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.
Run, 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.
developmentUse 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.
toolsMaintainer-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.
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.
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.
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? | | ------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------
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.
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.
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.
developmentCapture frames or clips from RTSP/ONVIF cameras.
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.
toolsLocal text-to-speech via sherpa-onnx (offline, no cloud)
devopsFetch 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]
documentationiMessage/SMS CLI for listing chats, history, and sending messages via Messages.app.
toolsUse the ClawHub CLI to search, install, update, and publish agent skills from clawhub.com. Use when you need to fetch new skills on the fly, sync installed skills to latest or a specific version, or publish new/updated skill folders with the npm-installed clawhub CLI.
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.
toolsExtract frames or short clips from videos using ffmpeg.
toolsRemote-control tmux sessions for interactive CLIs by sending keystrokes and scraping pane output.
toolsMaintain an Obsidian-friendly memory wiki vault with wikilinks, frontmatter, and official Obsidian CLI awareness.
toolsElevenLabs text-to-speech with mac-style say UX.
toolsManage Trello boards, lists, and cards via the Trello REST API.
development# 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
toolsSummarize or extract text/transcripts from URLs, podcasts, and local files (great fallback for “transcribe this YouTube/video”).
content-mediaTerminal Spotify playback/search via spogo (preferred) or spotify_player.
developmentLocal speech-to-text with the Whisper CLI (no API key).
toolsGoogle Workspace CLI for Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Contacts, Sheets, and Docs.
toolsSearch and analyze your own session logs (older/parent conversations) using jq.
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-aiSearch GIF providers with CLI/TUI, download results, and extract stills/sheets.
toolsFeishu knowledge base navigation. Activate when user mentions knowledge base, wiki, or wiki links.
documentationUse when you need to send or manage iMessages via BlueBubbles (recommended iMessage integration). Calls go through the generic message tool with channel="bluebubbles".
toolsInvestigate `pnpm test` memory growth, Vitest worker OOMs, and suspicious RSS increases in OpenClaw using the `scripts/test-parallel.mjs` heap snapshot tooling. Use when Codex needs to reproduce test-lane memory growth, collect repeated `.heapsnapshot` files, compare snapshots from the same worker PID, triage likely transformed-module retention versus likely runtime leaks, and fix or reduce the impact by patching cleanup logic or isolating hotspot tests.
toolsSend WhatsApp messages to other people or search/sync WhatsApp history via the wacli CLI (not for normal user chats).
toolsGet current weather and forecasts via wttr.in or Open-Meteo. Use when: user asks about weather, temperature, or forecasts for any location. NOT for: historical weather data, severe weather alerts, or detailed meteorological analysis. No API key needed.
developmentGitHub 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.
toolsUse when you need to control Slack from OpenClaw via the slack tool, including reacting to messages or pinning/unpinning items in Slack channels or DMs.
toolsBluOS CLI (blu) for discovery, playback, grouping, and volume.
toolsTranscribe audio via OpenAI Audio Transcriptions API (Whisper).
developmentTavily web search, content extraction, and research tools.
toolsFeishu document read/write operations. Activate when user mentions Feishu docs, cloud docs, or docx links.
devopsQQBot 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-mediaQQBot 定时提醒。支持一次性和周期性提醒的创建、查询、取消。当通过 QQ 通道通信且涉及提醒/定时任务时使用。
toolsManage 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.
toolsStart voice calls via the OpenClaw voice-call plugin.
toolsFeishu cloud storage file management. Activate when user mentions cloud space, folders, drive.
devopsQuery 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.
toolsControl Eight Sleep pods (status, temperature, alarms, schedules).
tools