Skill Porter

VerifiedCaution

Converts Claude Code skills to Gemini CLI extensions and vice versa for cross-platform AI tool development.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
7/24/2026
Claude Code
#cross-platform#skill-conversion#claude-code#gemini-cli#mcp

Recommended for

Automated summary

This skill converts Claude Code skills into Gemini CLI extensions and vice versa while preserving metadata, MCP configurations, and documentation.

Strengths

  • Bidirectional conversion between SKILL.md (YAML) and gemini-extension.json (JSON)
  • Automatic source-platform detection based on directory structure
  • Intelligent inversion of tool restrictions: allowed-tools (whitelist) to excludeTools (blacklist)
  • Built-in validation steps (required files, YAML/JSON syntax, MCP path resolution)

Limitations

  • Only covers Claude Code and Gemini CLI, not other agent platforms
  • Some conversion steps, such as inferring the settings schema, may need manual follow-up
  • Output should be reviewed: the final report may list remaining manual steps
When to use it

Use it when an existing skill or extension must be made compatible with the other platform, or to build a universal version that runs on both.

When not to use it

Avoid it when targeting a platform other than Claude Code or Gemini CLI, or when writing a native skill with no migration involved.

Security analysis

Caution
Quality score82/100

The skill is legitimate and contains no destructive, exfiltration, or obfuscated instructions. It does rely on powerful tools for file conversion and optional repository operations, so it warrants caution rather than being completely risk-free.

Findings
  • •Declares Bash, Write, and Edit, allowing command execution and repository/file modification during conversion workflows.
  • •Converts Claude's allowed-tools whitelist to Gemini's excludeTools blacklist; if not mapped conservatively, this can weaken tool restrictions.
  • •Optional PR/fork generation implies git/network operations, though no malicious commands are specified.
How this analysis is made

Examples

Port a Claude skill to Gemini
Convert this Claude skill to work with Gemini CLI and validate the output.
Make a Gemini extension Claude-compatible
Make my Gemini extension compatible with Claude Code, keeping the MCP server config intact.
Universal skill
Create a universal version of the database-helper skill that works on both Claude Code and Gemini CLI.

name: skill-porter description: Converts Claude Code skills to Gemini CLI extensions and vice versa. Use when the user wants to make a skill cross-platform compatible, port a skill between platforms, or create a universal extension that works on both Claude Code and Gemini CLI. allowed-tools:

  • Read
  • Write
  • Edit
  • Glob
  • Grep
  • Bash

Skill Porter - Cross-Platform Skill Converter

This skill automates the conversion between Claude Code skills and Gemini CLI extensions, enabling true cross-platform AI tool development.

Core Capabilities

Bidirectional Conversion

Convert skills and extensions between platforms while preserving functionality:

Example requests:

  • "Convert this Claude skill to work with Gemini CLI"
  • "Make my Gemini extension compatible with Claude Code"
  • "Create a universal version of this skill that works on both platforms"
  • "Port the database-helper skill to Gemini"

Smart Platform Detection

Automatically analyzes directory structure to determine source platform:

Detection criteria:

  • Claude: Presence of SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter or .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
  • Gemini: Presence of gemini-extension.json or GEMINI.md context file
  • Universal: Has both platform configurations

Example requests:

  • "What platform is this skill built for?"
  • "Analyze this extension and tell me what needs to be converted"
  • "Is this a Claude skill or Gemini extension?"

Metadata Transformation

Intelligently converts between platform-specific formats:

Conversions handled:

  • YAML frontmatter ↔ JSON manifest
  • allowed-tools (whitelist) ↔ excludeTools (blacklist)
  • Environment variables ↔ settings schema
  • MCP server configuration paths
  • Platform-specific documentation formats

Example requests:

  • "Convert the metadata from this Claude skill to Gemini format"
  • "Transform the allowed-tools list to Gemini's exclude pattern"
  • "Generate a settings schema from these environment variables"

MCP Server Preservation

Maintains Model Context Protocol server configurations across platforms:

Example requests:

  • "Ensure the MCP server config works on both platforms"
  • "Update the MCP server paths for Gemini's ${extensionPath} variable"
  • "Validate that the MCP configuration is compatible"

Validation & Quality Checks

Ensures converted output meets platform requirements:

Validation checks:

  • Required files present (SKILL.md, gemini-extension.json, etc.)
  • Valid YAML/JSON syntax
  • Correct frontmatter structure
  • MCP server paths resolve correctly
  • Tool restrictions are valid
  • Settings schema is complete

Example requests:

  • "Validate this converted skill"
  • "Check if this Gemini extension meets all requirements"
  • "Is this conversion ready to install?"

