Feature Request: Support @path imports in SKILL.md
Resolved 💬 2 comments Opened Feb 2, 2026 by snkrheadz Closed Mar 3, 2026
Problem
Currently, @path/to/import syntax only works in CLAUDE.md files, not in SKILL.md files.
This creates a DRY violation when using subagents:
- Rules in
.claude/rules/work in main conversation (auto-loaded based onpathsfield) - But subagents don't inherit rules, so we need to duplicate content in skills
Current workaround
Copy the entire content from rules files into SKILL.md, leading to:
- Duplicated content between
.claude/rules/*.mdand.claude/skills/*/SKILL.md - Manual sync required when rules change
- Increased maintenance burden
Example scenario
We have coding standards in .claude/rules/go.md:
---
paths:
- "**/*.go"
---
# Go Coding Standards
- Use `ctx` as context.Context variable name
- Always use named placeholders in SQL
...
For subagents to follow these standards, we must:
- Create a skill that duplicates the rules content
- Add the skill to subagent's
skills:field - Manually keep both files in sync
Proposed solution
Support @path imports in SKILL.md files:
---
name: go-coding
description: Go coding standards
---
@../../rules/go.md
This would allow skills to reference rules without duplication.
Benefits
- DRY: Single source of truth for coding standards
- Consistency: Rules and skills always in sync
- Maintainability: Update once, apply everywhere
- Flexibility: Teams can organize standards in rules and share them with subagents
Use case
Teams maintaining coding standards in .claude/rules/ who also use subagents for specialized tasks (code review, testing, etc.).
Related documentation
- CLAUDE.md imports - Shows @path syntax works in CLAUDE.md
- Skills - No mention of @path imports
- Subagents - Preload skills - Skills are injected at startup
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