Agent Skill Kit Ask

🚀 Agent-Skill-Kit (ASK) v2.0

A local-first skills framework for AI agents that offers zero API keys, zero signups, and zero friction. It's agent-native, MCP-ready, and full of life.

🚀 Quick Start

🚀 Today's Agent Intelligence

Last Updated: March 12, 2026

📊 Top 5 Trending Tech Stories

• #1. 3D-Knitting: The Ultimate Guide
  • 🔗 Read on HackerNews
  • 👤 By ChadNauseam | 📈 39 points | 💬 12 comments
• #2. SBCL: A Sanely-Bootstrappable Common Lisp (2008) [pdf]
  • 🔗 Read on HackerNews
  • 👤 By pabs3 | 📈 38 points | 💬 15 comments
• #3. Show HN: s@: decentralized social networking over static sites
  • 🔗 Read on HackerNews
  • 👤 By remywang | 📈 271 points | 💬 119 comments
• #4. Temporal: The 9-year journey to fix time in JavaScript
  • 🔗 Read on HackerNews
  • 👤 By robpalmer | 📈 675 points | 💬 211 comments
• #5. Printf-Tac-Toe
  • 🔗 Read on HackerNews
  • 👤 By carlos-menezes | 📈 16 points | 💬 1 comments

This section is auto-updated daily with trending tech intelligence.

✨ Features

⚡ What is ASK?

Agent-Skill-Kit is a modern, AI-native framework that endows agents (Claude, Copilot, custom bots) with local, keyless superpowers through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

ASK provides self-contained skills that run on your machine using:

• ✅ Local logic only (no cloud required)
• ✅ FREE public APIs (no auth, no keys)
• ✅ MCP Integration (native agent support)
• ✅ Beautiful Live CLI (professional TUI)
• ✅ YAML manifests (easy skill discovery)
• ✅ Dynamic skill generation (The Architect)

Think of it as a "turbo-charged plugin system for AI agents—2026 edition."

📦 Installation

⚡ Quick Start (30 seconds)

# Install from GitHub
pip install git+https://github.com/HughKnightOCE/Agent-Skill-Kit-ASK-.git

# View available skills  
ask dashboard

# Run a skill
ask run tech-pulse
ask run repo-visualizer
ask run architect "Your idea"

That's it! No .env files. No API key hunting. No OAuth redirects.

📥 Installation Options

Choose the option that fits your needs:

Option 1: pip Package - Recommended (Works everywhere)

Best for: All users (Windows, Mac, Linux)

# Install from GitHub
pip install git+https://github.com/HughKnightOCE/Agent-Skill-Kit-ASK-.git

# Or install from wheel file
pip install agent_skill_kit-2.0.0-py3-none-any.whl

# Then use the global command
ask dashboard
ask run tech-pulse
ask run repo-visualizer

Option 2: Source Installation - Best for Contributors

Best for: Developers, customization, contributing

git clone https://github.com/HughKnightOCE/Agent-Skill-Kit-ASK-.git
cd Agent-Skill-Kit-ASK-
pip install -e .

# Use the global command
ask dashboard
ask run architect "Convert CSV to JSON"

Option 3: Desktop GUI - Modern Interface

Best for: Visual users, no command-line needed

# Install with GUI support
pip install git+https://github.com/HughKnightOCE/Agent-Skill-Kit-ASK-.git

# Launch the beautiful desktop application
ask-gui

This opens a professional PyQt6 desktop application with:

• 🎨 Modern, intuitive interface
• 🔍 Skill browser and search
• 📊 Real-time execution dashboard
• 📜 Execution history tracking
• ⚡ One-click skill execution with argument forms

Learn more about the GUI →

Option 4: Run Source Directly - No Installation

Best for: Quick testing, trying it out

git clone https://github.com/HughKnightOCE/Agent-Skill-Kit-ASK-.git
cd Agent-Skill-Kit-ASK-

# Run directly via CLI
ask dashboard
ask run tech-pulse
ask run architect "Your skill description"

# Or launch GUI (requires PyQt6)
pip install PyQt6
ask-gui

Option 5: Standalone Executable - Zero Dependencies

Best for: No Python installed, portable use

Download pre-built executables from Releases:

• Windows: ask-gui.exe - Double-click to run
• macOS: ask-gui - Run from terminal
• Linux: ask-gui - Run from terminal

No Python installation required!