Conversion Process

When you request a conversion, I will:

  1. Analyze the source directory structure
  2. Detect which platform it's built for
  3. Extract metadata, MCP configuration, and documentation
  4. Transform the data to target platform format
  5. Generate required files for target platform
  6. Validate output meets all requirements
  7. Report what was converted and any manual steps needed

Platform Differences Handled

File Structure

  • Claude: SKILL.md + .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
  • Gemini: GEMINI.md + gemini-extension.json
  • Universal: Both sets of files + shared documentation

Metadata Format

  • Claude: YAML frontmatter in SKILL.md
  • Gemini: JSON manifest file
  • Conversion: Bidirectional YAML ↔ JSON transformation

Tool Restrictions

  • Claude: allowed-tools (whitelist - only listed tools permitted)
  • Gemini: excludeTools (blacklist - listed patterns blocked)
  • Conversion: Logic inversion with intelligent mapping

Configuration

  • Claude: Environment variables (user sets before running)
  • Gemini: Settings schema (prompted during installation)
  • Conversion: Infer schema from env vars or generate env var docs

MCP Server Paths

  • Claude: Relative paths from skill directory
  • Gemini: Uses ${extensionPath} variable substitution
  • Conversion: Automatic path transformation

Usage Examples

Convert Claude Skill to Gemini

User: "I have a Claude skill at ./database-helper. Convert it to Gemini."
Claude: I'll analyze the skill and convert it to Gemini format...
- Detected Claude skill (found SKILL.md with frontmatter)
- Extracted metadata and MCP configuration
- Generated gemini-extension.json and GEMINI.md
- Transformed allowed-tools to excludeTools
- Created settings schema from environment variables
✓ Conversion complete! Ready to install with: gemini extensions install ./database-helper

Convert Gemini Extension to Claude

User: "Port my Gemini extension to Claude Code"
Claude: I'll convert this Gemini extension to a Claude skill...
- Detected Gemini extension (found gemini-extension.json)
- Extracted manifest and context file
- Generated SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter
- Created .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
- Converted excludeTools to allowed-tools
✓ Conversion complete! Install with: cp -r ./extension ~/.claude/skills/

Create Universal Extension

User: "Make this skill work on both platforms"
Claude: I'll create a universal extension structure...
- Analyzing current configuration
- Generating both Claude and Gemini files
- Moving shared content to shared/ directory
- Updating MCP server paths for both platforms
✓ Universal extension created! Works with both Claude Code and Gemini CLI

Advanced Features

Pull Request Generation

Create a PR to add dual-platform support to the parent repository:

Example requests:

  • "Convert this skill and create a PR to add Gemini support"
  • "Generate a pull request with the universal version"

Fork and Dual Setup

Create a fork with both platform configurations:

Example requests:

  • "Fork this repo and set it up for both platforms"
  • "Create a dual-platform fork I can use with both CLIs"

Validation Only

Check compatibility without converting:

Example requests:

  • "Validate this skill's conversion to Gemini"
  • "Check if this extension can be ported to Claude"
  • "What needs to change to make this universal?"

Configuration

This skill operates directly on filesystem directories and doesn't require external configuration. It uses:

  • File system access to read and write skill/extension files
  • Git operations for PR and fork features
  • GitHub CLI (gh) for repository operations

Safety Features

  • Non-destructive: Creates new files, doesn't modify source unless explicitly requested
  • Validation: Checks output before completion
  • Reporting: Clear summary of changes made
  • Rollback friendly: All changes are standard file operations

Limitations

Some aspects may require manual review:

  • Custom slash commands (platform-specific syntax)
  • Complex MCP server configurations with multiple servers
  • Platform-specific scripts that don't translate directly
  • Edge cases in tool restriction mapping

These will be flagged in the conversion report.

Technical Details

Tool Restriction Conversion

Claude → Gemini (Whitelist → Blacklist):

  • Analyze allowed-tools list
  • Generate exclude patterns for all other tools
  • Special handling for wildcard permissions

Gemini → Claude (Blacklist → Whitelist):

  • List all available tools
  • Remove excluded tools
  • Generate allowed-tools list

Settings Inference

When converting Claude → Gemini, environment variables in MCP config become settings:

// MCP env var
"env": { "DB_HOST": "${DB_HOST}" }

// Becomes Gemini setting
"settings": [{
  "name": "DB_HOST",
  "description": "Database host",
  "default": "localhost"
}]

Path Transformation

Claude uses relative paths, Gemini uses variables:

// Claude
"args": ["mcp-server/index.js"]

// Gemini
"args": ["${extensionPath}/mcp-server/index.js"]

For implementation details, see the repository at https://github.com/jduncan-rva/skill-porter

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/skill-porter-mryiqg18/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/skill-porter-mryiqg18' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/skill-porter-mryiqg18/download' --output '.skill-downloads/skill-porter-mryiqg18/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/skill-porter-mryiqg18/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/skill-porter-mryiqg18/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/skill-porter-mryiqg18/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/skill-porter-mryiqg18/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/skill-porter' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/skill-porter-mryiqg18' '.claude/skills/skill-porter'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/skill-porter-mryiqg18'

openskills read 'skill-porter-mryiqg18'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/skill-porter-mryiqg18/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

Related skills