Claude Code and Cursor are the two most popular AI coding tools in 2026, and both support SKILL.md instruction files. But how do they compare when it comes to agent skills?
This comparison breaks down skill file formats, discovery methods, security scanning support, and marketplace availability between the two platforms. We also show you which skills work with both tools and which are platform-specific.
The good news: most SKILL.md files are cross-platform. A skill written for Claude Code will work in Cursor and vice versa — the open standard ensures interoperability.
Maintainer-only workflow for handling GitHub Secret Scanning alerts on OpenClaw. Use when Codex needs to triage, redact, clean up, and resolve secret leakage found in issue comments, issue bodies, PR comments, or other GitHub content.
developmentEnd-to-end Parallels smoke, upgrade, and rerun workflow for OpenClaw across macOS, Windows, and Linux guests. Use when Codex needs to run, rerun, debug, or interpret VM-based install, onboarding, gateway smoke tests, latest-release-to-main upgrade checks, fresh snapshot retests, or optional Discord roundtrip verification under Parallels.
developmentMaintainer workflow for OpenClaw releases, prereleases, changelog release notes, and publish validation. Use when Codex needs to prepare or verify stable or beta release steps, align version naming, assemble release notes, check release auth requirements, or validate publish-time commands and artifacts.
developmentRun, watch, debug, and extend OpenClaw QA testing with qa-lab and qa-channel. Use when Codex needs to execute the repo-backed QA suite, inspect live QA artifacts, debug failing scenarios, add new QA scenarios, or explain the OpenClaw QA workflow. Prefer the live OpenAI lane with regular openai/gpt-5.4 in fast mode; do not use gpt-5.4-pro or gpt-5.4-mini unless the user explicitly overrides that policy.
development# Lobster Lobster executes multi-step workflows with approval checkpoints. Use it when: - User wants a repeatable automation (triage, monitor, sync) - Actions need human approval before executing (send, post, delete) - Multiple tool calls should run as one deterministic operation ## When to use Lobster | User intent | Use Lobster? | | ------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------
toolsUse when work should span one or more detached tasks but still behave like one job with a single owner context. TaskFlow is the durable flow substrate under authoring layers like Lobster, ACPX, plugins, or plain code. Keep conditional logic in the caller; use TaskFlow for flow identity, child-task linkage, waiting state, revision-checked mutations, and user-facing emergence.
toolsExample TaskFlow authoring pattern for inbox triage. Use when messages need different treatment based on intent, with some routes notifying immediately, some waiting on outside answers, and others rolling into a later summary.
data-aiEnd-to-end Parallels smoke, upgrade, and rerun workflow for OpenClaw across macOS, Windows, and Linux guests. Use when Codex needs to run, rerun, debug, or interpret VM-based install, onboarding, gateway smoke tests, latest-release-to-main upgrade checks, fresh snapshot retests, or optional Discord roundtrip verification under Parallels.
developmentMaintainer workflow for OpenClaw releases, prereleases, changelog release notes, and publish validation. Use when Codex needs to prepare or verify stable or beta release steps, align version naming, assemble release notes, check release auth requirements, or validate publish-time commands and artifacts.
developmentMaintainer-only workflow for handling GitHub Secret Scanning alerts on OpenClaw. Use when Codex needs to triage, redact, clean up, and resolve secret leakage found in issue comments, issue bodies, PR comments, or other GitHub content.
development# Lobster Lobster executes multi-step workflows with approval checkpoints. Use it when: - User wants a repeatable automation (triage, monitor, sync) - Actions need human approval before executing (send, post, delete) - Multiple tool calls should run as one deterministic operation ## When to use Lobster | User intent | Use Lobster? | | ------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------
toolsRun, watch, debug, and extend OpenClaw QA testing with qa-lab and qa-channel. Use when Codex needs to execute the repo-backed QA suite, inspect live QA artifacts, debug failing scenarios, add new QA scenarios, or explain the OpenClaw QA workflow. Prefer the live OpenAI lane with regular openai/gpt-5.4 in fast mode; do not use gpt-5.4-pro or gpt-5.4-mini unless the user explicitly overrides that policy.
developmentWork with Obsidian vaults (plain Markdown notes) and automate via obsidian-cli.
tools# Canvas Skill Display HTML content on connected OpenClaw nodes (Mac app, iOS, Android). ## Overview The canvas tool lets you present web content on any connected node's canvas view. Great for: - Displaying games, visualizations, dashboards - Showing generated HTML content - Interactive demos ## How It Works ### Architecture ``` ┌─────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │ Canvas Host │────▶│ Node Bridge │────▶│ Node App │ │ (HTTP Server) │ │ (TCP
toolsUse when work should span one or more detached tasks but still behave like one job with a single owner context. TaskFlow is the durable flow substrate under authoring layers like Lobster, ACPX, plugins, or plain code. Keep conditional logic in the caller; use TaskFlow for flow identity, child-task linkage, waiting state, revision-checked mutations, and user-facing emergence.
toolsRun the macOS Parallels smoke harness with Discord end-to-end roundtrip verification, including guest send, host verification, host reply, and guest readback.
