---
title: Translation & agents
description: How one skillset becomes each agent's native on-disk configuration, and which agents are supported.
status: verified
sidebar:
  order: 2
---

A skillset is portable because the client **translates** it into whatever
format each agent expects on disk. You write once; every agent gets a native
version.

## The translation step

When you install or switch a skillset, the client writes each component into
the target agent's own layout:

- **Instructions** → the agent's own instructions file (`CLAUDE.md` for Claude
  Code, `GEMINI.md` for Gemini CLI, `copilot-instructions.md` for GitHub
  Copilot, `AGENTS.md` for the rest)
- **Skills, subagents, slash commands** → the agent's directories and formats
  (e.g. `.claude/agents/` and `.claude/commands/` for Claude Code)
- **MCP servers** → from one canonical `mcp/<server>.json` (with `${env:VAR}`
  placeholders) into the agent's config shape — `.mcp.json` for Claude Code,
  `config.toml` for Codex — with per-agent merge rules

The same skillset therefore behaves consistently whether the agent is Claude
Code, Cursor, or Gemini CLI.

:::note
Translated files are managed: the client tracks them with hash manifests and
rewrites them on the next switch. Edit the skillset in `~/.nori/profiles/`,
not the agent's directory — see [Managing
skillsets](/skillsets/guides/profiles/).
:::

## The agent table

Every agent is one declarative row in a single table — 13 agents today, 7
supported and 6 experimental, with `claude-code` as the default. The full
matrix of names and tiers is generated from that table: see [Supported
agents](/skillsets/reference/agents/).

You can target several agents with one skillset: `sks config --agents` sets
your defaults, and `--agent <name>` targets one explicitly — see [Managing
skillsets](/skillsets/guides/profiles/).

## Next steps

- [Supported agents](/skillsets/reference/agents/) — every agent by support
  tier, with its `--agent` name
- [Managing skillsets](/skillsets/guides/profiles/) — switching, multiple
  agents, and cleanup
- [Skills & skillsets](/skillsets/concepts/skills-and-skillsets/) — what's in
  the bundle being translated