Comparison
skills vs agents
Verdict
Pick skills if nVIDIA publishes specific AI coding skills for client agents via the skills CLI with support for multiple agents; pick agents if the agents tool is a marketplace for plugins that enhances multiple AI agents, offering integration and management capabilities across several platforms, including Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot.
Markdown twin · skills alternatives · agents alternatives
GraphCanon updated 6d
Trust & integrity
| Signal | skills | agents |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (0d since push) As of 2w · github_public_v1 | Very active (1d since push) As of 6d · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of 2w · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Personal account As of 6d · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- skills
- AI agent skills published by NVIDIA
- agents
- Multi-harness agentic plugin marketplace for various AI agents
Stars
- skills
- 2.8k
- agents
- 39k
Forks
- skills
- 325
- agents
- 4.1k
Open issues
- skills
- 15
- agents
- 5
Language
- skills
- Python
- agents
- Python
Adopt for
- skills
- NVIDIA publishes specific AI coding skills for client agents via the skills CLI with support for multiple agents.
- agents
- The agents tool is a marketplace for plugins that enhances multiple AI agents, offering integration and management capabilities across several platforms, including Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot
Persona
- skills
- -
- agents
- -
Runtime
- skills
- -
- agents
- -
License
- skills
- Other
- agents
- MIT
Last pushed
- skills
- Aug 5, 2026
- agents
- Aug 18, 2026
Categories
- skills
- AI Agents
- agents
- AI Agents, Developer Tools
Trust and health
Days since push
- skills
- 0d
- agents
- 1d
Open issues (now)
- skills
- 15
- agents
- 5
Stars delta
- skills
- Unknown
- agents
- +860 (30d)
Open issues delta
- skills
- Unknown
- agents
- +2 (30d)
Owner type
- skills
- Organization
- agents
- User
Full report
- skills
- Trust report
- agents
- Trust report
Shared compatibility
- Cursor · skills: Works with Cursor · agents: Works with Cursor
Choose skills if…
- License: skills is Other, agents is MIT.
- Tags unique to skills: ai agent skills, claude-code, codex, cursor.
- If you need to install NVIDIA-published numerical optimization skills
When NOT to use skills
- Not recommended for projects requiring skills that are not published by NVIDIA
- Avoid if your work does not involve any of the supported client agents like Codex or Cursor
Choose agents if…
- License: agents is MIT, skills is Other.
- Tags unique to agents: agent-skills, agentic-ai, automation, prompt-engineering.
- Also covers Developer Tools.
- You are working specifically within the ecosystems of Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot, or Gemini CLI, as it provides tailored plugins for these environments
When NOT to use agents
- You are working solely within a niche environment that isn't one of the supported platforms (like Claude Code, Codex CLI, etc.) because it may not offer compatible plugins or extensive support
- Your project requirements do not include interoperability between multiple AI agents and you only need to leverage functionalities from a single AI agent with a robust in-built plugin ecosystem
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (NVIDIA/skills) · observed Aug 6, 2026
- GitHub forks (NVIDIA/skills) · observed Aug 6, 2026
- Last push (NVIDIA/skills) · observed Aug 5, 2026
- License file (Other) · observed Aug 6, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub stars (wshobson/agents) · observed Aug 19, 2026
- GitHub forks (wshobson/agents) · observed Aug 19, 2026
- Last push (wshobson/agents) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- License file (MIT) · observed Aug 19, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: skills 2.8k · agents 39k (synced Aug 6, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between skills and agents?
- skills: AI agent skills published by NVIDIA. agents: Multi-harness agentic plugin marketplace for various AI agents. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose skills over agents?
- Choose skills over agents when License: skills is Other, agents is MIT; Tags unique to skills: ai agent skills, claude-code, codex, cursor; If you need to install NVIDIA-published numerical optimization skills.
- When should I choose agents over skills?
- Choose agents over skills when License: agents is MIT, skills is Other; Tags unique to agents: agent-skills, agentic-ai, automation, prompt-engineering; Also covers Developer Tools; You are working specifically within the ecosystems of Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot, or Gemini CLI, as it provides tailored plugins for these environments.
- When should I avoid skills?
- Not recommended for projects requiring skills that are not published by NVIDIA Avoid if your work does not involve any of the supported client agents like Codex or Cursor
- When should I avoid agents?
- You are working solely within a niche environment that isn't one of the supported platforms (like Claude Code, Codex CLI, etc.) because it may not offer compatible plugins or extensive support Your project requirements do not include interoperability between multiple AI agents and you only need to leverage functionalities from a single AI agent with a robust in-built plugin ecosystem
- Is skills or agents more popular on GitHub?
- agents has more GitHub stars (38,928 vs 2,798). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are skills and agents open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (skills: Other, agents: MIT).
- Where can I find alternatives to skills or agents?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at skills alternatives and agents alternatives (skills markdown twin, agents markdown twin), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes.
- Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison?
- Yes. The markdown twin at this comparison mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, skills or agents?
- skills: Very active. agents: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance.
- Where are the full trust reports for skills and agents?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: skills trust report; agents trust report.