When I add a GitHub repository as a Remote Rule in Cursor, the repository is accepted and saved under Settings → Rules → Project Rules, but the skills from that repo do not appear under Settings → Skills.
The same skill works correctly when copied locally into the project, so this appears to be a problem with remote rule fetching / indexing / skill discovery, not with the skill format itself. Skills are also unavailable in the chat.
Public skill repo:
Already verified:
• .agents/skills/SKILL.md structure is correct
• folder name matches name frontmatter
• name and description are present
• repo is public
• local copy of the exact same skill works
• only remote import fails to show
Steps to Reproduce
Open Cursor.
Go to Settings → Rules
Click Add Rule → Remote Rule (GitHub).
Add the public skill repo.
Confirm the remote rule is saved successfully.
Restart Cursor fully.
Re-open the workspace.
Check Settings → Rules → Agent Decides.
Check ~.cursor/projects/…-workspace/skills/
Expected Behavior
Skills from the remote repo should be discovered and listed under Skills, the same way they are when the exact same skills are present locally under .agents/skills/…
Hey, thanks for the detailed report. This is a known issue with skill discovery from Remote Rules on GitHub. The import itself works and the repo gets cloned, but the skills don’t show up properly in the Skills section.
Here are a couple of things you can check as a workaround:
After importing, check ~/.cursor/projects/<workspace-slug>/skills/ and confirm the repo was actually cloned there.
If it was cloned but the skills still don’t show up, the most reliable workaround right now is what you’re already doing. Copy the skills locally into .agents/skills/ or .cursor/skills/ in your project.
The team is aware of this issue. Your report helps with prioritization, especially since you confirmed the same skills work locally, which clearly points to the remote import flow.
Thanks for the follow-up. I’ve checked ~/.cursor/projects//skills/ and the repo is cloned there correctly (screenshot attached), so the clone step works fine — the skills just aren’t surfacing in the UI from there.
For now I’ll stick with the local copy workaround. Good to know it’s on the team’s radar. Happy to test a fix when one lands.
Hi, I can confirm I’m having the same issue as well. In short, I’m unable to use Team Rules for common rule distribution so being able to leverage remote rule via GitHub imports would be extremely helpful.
same issue here - I added a github repo but the skills while listed are not considered
here’s what the agent had to say about it
Searching how Cursor loads skills from GitHub and whether they’re automatically available to the agent.
Locating the produzione-release-workflow skill in the Produzione-KnowledgeBase:
Here’s what seems to be going on.
The gap
Cursor’s docs say it discovers skills from:
.agents/skills/
.cursor/skills/
~/.cursor/skills/
GitHub repositories (when you add them via Settings → Rules → Add from GitHub)
For GitHub skills, Cursor stores them somewhere in its project cache (e.g. under .cursor/projects/.../skills/Produzione-KnowledgeBase/), so it has the content.
But in my system context I only see:
The 5 built‑in skills from ~/.cursor/skills-cursor/ (create-rule, create-skill, update-cursor-settings, etc.)
Project rules (e.g. rq-tab-upgrade), which I’m told to “fetch” when needed
I do not see any list of Produzione skills (produzione-release-workflow, produzione-database, etc.) or instructions on where to load them from.
Why they’re not effective
Right now it looks like:
Cursor discovers and shows GitHub skills in the UI.
The agent context does not reliably include them (or a way to fetch them).
So GitHub skills may appear in the Skills list, but the model isn’t explicitly told they exist or where to read them.
That can make them effectively unused unless you manually reference them (e.g. /produzione-release-workflow), which might force them into context.
Practical workarounds
Until this behaves more consistently, you could:
Clone the Produzione skills into the project
Add them under .cursor/skills/ or .agents/skills/ in ExcelTitleSearch so Cursor picks them up from the standard skill dirs.
Use manual invocation
Start requests with /produzione-release-workflow (or another skill) so Cursor loads that skill when you ask.
Add a project rule
Create a rule (e.g. .cursor/rules/produzione-release.mdc) that points to or summarizes the release workflow, so it’s part of your project rules and easier for the agent to use.
Report it
This looks like a gap between “Skills from GitHub” in the UI and what the agent actually receives; worth reporting in Cursor’s feedback or forums.
This is pretty crucial behavior I’d like to have a solution!
@dcjnk, nice breakdown. You got it right: the repo clones, skills can show up in the UI, but they don’t get added to the agent context. That’s the exact gap the team is aware of.
Until a fix is ready, the workaround is still the same:
Copy the skills locally into .agents/skills/ or .cursor/skills/ inside the project.
For team distribution @Carl_Dell, one option is to add the skills repo as a git submodule in the project so they’re picked up from local directories.