Windows Command Prompt Troubleshooting

If ask doesn't work in Command Prompt (cmd), use one of these alternatives:

Option A: Use PowerShell instead (Recommended)

ask dashboard
ask run tech-pulse
ask-gui  # GUI also works great in PowerShell

Option B: Use Python directly (Works everywhere)

python -m core.ask dashboard
python -m core.ask run tech-pulse

Option C: Add Scripts to PATH manually

setx PATH "%PATH%;%APPDATA%\Python\Python314\Scripts"

Then restart Command Prompt and try ask again.

💻 Usage Examples

🎯 Four Zero-Config Skills

1. Repo-Visualizer 📊

Generates Mermaid.js class diagrams of your project structure instantly.

ask run repo-visualizer /path/to/project

Output: A clean Mermaid diagram ready to paste into documentation or feed to AI agents.

graph TD
    Root["MyProject"]
    Root --> skills["📁 skills"]
    Root --> core["📁 core"]
    skills --> visualizer["📁 repo-visualizer"]

2. Agent-Identity 🎭

Generates a unique SVG avatar for your project using the free DiceBear API.

ask run agent-identity "Agent-Skill-Kit"

Output: A beautiful, deterministic SVG avatar saved to disk and displayed.

<svg viewBox="0 0 100 100" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
  <!-- Unique avatar based on project name -->
</svg>

3. Tech-Pulse 🔥

Fetches top 5 trending tech stories from HackerNews so your AI agent stays contextually aware.

ask run tech-pulse

Output: Markdown-formatted stories with links, scores, and comment counts.

#1. Breakthrough in AI Reasoning Model
- 🔗 URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item/...
- 👤 Author: username
- 📈 Score: 1,234 | 💬 Comments: 456

4. The Architect 🏗️

NEW! Generate new skills from descriptions. The Architect creates starter templates automatically.

ask run architect "Analyze code complexity"

Output: A complete skill directory with script.py and manifest.yaml.

📚 Documentation

🎯 The Philosophy: Agent-Native + MCP-Ready

ASK is built specifically for AI agents. Each skill outputs:

1. Clean Markdown (AI-readable format)
2. Structured data (JSON, YAML in comments)
3. Minimal noise (no interactive prompts)
4. Error handling (graceful failures)

Perfect for:

• 🤖 Claude Code - MCP integration for native skill access
• 🧠 GitHub Copilot CLI - Custom MCP commands
• 🔧 Custom agents - Extend with dynamic skill generation
• 📡 LLM chains - Multi-step workflows without external APIs
• 🏗️ AI frameworks - Drop-in MCP server for any agent

🔧 CLI Manager: ask (2026 Edition)

The high-performance TUI with ASK-2026 styling and live displays.

# Dashboard with system health (NEW!)
ask dashboard

# Run a skill with live progress
ask run <skill-name> [args...]

# System diagnostics
ask doctor

# Help
ask help

Features:

• ✨ ASCII art banner (ASK-2026)
• 📊 System health dashboard (Python version, Git status, dependencies)
• 🎬 Live progress spinners
• 🎨 Professional color-coded output

🌐 MCP Server Integration (NEW!)

Expose all skills as native MCP tools:

from core.mcp_gateway import SkillMCPServer

# Claude, Copilot, and other agents see skills as native tools
server = SkillMCPServer()
await server.run()

Claude can now:

User: "Use the repo-visualizer tool to analyze my project"
Claude: [invokes repo-visualizer via MCP] → sees complete output

🏗️ The Architect: Generate New Skills (NEW!)

Turn ideas into skills instantly:

# Create from natural language
ask run architect "Convert YAML to JSON"

# Output:
# ✅ Created: skills/convert-yaml-to-json/
# ✅ Created: script.py
# ✅ Created: manifest.yaml
# 🚀 Next: Edit and run your new skill!

💫 Living README (NEW!)

This README is automatically updated every 24 hours with trending tech intelligence via GitHub Actions. The "Today's Agent Intelligence" section proves ASK is:

• ✅ Alive and functional
• ✅ Running real workflows
• ✅ Connected to real data
• ✅ Production-grade

🔧 CLI Manager: ask.py

The Rust-inspired TUI powered by rich.

