How to Install Skills in VS Code for Agents
Skills in this topic are about driving VS Code as an editor: opening and navigating a project, editing text, running commands in the integrated terminal, managing extensions, working with Git from the sidebar, and letting an agent propose or apply edits in the workspace. Some skills focus on one of those areas; others combine several, such as an agent that reads the working tree before suggesting changes. Use the ranked list as a shortlist, not a catalog. Start with the sub-topic that matches the task in front of you, read what each skill actually touches, and pick the one whose scope lines up with how you work. If two look close, prefer the narrower one first.
8 to start with20 top options
Start with these.
VS Code is an editor: files, editing, terminal, extensions, git, and optionally an agent sitting on top.
These are the closest matches for this work. Start with the first one and open it to install.
- Rank 01View Agent SkillDirect
vscode-ext-commands
Guidelines for contributing commands in VS Code extensions. Indicates naming convention, visibility, localization and other relevant attributes, following VS Code extension development guidelines, libraries and good practices
8,995 · popularity - Rank 02View Agent SkillDirect
vscode-ext-localization
Guidelines for proper localization of VS Code extensions, following VS Code extension development guidelines, libraries and good practices
8,878 · popularity - Rank 03View Agent SkillDirect
memory-leak-audit
Audit code for memory leaks and disposable issues. Use when reviewing event listeners, DOM handlers, lifecycle callbacks, or fixing leak reports. Covers addDisposableListener, Event.once, MutableDisposable, DisposableStore, and onWillDispose patterns.
3,199 · popularity - Rank 04View Agent SkillDirect
azure-pipelines
Use when validating Azure DevOps pipeline changes for the VS Code build. Covers queueing builds, checking build status, viewing logs, and iterating on pipeline YAML changes without waiting for full CI runs.
3,183 · popularity - Rank 05View Agent SkillDirect
create-custom-agent
Creates VS Code custom agent files (.agent.md) for specialized AI personas with tools, instructions, and handoffs. Use when scaffolding new custom agents, configuring agent workflows, or setting up agent-to-agent handoffs.
2,486 · popularity - Rank 06View Agent SkillDirect
accessibility
Primary accessibility skill for VS Code. REQUIRED for new feature and contribution work, and also applies to updates of existing UI. Covers accessibility help dialogs, accessible views, verbosity settings, signals, ARIA announcements, keyboard navigation, and ARIA labels/roles.
3,160 · popularity - Rank 07View Agent SkillDirect
sessions
Core principles and workflow router for changes to the Agents Window under src/vs/sessions.
3,054 · popularity - Rank 08View Agent SkillDirect
author-contributions
Identify all files a specific author contributed to on a branch vs its upstream, tracing code through renames. Use when asked who edited what, what code an author contributed, or to audit authorship before a merge. This skill should be run as a subagent — it performs many git operations and returns…
3,012 · popularity
Explore 12 more Agent Skills
- Rank 09View Agent SkillDirect
update-screenshots
Update the committed blocks-ci screenshot hashes after the "Screenshots & Tests" check fails, or investigate a screenshot diff reported on a PR. Use when asked to update, accept, or refresh component screenshot baselines from CI. This skill should be run as a subagent.
2,985 · popularity - Rank 10View Agent SkillPossible
install-atk
Official> Install or update the M365 Agents Toolkit (ATK) CLI and VS Code extension. Triggers: "install atk", "update atk", "install agents toolkit", "update agents toolkit", "install the toolkit", "setup atk", "get atk", "install atk cli", "install atk extension", "install atk vsix", "update the vs code extension", "install latest atk", "upgrade atk"
Needs (stated): Node.js
- Rank 11View Agent SkillPossible
git-guardrails-claude-code
NotableSet up Claude Code hooks to block dangerous git commands (push, reset --hard, clean, branch -D, etc.) before they execute. Use when user wants to prevent destructive git operations, add git safety hooks, or block git push/reset in Claude Code.
366,097 · popularity - Rank 12View Agent SkillPossible
git-workflow-and-versioning
NotableStructures git workflow practices. Use when making any code change. Use when committing, branching, resolving conflicts, splitting uncommitted work in a messy working tree into clean atomic commits, opening or reviewing a pull request (PR), pushing to a remote, or when you need to organize work across multiple parallel streams. Use when cutting a release, choosing a semantic version bump, tagging, or writing a changelog.
