Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Google Skill Finder agent skill (finding-google-skills)
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The Google Skill Finder is an agent skill, a folder of instructions that an AI coding agent loads when a task matches its description. This one helps when you are choosing or setting up part of your stack, such as where to host a service, which database or storage to use, or how to serve an AI model, and a Google product is a reasonable option. This guide explains what the skill does, how to install it, how to trigger it, and what it needs to run.
Google Skill Findergoogle/skills · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it to get the finding-google-skills folder containing SKILL.md.
- 2Choose a location. Place the folder in ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or in a project's .claude/skills/ folder for a shared repository.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill.
- 4Check requirements. Confirm your shell can run curl, wget or PowerShell Invoke-RestMethod, and that raw.githubusercontent.com and api.github.com are reachable.
- 5Ask a platform question. Describe a stack decision or name a Google product or API in your request.
- 6Review the answer. Check that the reply cites a fetched catalog entry. If it says the catalog could not be reached, fix the network issue and retry.
What the Google Skill Finder makes the agent do
The skill tells the agent to fetch Google's online catalog of published skills, pick the few entries that fit your request, and follow them. The answer can then weigh Google options, their trade-offs, and cases where Google is not the right fit.
The skill does not contain Google's guidance itself. It routes to it, so the guidance you get is the current published text rather than the agent's memory.
- Covers decisions such as hosting, databases, storage, messaging, authentication, analytics, ads and AI model serving.
- Skips requests where the stack is already settled on another provider and no Google product is named.
- Requires a successful, verified fetch of the catalog. If that fails, the agent must say it could not reach the catalog.
Install the skill from the ZIP file
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it. The skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file. Place that folder in one of two locations, depending on how you want to use it.
For a personal setup available across your projects, put it in ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, put it in that project's .claude/skills/ folder so it is shared with anyone who works in that repository.
If you use the Claude apps instead of a local setup, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.
- Personal: ~/.claude/skills/finding-google-skills/
- Project: .claude/skills/finding-google-skills/ inside your repository
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills
~/.claude/skills/finding-google-skills/SKILL.mdTrigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. The agent loads the skill when your request matches its description. Describe the part of the stack you are deciding on, or name a Google product or API directly.
Requests that name a product or describe a platform choice work best. Vague requests about general coding may not trigger it at all.
- Which Google Cloud database fits a write-heavy app with global users?
- Set up Cloud Storage for user uploads and show me the setup steps.
- Should I host this API on Google Cloud Run or somewhere else?
- How do I use the Vertex AI model serving API from my Node service?
Check what the skill needs to run
The skill runs scripts and uses the network. The agent needs a shell that can run curl, wget or PowerShell Invoke-RestMethod, or Node.js as a fallback. jq is optional and helps the agent filter the catalog.
The machine must reach raw.githubusercontent.com and api.github.com. If your network blocks these hosts, or certificates cannot be verified, the skill will not produce a catalog-based answer.
- Shell: curl, wget or PowerShell Invoke-RestMethod (or Node.js as a fallback)
- Optional: jq for filtering the catalog
- Network access to raw.githubusercontent.com and api.github.com
Safety notes on scripts and network access
Because the skill runs commands and downloads content, read SKILL.md before installing it, especially if you are adding it to a shared project. The skill fetches the catalog from Google's GitHub repository and then follows the instructions in the matched skills.
The skill is strict about certificate errors. If a certificate check fails, the agent must treat the fetch as failed and must not turn verification off. That is intentional: an unverified catalog could carry instructions you did not expect.
- The fetch must be byte-exact and parse as JSON with a skills array.
- Certificate failures are final. The agent must not disable verification with curl -k, --insecure or -SkipCertificateCheck.
- The catalog is not kept between sessions, so each run fetches it fresh.
Tips for better results
Name the product or the decision in your request. The skill shortlists at most three catalog entries, so a specific request gets a more useful match than a broad one.
If the answer says it could not reach the catalog, check your network and try again. The agent will not fill the gap from memory and present it as a catalog result.
- Name the specific Google product or API when you know it.
- Describe the workload, such as traffic, data shape or latency needs, to help the agent weigh trade-offs.
- If the skill is not relevant, the agent will say no published Google skill applies and continue without one.
What people use it for
- Choosing between Google Cloud options for hosting a new backend service.
- Picking a database or storage product for an app with specific data needs.
- Getting current setup steps for a named Google API before writing integration code.
- Comparing a Google product against other providers and noting when Google is not the right fit.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the finding-google-skills agent skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it. Put the finding-google-skills folder in ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or in a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload it under Settings, Capabilities, Skills.
What does the Google Skill Finder require to run?
It needs a shell that can run curl, wget or PowerShell Invoke-RestMethod, or Node.js as a fallback. jq is optional. It also needs network access to raw.githubusercontent.com and api.github.com.
Is the Google Skill Finder free?
The source material for this page does not state pricing or licence terms beyond the Apache-2.0 licence listed for the item. Check the licence in the repository before using it in a commercial project.
Why does the skill say it could not reach the catalog?
The skill requires a successful, verified fetch of Google's catalog. If the network is blocked, a certificate cannot be verified, or the response is not valid JSON with a skills array, the agent must say the catalog was unavailable instead of guessing.
Can the skill work offline?
No. The skill depends on live content fetched from Google's repository, and it is not meant for fully offline or memory-only answers.
Does this skill replace a specific Google skill?
No. If a specific Google skill is already loaded and covers your request, the agent can use it directly. This skill is for finding the right published skill when you do not already have one.
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Our verdict
Use this skill if you are choosing or setting up Google Cloud or other Google products and want guidance pulled from Google's current published skills. Pick something else if your stack is already settled on another provider, your network blocks the required hosts, or you need answers that work offline.
Download the skill