📁 Project Structure

Agent-Skill-Kit/
├── core/
│   └── ask.py                 # ⭐ Main CLI manager
├── skills/
│   ├── repo-visualizer/
│   │   ├── script.py          # Implementation
│   │   └── manifest.yaml      # Metadata
│   ├── agent-identity/
│   │   ├── script.py
│   │   └── manifest.yaml
│   └── tech-pulse/
│       ├── script.py
│       └── manifest.yaml
├── README.md                  # You are here
├── requirements.txt           # Dependencies
└── .github/
    └── workflows/             # CI/CD (optional)

🛠️ Dependencies

Minimal and lightweight:

PyYAML>=6.0        # For manifest parsing
rich>=12.0         # For beautiful CLI

Installation:

pip install -r requirements.txt

🤝 Contributing: Add Your Own Skill

ASK is designed for community contributions. Creating a skill takes 5 minutes.

Skill Template

Each skill needs:

1. script.py - The logic
2. manifest.yaml - Metadata

Step 1: Create the Skill Directory

mkdir -p skills/my-awesome-skill
cd skills/my-awesome-skill

Step 2: Write script.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""My awesome skill that does X without any API key."""

def main(arg1, arg2=None):
    """Main execution function."""
    print("🎉 My skill output")
    print("✅ Ready for AI agents!")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    import sys
    arg1 = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "default"
    main(arg1)

Step 3: Write manifest.yaml

name: My Awesome Skill
version: "1.0.0"
description: "Does X without requiring any API keys"

author: "Your Name"
category: "utility"

requirements:
  - name: "python"
    version: ">=3.8"

api_keys_required: false
dependencies: []

usage:
  command: "python script.py"
  args_required:
    - name: "arg1"
      description: "Description of argument"

output_format: "markdown"

tags:
  - "keyless"
  - "local"

Step 4: Test It

python ../core/ask.py dashboard
python ../core/ask.py run my-awesome-skill

Step 5: Submit a PR

We love contributions! Submit a PR with:

• ✅ Working skill code
• ✅ Proper manifest.yaml
• ✅ Usage example in description
• ✅ No external API keys required

🎁 Use Cases

For Individual Developers

# Morning ritual: Check tech news while coding
python ask.py run tech-pulse

# Visualize your codebase for documentation
python ask.py run repo-visualizer

For AI Agents (Claude Code, Copilot CLI)

# In your agent flow
subprocess.run(["python", "ask.py", "run", "repo-visualizer"])
# Parse the Mermaid output and feed to LLM

For Teams

# Onboarding: Generate project overview
python ask.py run repo-visualizer /monorepo/service-a

# Team branding: Create consistent avatar
python ask.py run agent-identity "TeamName"

🔐 Security & Privacy

• ✅ All processing is local - No data leaves your machine (except API calls)
• ✅ No authentication required - Zero credentials to manage
• ✅ Open source - Review the code, audit the logic
• ✅ Minimal dependencies - Less code = less risk

📊 Roadmap

• [ ] More skills:
  • code-metrics: Analyze code complexity
  • dependency-graph: Visualize package dependencies
  • api-docs-generator: Auto-generate OpenAPI specs
• [ ] Skill marketplace: Discover community skills
• [ ] Skill templates: One-click skill generation
• [ ] Agent integrations: Official Claude Code plugin
• [ ] Performance: Caching layer for API calls

🐛 Troubleshooting

"ImportError: No module named 'rich'"

pip install rich pyyaml

"Skill not found"

ask dashboard  # Check installed skills

"API call failed"

Some free APIs have rate limits. Try again in a few seconds.

📄 License

MIT License - Free to use, modify, and distribute.

🌟 Show Your Support

• ⭐ Star this repo if you find it useful
• 🔗 Share it with other developers building AI tools
• 📝 Contribute skills for the community
• 💬 Open issues with feature requests

🤖 Made for Agents, By Developers

Agent-Skill-Kit is built with the belief that AI agents should have powerful, local tools without the friction of OAuth, API keys, and sign-ups.

Whether you're building a personal automation tool, a team assistant, or integrating with Claude Code, ASK is your zero-friction gateway to local intelligence.

Built with ❤️ for the AI-native future.

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█ Agent-Skill-Kit: Local Power. Zero Keys. Pure Joy. █
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