I think AI coding assistants need an "npm" for reusable skills. I'm building one.

Harsh Singh — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 06:02:28 +0000

I've been using multiple AI coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, etc.) over the past few months, and I noticed the same problem everywhere.

Every assistant has its own way of defining skills, rules, or prompts.

Claude Code → Skills
Cursor → Rules
GitHub Copilot → Instructions
Codex → AGENTS.md
Windsurf → Workflows
Others → Yet another format

If I build a useful skill for one assistant, I have to rewrite and maintain it separately for every other assistant.

That feels a lot like JavaScript before npm or containers before Docker.

So I started building Kitbash.

It's not another AI coding assistant.

The goal is to create an open standard for portable AI skills.

Some ideas I'm exploring:

📦 Write a skill once and compile it for multiple AI coding assistants.
🔒 Versioned installs with lockfiles instead of copying prompt files.
🧪 Testable skills with evaluation suites.
🔐 Permission manifests and context budgets.
🔄 Composable workflows where skills exchange typed artifacts instead of giant prompt chains.
🌍 A community ecosystem where anyone can publish reusable skills.

It's still pre-alpha, so I'm mainly looking for feedback on the architecture and whether this is actually a problem worth solving.

🌐 Landing Page: https://singhharsh1708.github.io/kitbash/

💻 GitHub: https://github.com/singhharsh1708/kitbash

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Is this solving a real pain point?
What features would you expect from something like this?
If you use multiple AI coding assistants, would you install a tool like this?

DEV Community: Harsh Singh

I think AI coding assistants need an "npm" for reusable skills. I'm building one.