- Rank 13View Agent SkillPossible
using-git-worktrees
NotableUse when starting feature work that needs isolation from current workspace or before executing implementation plans - ensures an isolated workspace exists via native tools or git worktree fallback
- Rank 14View Agent SkillPossible
agent-browser
Browser automation CLI for AI agents. Use when the user needs to interact with websites, including navigating pages, filling forms, clicking buttons, taking screenshots, extracting data, testing web apps, or automating any browser task. Triggers include requests to "open a website", "fill out a…
985,975 · popularity - Rank 15View Agent SkillPossible
microsoft-docs
Query official Microsoft documentation to find concepts, tutorials, and code examples across Azure, .NET, Agent Framework, Aspire, VS Code, GitHub, and more. Uses Microsoft Learn MCP as the default, with Context7 and Aspire MCP for content that lives outside learn.microsoft.com.
14,787 · popularity - Rank 16View Agent SkillPossible
memory-merger
Merges mature lessons from a domain memory file into its instruction file. Syntax: `/memory-merger >domain [scope]` where scope is `global` (default), `user`, `workspace`, or `ws`.
12,817 · popularity - Rank 17View Agent SkillPossible
aspire
Aspire skill covering the Aspire CLI, AppHost orchestration, service discovery, integrations, MCP server, VS Code extension, Dev Containers, GitHub Codespaces, templates, dashboard, and deployment. Use when the user asks to create, run, debug, configure, deploy, or troubleshoot an Aspire…
8,981 · popularity - Rank 18View Agent SkillPossible
mcp
MCP Apps integration for json-render. Use when building MCP servers that render interactive UIs in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or VS Code, or when integrating json-render with the Model Context Protocol.
5,784 · popularity - Rank 19View Agent SkillPossible
draw-io-diagram-generator
Use when creating, editing, or generating draw.io diagram files (.drawio, .drawio.svg, .drawio.png). Covers mxGraph XML authoring, shape libraries, style strings, flowcharts, system architecture, sequence diagrams, ER diagrams, UML class diagrams, network topology, layout strategy, the…
2,750 · popularity - Rank 20View Agent SkillPossible
nemo-rl-session-memory
Manage durable working-session memory for coding agents. Use when a user asks to preserve or recover agent context across disconnects, VS Code restarts, long-running work, handoffs, or any session where important state should be written periodically under the repo's session directory. Do NOT use…
2,017 · popularity
What this topic covers
Each sub-topic groups Agent Skills for a specific situation.
- Editing
- The text editor at the center of the product.
- Files & workspace
- How the project is opened and navigated.
- Terminal
- Run and debug without leaving the editor.
- Extensions
- Add language smarts and extra tools.
- Git
- The working tree, commits, and reviews from the sidebar.
- Agent & chat
- An assistant that can propose or apply edits in this workspace.
Frequently asked questions
- How is this list ordered?
- It is ranked by observed search demand, with skills that directly match the topic placed first. No single publisher can take more than a capped share of the list.
- Do I need an agent to use these skills?
- No. VS Code is an editor first: files, editing, terminal, extensions, and Git all work without one. Agent and chat skills are optional and sit on top of that.
- Which sub-topic should I start with?
- Pick the one that matches your immediate task, such as editing, files and workspace, terminal, extensions, Git, or agent and chat. A skill scoped to that area will fit better than one that tries to cover everything.
- Can one skill cover both editing and Git?
- Yes. Some skills span multiple sub-topics, for example proposing edits while reading the working tree and commits. Check what each skill actually touches before choosing.
How to install an Agent Skill
Start with the first skill on this page. Claude Code reads a SKILL.md once it is in the skills directory:
- Claude Code — copy the SKILL.md for vscode-ext-commands into ~/.claude/skills/vscode-ext-commands/ for yourself, or .claude/skills/vscode-ext-commands/ to share it with a project.
- From the registry — run npx skills add github/awesome-copilot@vscode-ext-commands.
- Or download vscode-ext-commands from its source and place that SKILL.md in the directory above.
How to choose Check the source and the skill’s own instructions before you install. Official and Notable describe where a skill comes from.