Registry Overview

Browse and install community-built skills and tool configurations from the Chvor Registry.

7 min read

Registry Overview

The Chvor Registry is a curated service that hosts skills, tools, and templates for the Chvor ecosystem. Instead of writing everything from scratch, you can browse the registry, find what you need, and install it with a single command — or directly from chat.

Browse the registry: registry.chvor.ai
Submit your own: registry-creators.chvor.ai

Early access. The registry is in its early stages. We will announce when it officially opens for public submissions and installs. Follow the community to stay updated.

What is in the Registry

The registry contains three types of entries, all sharing a single namespace:

Skills

Markdown files with YAML frontmatter that define agent behavior — system prompts, instructions, configuration parameters, and tool requirements. The body of the file is the actual prompt the AI follows.

Examples: code-reviewer, translator, meeting-summarizer, sql-helper

Tools

Markdown files that include an mcp block in the frontmatter, defining how to launch an MCP server. When installed, Chvor starts the MCP server process and makes its tools available to skills.

Examples: brave-search, github, postgres, notion

Templates

Bundles that install multiple skills and tools together. A template’s includes field lists the entry IDs that should be co-installed.

How the Registry Works

The registry is an HTTP API. The Chvor CLI interacts with it through two types of endpoints:

Endpoint	What it returns
`GET /v1/index.json`	Full manifest of all published entries (JSON)
`GET /v1/skills/{id}/skill.md`	Raw Markdown content file for a skill
`GET /v1/tools/{id}/tool.md`	Raw Markdown content file for a tool

The CLI fetches index.json, caches it locally, and uses it for search and update detection. When you install an entry, the CLI fetches the actual .md file and writes it to disk.

The registry index (`index.json`)

The index is a single JSON document listing every published entry:

{
  "version": 2,
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-19T12:00:00Z",
  "entries": [
    {
      "id": "web-search",
      "kind": "skill",
      "name": "Web Search",
      "description": "Search the web and summarize results",
      "version": "1.2.0",
      "author": "janedoe",
      "category": "web",
      "tags": ["search", "research"],
      "license": "MIT",
      "downloads": 142,
      "sha256": "a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
      "requires": {
        "credentials": ["brave-api"]
      },
      "dependencies": ["json-formatter"]
    }
  ]
}

Key fields:

Field	Description
`id`	Unique slug (lowercase, hyphens). Used as the install identifier.
`kind`	`"skill"`, `"tool"`, or `"template"`
`sha256`	Hash of the content file — used for integrity checks and detecting local edits
`requires`	Runtime requirements: environment variables or credentials
`dependencies`	Other entry IDs that should be co-installed

Browsing the Registry

Web UI

The registry has a public browse page at registry.chvor.ai where you can:

Search across names, descriptions, and tags
Filter by kind (skill, tool, template)
Sort by downloads, newest, name, or recently updated
View details including install commands, metadata, and content previews

CLI

You can also search directly from the terminal:

chvor skill search "code review"
chvor skill info web-search
chvor skill list

The CLI searches the locally cached copy of index.json. It re-fetches the index periodically (every 6 hours by default).

Installing from the Registry

There are two ways to install entries: from the CLI or directly from chat.

From the CLI

chvor install skill code-reviewer
chvor install tool brave-search

From chat

You can also ask Chvor to install a skill or tool directly in a conversation:

You: Install the code-reviewer skill from the registry
You: Find me a web search tool and install it
You: What skills are available for code review?

Chvor will search the registry, show you matching entries, and install them when you confirm.

What happens under the hood

Whether you install from the CLI or from chat, the same flow runs:

The CLI fetches index.json from the registry (or uses the local cache)
It finds the entry and reads its metadata
It downloads the content file (e.g., GET /v1/skills/code-reviewer/skill.md)
The content’s SHA-256 is verified against the hash in the index
The file is written to ~/.chvor/skills/code-reviewer.md
The install is recorded in ~/.chvor/data/registry-lock.json
If the entry has dependencies, those are installed recursively
The skill loader reloads — the skill is available immediately

Tool installation

Tools follow the same flow. The tool’s .md file includes an mcp block in its frontmatter that tells Chvor how to launch the MCP server:

---
name: Brave Search
description: Web search via Brave Search API
version: 1.0.0
type: tool
mcp:
  command: npx
  args:
    - -y
    - "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"
  transport: stdio
  env:
    BRAVE_API_KEY: "${BRAVE_API_KEY}"
requires:
  credentials:
    - brave-api
---

Instructions for using the Brave Search tool...

After installation, Chvor connects to the MCP server and registers its tools automatically.

Dependency resolution

Some skills depend on tools or other skills. The dependencies field in the index lists these. When you install an entry, dependencies are resolved and installed automatically.

For example, a researcher skill might depend on brave-search:

You run chvor install skill researcher (or ask in chat)
The CLI sees dependencies: ["brave-search"]
It installs brave-search first, then researcher
Both are tracked in the lockfile

The Lockfile

Every install is tracked in ~/.chvor/data/registry-lock.json:

{
  "installed": {
    "code-reviewer": {
      "kind": "skill",
      "version": "1.2.0",
      "installedAt": "2026-03-19T10:00:00Z",
      "sha256": "a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
      "source": "registry",
      "userModified": false
    }
  },
  "registryUrl": "https://registry.chvor.ai/v1",
  "lastChecked": "2026-03-19T10:00:00Z"
}

The lockfile tracks:

What version is installed
The SHA-256 hash at install time — if the file on disk no longer matches, Chvor knows you edited it locally
User modification detection — auto-updates skip files you have customized

Keeping Skills Updated

The CLI checks for updates automatically every 6 hours by comparing the index against the lockfile:

If the registry has a newer version → update available
If you edited the local file (SHA-256 mismatch) → userModified: true, auto-update is skipped

To manually check and apply updates:

# Check for available updates
chvor skill update

# Update a specific entry
chvor skill update code-reviewer

# Force-update even if locally modified
chvor skill update code-reviewer --force

# Re-fetch the index immediately
chvor skill refresh

Offline behavior

If the registry is unreachable:

The CLI uses the locally cached index.json
Already-installed skills continue to work (they are local .md files)
Install and update operations fail gracefully with an error message

Content File Format

Registry entries are Markdown files with YAML frontmatter. The frontmatter contains metadata; the body contains the actual instructions or prompt.

Skills

---
name: Code Review
description: Systematic code review with actionable feedback
version: 1.0.0
author: chvor-team
type: workflow
category: developer
tags:
  - code-review
  - quality
requires:
  credentials:
    - github-token
config:
  - name: maxIssues
    type: number
    description: Maximum issues to report
    default: 10
dependencies:
  - json-formatter
---

When the user shares code for review, follow this systematic process:

1. **Understand context**: Identify the language, framework, and purpose.
2. **Check correctness**: Look for bugs, logic errors, edge cases.
3. **Security scan**: Flag potential security issues.
...

Tools

Same format, but with an mcp block that defines how to launch the MCP server:

---
name: GitHub Integration
description: Interact with GitHub repositories
version: 2.0.0
type: tool
mcp:
  command: npx
  args:
    - -y
    - "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"
  transport: stdio
  env:
    GITHUB_TOKEN: "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
requires:
  credentials:
    - github-token
---

Instructions for using the GitHub tool...

Registry Etiquette

Check requirements before installing. Read the entry’s detail page to see what credentials or tools it needs.
Check the author. Skills run with your API keys and tool access. Only install entries from authors you trust.
Report issues. If a registry entry doesn’t work correctly, report it through the registry web UI.

Uninstalling

To remove a registry entry:

chvor skill uninstall code-reviewer

This deletes the file from ~/.chvor/skills/ and removes the entry from the lockfile.

Using a Custom Registry

By default, the CLI points to https://registry.chvor.ai/v1. You can change this by editing the lockfile:

{
  "registryUrl": "http://localhost:3100/v1"
}

Any HTTP service that serves index.json and content files in the expected format works as a registry.

Next Steps

Publishing — submit your own skills and tools to the registry.
Creating Custom Skills — write skills from scratch.
Connecting MCP Tools — configure the tools that registry skills depend on.

Registry Overview

Registry Overview

What is in the Registry

Skills

Tools

Templates

How the Registry Works

The registry index (index.json)

Browsing the Registry

Web UI

CLI

Installing from the Registry

From the CLI

From chat

What happens under the hood

Tool installation

Dependency resolution

The Lockfile

Keeping Skills Updated

Offline behavior

Content File Format

Skills

Tools

Registry Etiquette

Uninstalling

Using a Custom Registry

Next Steps

The registry index (`index.json`)