Search Strategies — Skill Finder

Reference for skill finder, find skills, Skills.sh search, and ClawHub search requests.

Search Sources

Source	Search	Inspect	Install	Notes
`ClawHub Search`	`npx clawhub search "query"`	`npx clawhub inspect <slug>`	`npx clawhub install <slug>`	Best for curated registry results and built-in metadata
`Skills.sh Search`	`npx skills find [query]`	Inspect returned page/repo	`npx skills add <owner/repo@skill>`	Best for wider open-ecosystem discovery

Default mode is both. Search a single source only if ~/skill-finder/memory.md says sources: clawhub or sources: skills.sh, or the user overrides it.

Commands

# ClawHub
npx clawhub search "query"
npx clawhub search "react testing"
npx clawhub inspect <slug>
npx clawhub inspect <slug> --files  # see all files
npx clawhub install <slug>
npx clawhub explore
npx clawhub list

# Skills.sh / skills CLI
npx skills find
npx skills find react performance
npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills@frontend-design
npx skills list
npx skills check
npx skills update

Dual-Source Search Flow

For a new query:

Read ~/skill-finder/memory.md
Check Status.sources
If mode is both, search both ecosystems with the same intent
Compare the strongest matches together before recommending
Keep the source and exact install command attached to each result

Trigger Recognition

Search even when the user does not explicitly say "skill":

User signal	What it usually means
"How do I do X?"	A skill may already solve this
"Can you do this?"	Possible capability gap
"There must be a better way"	Search for a specialized workflow
"What should I install?"	Direct skill discovery request
"This current skill is weak"	Replacement search

Search by Need, Not Name

User says "I need help with PDFs" — don't just search "pdf".

Think about what they actually need:

User Need	Better Search
Edit PDFs	`npx clawhub search "pdf edit"` + `npx skills find pdf edit`
Create PDFs	`npx clawhub search "pdf create"` + `npx skills find pdf generate`
Extract from PDFs	`npx clawhub search "pdf extract"` + `npx skills find pdf parse`
Fill PDF forms	`npx clawhub search "pdf form"` + `npx skills find pdf form`

Expand Search Terms

If first search yields poor results:

Synonyms — edit → modify, create → generate, check → validate
Related tools — pdf → document, docx → word
Underlying task — "pdf form" → "form filling"
Domain name — "stripe payments" → just "stripe"

Interpret Results

Normalize each result into the same decision shape:

Source
Name / identifier
What it does
Install command
Quality signals

Typical signals:

ClawHub: name, description, downloads, author, update freshness
Skills.sh: returned install string, source repo, skills.sh page, and project reputation

Quick quality signals:

High downloads + recent update = well-maintained
Clear description = probably well-structured
Multiple skills by same author = established creator
Recognizable repo or maintainer = safer bet in Skills.sh
Vague description = likely low quality

Multiple Results Strategy

When several skills match:

Filter — Apply quality criteria (see evaluate.md)
Rank — By fit to specific need, not just downloads
Present top 3 — With reasoning for each
Pick a winner — Give a recommendation, not just options
Let user choose — Or ask clarifying questions

Example response:

Found 3 options for React testing:

react-testing (ClawHub) — focuses on component tests, 5k downloads

vercel-labs/agent-skills@frontend-design (Skills.sh) — broader frontend workflow guidance

testing (ClawHub) — general testing, includes React section

Which fits your project better?

Query Refinement

Situation	Action
Too many results	Add specificity: "python" → "python async"
No results	Broaden: "fastapi oauth2" → "api auth"
Wrong domain	Clarify: "testing" → "unit testing" vs "e2e testing"
Tool-specific	Try tool name directly: "stripe", "twilio"
One source is empty	Keep the other source, but say that only one ecosystem produced matches

Search Operators

The search is semantic (meaning-based), not keyword-exact.

"react hooks" finds skills about React patterns
"api testing" finds REST, GraphQL testing skills
"deploy docker" finds containerization + deployment

No special operators needed — describe what you want in natural language.

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