligned and prevent drift. After syncing, run skrills validate to catch any compatibility issues immediately. To protect your local customizations, use the --skip-existing-commands flag. Finally, choose a primary CLI environment and consistently sync from it to maintain a clear source of truth.

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