databasesQuery Google Places API (New) via the goplaces CLI for text search, place details, resolve, and reviews. Use for human-friendly place lookup or JSON output for scripts.
toolsFetch GitHub issues, spawn sub-agents to implement fixes and open PRs, then monitor and address PR review comments. Usage: /gh-issues [owner/repo] [--label bug] [--limit 5] [--milestone v1.0] [--assignee @me] [--fork user/repo] [--watch] [--interval 5] [--reviews-only] [--cron] [--dry-run] [--model glm-5] [--notify-channel -1002381931352]
documentationTranscribe audio via OpenAI Audio Transcriptions API (Whisper).
developmentSet up and use 1Password CLI (op). Use when installing the CLI, enabling desktop app integration, signing in (single or multi-account), or reading/injecting/running secrets via op.
toolsNotion API for creating and managing pages, databases, and blocks.
developmentManage Things 3 via the `things` CLI on macOS (add/update projects+todos via URL scheme; read/search/list from the local Things database). Use when a user asks OpenClaw to add a task to Things, list inbox/today/upcoming, search tasks, or inspect projects/areas/tags.
toolsUse CodexBar CLI local cost usage to summarize per-model usage for Codex or Claude, including the current (most recent) model or a full model breakdown. Trigger when asked for model-level usage/cost data from codexbar, or when you need a scriptable per-model summary from codexbar cost JSON.
toolsTerminal Spotify playback/search via spogo (preferred) or spotify_player.
developmentSearch GIF providers with CLI/TUI, download results, and extract stills/sheets.
toolsGitHub operations via `gh` CLI: issues, PRs, CI runs, code review, API queries. Use when: (1) checking PR status or CI, (2) creating/commenting on issues, (3) listing/filtering PRs or issues, (4) viewing run logs. NOT for: complex web UI interactions requiring manual browser flows (use browser tooling when available), bulk operations across many repos (script with gh api), or when gh auth is not configured.
toolsManage Apple Reminders via remindctl CLI (list, add, edit, complete, delete). Supports lists, date filters, and JSON/plain output.
toolsQQBot 富媒体收发能力。使用 <qqmedia> 标签,系统根据文件扩展名自动识别类型(图片/语音/视频/文件)。
content-mediaUse the diffs tool to produce real, shareable diffs (viewer URL, file artifact, or both) instead of manual edit summaries.
toolsManage Trello boards, lists, and cards via the Trello REST API.
developmentElevenLabs text-to-speech with mac-style say UX.
toolsCapture frames or clips from RTSP/ONVIF cameras.
toolsExample TaskFlow authoring pattern for inbox triage. Use when messages need different treatment based on intent, with some routes notifying immediately, some waiting on outside answers, and others rolling into a later summary.
data-aiLocal speech-to-text with the Whisper CLI (no API key).
toolsRemote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output.
toolsRoute plain-language requests for Pi, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, OpenClaw ACP, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Qwen, Kiro, Kimi, iFlow, Factory Droid, Kilocode, or ACP harness work into either OpenClaw ACP runtime sessions or direct acpx-driven sessions ("telephone game" flow). For coding-agent thread requests, read this skill first, then use only `sessions_spawn` for thread creation.
toolsControl Eight Sleep pods (status, temperature, alarms, schedules).
toolsDelegate coding tasks to Codex, Claude Code, or Pi agents via background process. Use when: (1) building/creating new features or apps, (2) reviewing PRs (spawn in temp dir), (3) refactoring large codebases, (4) iterative coding that needs file exploration. NOT for: simple one-liner fixes (just edit), reading code (use read tool), thread-bound ACP harness requests in chat (for example spawn/run Codex or Claude Code in a Discord thread; use sessions_spawn with runtime:"acp"), or any work in ~/clawd workspace (never spawn agents here). Claude Code: use --print --permission-mode bypassPermissions (no PTY). Codex/Pi/OpenCode: pty:true required.
toolsGoogle Workspace CLI for Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Contacts, Sheets, and Docs.
toolsExtract frames or short clips from videos using ffmpeg.
toolsSend WhatsApp messages to other people or search/sync WhatsApp history via the wacli CLI (not for normal user chats).
toolsCapture and automate macOS UI with the Peekaboo CLI.
toolsControl Sonos speakers (discover/status/play/volume/group).
toolsFeishu knowledge base navigation. Activate when user mentions knowledge base, wiki, or wiki links.
documentationControl Philips Hue lights and scenes via the OpenHue CLI.
toolsManage Apple Notes via the `memo` CLI on macOS (create, view, edit, delete, search, move, and export notes). Use when a user asks OpenClaw to add a note, list notes, search notes, or manage note folders.
toolsGemini CLI for one-shot Q&A, summaries, and generation.
toolsTriage GitHub security advisories for OpenClaw with high-confidence close/keep decisions, exact tag and commit verification, trust-model checks, optional hardening notes, and a final reply ready to post and copy to clipboard.
toolsGenerate spectrograms and feature-panel visualizations from audio with the songsee CLI.
toolsTavily web search, content extraction, and research tools.
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