feat: [gh skill CLI, v2.90.0+] first-class remote skill source integration as a step toward programmatic config access across all Claude surfaces

GitHub CLI v2.90.0 (April 2026) shipped gh skill — a standardized install/update/publish protocol for Agent Skills from GitHub repositories. Claude Code already implements the Agent Skills open standard. This issue proposes treating gh skill as the native remote skill source mechanism across every Claude surface, and frames it as a concrete first step toward the broader unsolved problem of programmatic configuration access.

The problem today

Every Claude surface that needs skills from a remote source currently has no native answer. Claude Code CLI users author bootstrap scripts. Cowork users invoke a bootstrap skill manually at session start. Desktop users have no remote source option at all. Enterprise admins distribute skill files through managed settings rather than pointing at a repo. Each workaround is fragile, invisible to the runtime, and out of sync with the standardized protocol that now exists.

This is one symptom of a larger gap: Claude configuration across surfaces — skills, preferences, MCP servers, session context — is largely not accessible or modifiable programmatically. Related requests that have surfaced this problem:

• #47115 — API endpoint for Claude.ai user preferences
• #39929 — API/CLI support for managing Organization Skills programmatically
• #20697 — Sync Skills between Claude Desktop and Claude Code CLI
• #22648 — Account-level settings sync across devices
• #10447 — CLI Commands for MCP Server Enable/Disable

gh skill doesn't solve all of those, but a native integration here would establish the pattern: a declared remote source in config that all surfaces honor, synced automatically at the right lifecycle moment. That's the model the rest of programmatic config access could follow.

The proposed direction

A skills.sources config — or equivalent — that declares remote GitHub repositories as skill sources. Surfaces read this config and sync via the gh skill protocol at the appropriate lifecycle moment (session start, app launch, or on demand). One possible shape:

{
  "skills": {
    "sources": [
      { "repo": "org/skills-repo", "scope": "internal", "ref": "latest" }
    ]
  }
}

ref supports latest, a semver tag, or a commit SHA for pinning. Works with private repos scoped by token. Degrades gracefully if gh is not installed.

This is a directional suggestion — the specific API is open. The core request is that remote skill sync becomes a first-class, runtime-native concern rather than something each surface solves independently.

Surface tracking

Separate issues cover the specifics for each surface and how they connect back to this core integration:

• Claude Code CLI + Cloud — #50150
• Claude.ai Desktop (customize panel) — #50154
• Cowork — #50158
• Managed / Enterprise — #50161

References

• gh skill announcement: https://github.blog/changelog/2026-04-16-manage-agent-skills-with-github-cli/
• Agent Skills spec: https://agentskills.io/specification
• Claude Code skills docs: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills