Agent skill

Explainshell

Explain shell commands in plain English (explainshell.com). An agent skill from taracodlabs/aiden.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedWriting & Content

Install Explainshell

skills CLI

$ npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill explainshell -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install taracodlabs/aiden explainshell --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/explainshell .claude/skills/explainshell && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "explainshell" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/explainshell into .claude/skills/explainshell/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "explainshell", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/explainshell

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill explainshell -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install taracodlabs/aiden explainshell --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/explainshell .agents/skills/explainshell && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "explainshell" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/explainshell into .agents/skills/explainshell/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "explainshell", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill explainshell -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install taracodlabs/aiden explainshell --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/explainshell .cursor/skills/explainshell && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "explainshell" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/explainshell into .cursor/skills/explainshell/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "explainshell", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git --path skills/explainshell

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill explainshell -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install taracodlabs/aiden explainshell --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/explainshell .gemini/skills/explainshell && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "explainshell" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/explainshell into .gemini/skills/explainshell/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "explainshell", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install taracodlabs/aiden explainshell

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill explainshell -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/explainshell .github/skills/explainshell && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "explainshell" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/explainshell into .github/skills/explainshell/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "explainshell", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill explainshell -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install taracodlabs/aiden explainshell --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/explainshell .opencode/skills/explainshell && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "explainshell" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/explainshell into .opencode/skills/explainshell/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "explainshell", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: explainshell
GitHub stars: 849
Token cost: ~860 tokens
SKILL.md length: 273 words
Files: 3
Skills in repo: 63
Repo updated: Sep 13, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: Apache-2.0

At a glance

Explain shell commands in plain English (explainshell.com). An agent skill from taracodlabs/aiden.

Tasks that involve Plain language and style rules
SKILL.md covers When to Use, How to Use, Examples and Cautions, plus 1 more section
Runs TypeScript scripts from its folder; reaches explainshell.com

What it does

Explainshell is an agent skill from taracodlabs/aiden. Explain shell commands in plain English (explainshell.com)

Its SKILL.md is about 860 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files (for example `index.ts` and `skill.json`).

It sits in Writing & Content, covering Plain language and style rules. The repository describes itself as: Aiden — an autonomous AI agent and work engine built solo. It can operate your browser, terminal, files, apps, APIs, skills and tools, remember context, recover from failures… The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve Plain language and style rules

Example prompts

“/explainshell”

Requirements

Node.js

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 3704204. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Ships script files (TypeScript), which the agent can run.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
- explainshell.com
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Explainshell loads about 860 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 18 tokens; SKILL.md has 273 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~18
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~860

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from taracodlabs/aiden at commit 3704204, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© taracodlabs). 273 words, ~860 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/explainshell/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: explainshell
description: Explain shell commands in plain English (explainshell.com)
category: developer
version: 1.0.0
license: Apache-2.0
origin: aiden
tags: shell, bash, linux, commands, explainer, learning, devops, documentation, scripting

ExplainShell — Shell Command Explainer

Paste any shell command or one-liner and get a plain-English breakdown of every flag, argument, and pipe stage. Powered by explainshell.com, which maps commands to their man-page descriptions.

No API key required. Works immediately for any user.

When to Use

User pastes a cryptic command and asks "what does this do?"
Reviewing an unfamiliar bash script or automation pipeline
Learning: user wants to understand each part of a complex one-liner
Documentation: need to annotate shell commands in runbooks
User asks "explain this command", "what does this flag mean?", "break this down"

How to Use

Explain a single command (browser link)

powershell

# The simplest approach — open the explanation in the browser
$command = "tar -xzf archive.tar.gz -C /tmp"
$encoded = [Uri]::EscapeDataString($command)
Start-Process "https://explainshell.com/explain?cmd=$encoded"
Write-Host "Opened: https://explainshell.com/explain?cmd=$encoded"

Fetch explanation text directly (PowerShell)

powershell

$command = "find . -type f -name '*.log' -mtime +7 -exec rm {} \;"
$encoded = [Uri]::EscapeDataString($command)
$url     = "https://explainshell.com/explain?cmd=$encoded"

$html    = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -UseBasicParsing
# Extract helptext spans (plain text explanations)
$pattern = '<span class="helptext">(.*?)</span>'
$matches = [regex]::Matches($html.Content, $pattern, 'Singleline')

Write-Host "Command: $command"
Write-Host ""
$matches | ForEach-Object {
    $text = $_.Groups[1].Value -replace '<[^>]+>', '' -replace '&amp;', '&' -replace '&lt;', '<' -replace '&gt;', '>'
    if ($text.Trim()) { Write-Host "  • $($text.Trim())" }
}
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Full explanation: $url"

Explain a piped one-liner

powershell

$command = "ps aux | awk '{print \$2, \$11}' | sort -k2 | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -10"
$encoded = [Uri]::EscapeDataString($command)
Write-Host "ExplainShell link:"
Write-Host "  https://explainshell.com/explain?cmd=$encoded"

Examples

"Explain: tar -xzf file.tar.gz" → tar: archive utility; -x: extract; -z: filter through gzip; -f: use archive file.

"What does find . -type f -exec rm {} \; do?" → find: search; .: starting directory; -type f: only files; -exec rm {} ;: run rm on each result.

"Break down: awk '{print $2}' | sort | uniq -c" → awk: text processor prints second field; sort: lexicographic sort; uniq -c: count consecutive duplicates.

"What is 2>&1 in a command?" → Redirects stderr (fd 2) to the same destination as stdout (fd 1) — merges error output.

Cautions

explainshell.com covers most standard POSIX and GNU commands — may not know custom scripts or aliases
Very long one-liners (> 200 chars) may produce incomplete explanations
Some compound expressions (e.g. complex awk programs) parse partially
Rate-limit: be polite — avoid bulk automated requests to a free community service
The HTML structure may change; if parsing fails, the URL is always valid as a fallback

Requirements

None — no API key needed
Works with any POSIX/GNU shell command or pipeline

Files

SKILL.md and 2 other files in skills/explainshell of taracodlabs/aiden.

SKILL.md
index.ts
skill.json

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 3704204

Compare with similar skills

Explainshell next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Explainshell compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Explainshell this skilltaracodlabs/aiden	849	—	~860	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	24 days ago
Asd Ste100danyuchn/asd-ste100-skill	3.9k	—	~4.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	3 days ago
Natural Japanese Business Writingcoji/natural-japanese	1.9k	—	~2.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	1 mo ago
Technical Writing Standardcursor/plugins	10k	10 repos	~2.4k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	today
PgjevrealZachi/pg-jev	1k	—	~2.9k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	yesterday
Defensive Writing Editorlennney/stop-that-shit	2.5k	1 repos	~902	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	2 days ago

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Questions about Explainshell

What does Explainshell do?

Explain shell commands in plain English (explainshell.com). An agent skill from taracodlabs/aiden. Explainshell is an agent skill from taracodlabs/aiden.

When should I use Explainshell?

Explainshell fits situations like: tasks that involve Plain language and style rules.

How do I install Explainshell in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill explainshell -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/explainshell in taracodlabs/aiden) into .claude/skills/explainshell in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Explainshell in Codex?

Run `npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill explainshell -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/explainshell in taracodlabs/aiden) into .agents/skills/explainshell in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Explainshell in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill explainshell -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/explainshell, .gemini/skills/explainshell, .github/skills/explainshell and .opencode/skills/explainshell in your project.

What does Explainshell need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Explainshell needs TypeScript for the scripts in its folder. Our summary lists: Node.js.

Does Explainshell access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. In commands or code: explainshell.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Explainshell safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Explainshell use?

Explainshell is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Explainshell use?

About 860 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.4k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Explainshell?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Explainshell: Asd Ste100 (danyuchn/asd-ste100-skill, 3.9k stars), Natural Japanese Business Writing (coji/natural-japanese, 1.9k stars), Technical Writing Standard (cursor/plugins, 10k stars) and Pgjev (realZachi/pg-jev, 1k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Explainshell?

taracodlabs (a GitHub organization) maintains it in taracodlabs/aiden, which has 849 GitHub stars. The repository holds 63 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 13, 2026.

Source: taracodlabs/aiden on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Explainshell

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

ExplainShell — Shell Command Explainer

When to Use

How to Use

Explain a single command (browser link)

Fetch explanation text directly (PowerShell)

Explain a piped one-liner

Examples

Cautions

Requirements

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from taracodlabs/aiden

Related

Questions about Explainshell