Agent Skills Tool Comparison 2026: Claude Code, Codex CLI, Copilot & More

More tools support Agent Skills now, but "which one should I use?" remains a common question.

Honestly, there's no perfect tool. Each has strengths and weaknesses, and the best choice depends on your use case and budget.

This article compares five major tools and their Agent Skills support to help you decide.

Tool Overview (January 2026)

Here's the current landscape of Agent Skills support:

Support status changes frequently. Check official documentation for the latest information.

Claude Code: Most Feature-Rich

Claude Code is developed by Anthropic, the creators of the Agent Skills standard. Naturally, it has the most complete feature set.

Key Features

• Subagent execution: Call other agents from within a skill
• Dynamic context injection: Embed shell command output into skills
• Extended Thinking: Write "ultrathink" in a skill to enable deep reasoning
• Custom slash commands: Invoke skills with /commandname

Skill Locations

Copy.claude/skills/       # Project-specific
~/.claude/skills/     # User-wide

Caveats

• Pay-per-use API, so watch your usage
• Claude-specific extensions won't work in other tools

Best For

• Developers who want cutting-edge features
• Teams automating complex workflows

Codex CLI: Simple and Accessible

OpenAI's Codex CLI is a command-line AI tool. Its built-in skill installer makes getting started easy.

Key Features

• Built-in skill installer: Install skills easily with /skills
• $ notation: Invoke skills with $skillname
• Config file management: Enable/disable skills in ~/.codex/config.toml

Skill Location

Copy~/.codex/skills/      # User-wide (any directory structure works)

Caveats

• Command-line only, no GUI
• Fewer extensions than Claude Code

Best For

• Developers who work primarily in the terminal
• Those who prefer simplicity

GitHub Copilot: Seamless VS Code Integration

GitHub Copilot added Agent Skills support in VS Code 1.108 (December 2025). For VS Code users, it requires no additional setup.

Key Features

• VS Code integration: Everything within the editor
• Copilot Chat: Use skills through chat interface
• Multi-environment: Works in VS Code, CLI, and coding agent

Skill Locations

Copy.github/skills/       # Project-specific (recommended)
.claude/skills/       # Backward compatibility
~/.copilot/skills/    # User-wide

Caveats

• Preview as of January 2026
• Requires enabling chat.useAgentSkills setting
• Requires paid plan (Individual $10/month+)

Best For

• VS Code users
• Those already paying for GitHub Copilot

Cursor: Powerful Agent Capabilities

Cursor is a VS Code-based editor with many custom AI features. Agent Skills are currently available only in Nightly builds.

Key Features

• 8 parallel agents: Run multiple tasks simultaneously
• MCP integration: Connect to Slack, Datadog, Sentry, and more
• Composer model: Custom high-speed coding model

Skill Location

Copy.cursor/skills/       # Project-specific

Caveats

• Agent Skills only in Nightly builds currently
• Stable release timeline unknown
• Costs $20/month+

Best For

• Developers wanting the latest AI features
• Those who need external tool integrations

Gemini CLI: Free Tier Available

Google's Gemini CLI started Agent Skills preview support in January 2026. Its free tier makes it easy to try.

Key Features

• Free tier: Test without cost commitment
• Google ecosystem: Good Google Cloud integration
• Claude converter: Tool to convert existing Claude skills

Skill Locations

Copy.gemini/skills/       # Project-specific (workspace skills)
~/.gemini/skills/     # User-wide

Caveats

• Preview as of January 2026
• Still collecting feedback
• More limited features than other tools

Best For

• Those wanting to try for free
• Teams using Google Cloud

How to Choose

Decision Factors

The best tool depends on your situation. Consider these factors:

Feature-focused → Claude Code

• Most complete feature set
• But requires cost management for API usage

VS Code users → GitHub Copilot

• No additional setup needed
• But preview version may have stability issues

Terminal-focused → Codex CLI

• Simple and straightforward
• But no GUI

Cost-conscious → Gemini CLI

• Free tier available
• But limited features

Using Multiple Tools

Since Agent Skills is an open standard, you can generally use one SKILL.md across multiple tools. However, tool-specific extensions (like Claude Code's subagents) won't work elsewhere.

For teams using multiple tools, create skills using only basic features and avoid tool-specific extensions.

Summary

Agent Skills tool support is growing, but feature sets and stability still vary.

• Stability-focused: Claude Code, Codex CLI
• Integration-focused: GitHub Copilot, Cursor
• Cost-focused: Gemini CLI

Start with the tool you already use, then explore others as needed.

Official documentation:

• Claude Code
• Codex CLI
• GitHub Copilot
• Cursor
• Gemini CLI

Related Articles

• How to Set Up Skills in Claude Code - Claude Code detailed guide
• How to Use Skills with Codex CLI - Codex CLI detailed guide
• How to Use Skills with Cursor - Cursor detailed guide
• MCP vs Agent Skills - Compare two approaches