diff --git a/src/cli/commands/init.ts b/src/cli/commands/init.ts
index e20b014..3cd72b4 100644
--- a/src/cli/commands/init.ts
+++ b/src/cli/commands/init.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
 import { createWorkspace, workspacePaths } from "../../core/workspace.ts";
 import { installAsset, loadRegistry } from "../../core/registry.ts";
 import { buildMcpConfig, MCP_CLIENTS } from "../../installers/mcp/index.ts";
+import { installAgentSkills, supportedSkillClients } from "../../installers/agent-skills.ts";
 import { runFetch } from "../../adapters/protected-fetch.ts";
 import { formatRequestCost } from "../../core/http.ts";
 import { loadCapabilities } from "../../core/capabilities.ts";
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ const SMOKE_URL = "https://httpbin.io/html";
 export const init: Command = {
   name: "init",
   summary: "Set up the workspace, auth, MCP, skills, and starter assets.",
-  usage: "zenrows init [--all] [--api-key <key>] [--agents a,b,c] [--browser] [--yes] [--no-test]",
+  usage: "zenrows init [--all] [--api-key <key>] [--agents a,b,c] [--browser] [--yes] [--no-test] [--project] [--no-agent-skills]",
   help: [
     "Flags:",
     "  --all                 do everything reasonable (assets + MCP snippets + health check)",
@@ -40,6 +41,8 @@ export const init: Command = {
     "  --browser             allow browser escalation in policy",
     "  --experimental        allow experimental commands in policy",
     "  --no-telemetry        set telemetry=off",
+    "  --project             install skills into this repository instead of your home directory",
+    "  --no-agent-skills     do not install skills into the agent directories at all",
     "  --no-test             skip the test Protected Fetch",
     "  --yes                 non-interactive",
   ].join("\n"),
@@ -60,6 +63,8 @@ export const init: Command = {
       experimental: { type: "boolean" },
       "no-telemetry": { type: "boolean" },
       "no-test": { type: "boolean" },
+      "no-agent-skills": { type: "boolean" },
+      project: { type: "boolean" },
     });
 
     const all = values.all === true;
@@ -113,6 +118,19 @@ export const init: Command = {
     if (want(values.mcp) || want(values.plugins) || values.agents) {
       section("MCP / agent configs");
       const agents = (asString(values.agents) ?? "claude-code,cursor,vscode").split(",").map((s) => s.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+
+      // Skills in .zenrows/ are invisible to every harness, so put a copy where
+      // the agent reads. Without this the agent never learns the CLI exists.
+      if (!values["no-agent-skills"]) {
+        const scope = values.project ? "project" : "global";
+        for (const t of installAgentSkills(agents, { scope, root: paths.root })) {
+          log.success(`Installed ${t.skills.length} skill(s) into ${t.dir}/`);
+        }
+        if (scope === "global") log.dim("Installed for every project on this machine. Use --project to keep them in this repository.");
+        const unsupported = agents.filter((a) => !supportedSkillClients().includes(a));
+        if (unsupported.length) log.dim(`No verified skills path for: ${unsupported.join(", ")}. MCP config below covers them.`);
+      }
+
       for (const a of agents) {
         try {
           const { client, snippet } = buildMcpConfig(a, "stdio");
diff --git a/src/installers/agent-skills.ts b/src/installers/agent-skills.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7133d06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/installers/agent-skills.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+/**
+ * Skill installation into the directories agent harnesses actually read.
+ *
+ * `init` writes `.zenrows/skills/`, but no harness reads that path, so the
+ * skills ship and are never seen. This module copies them where the agent
+ * looks.
+ *
+ * Global by default, because a CLI installed once should work in every
+ * directory rather than needing an `init` per repository. `--project` keeps the
+ * copy inside the repository instead, which is the right choice when scraping
+ * is a dependency of that codebase and the team should share one behaviour.
+ */
+import { cpSync, existsSync, mkdirSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { homedir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { loadRegistry, assetRunnable } from "../core/registry.ts";
+import { pkgPath } from "../core/paths.ts";
+
+/**
+ * Where each client reads skills, relative to the home directory or the
+ * repository root depending on scope.
+ *
+ * `.agents/skills` is the vendor-neutral location; the rest are client
+ * specific. Only add a client here once its path is verified, because a wrong
+ * path fails silently: the files land and the agent never reads them.
+ */
+export const CLIENT_SKILL_DIRS: Record<string, string> = {
+  "claude-code": ".claude/skills",
+  cursor: ".cursor/skills",
+  generic: ".agents/skills",
+};
+
+export type SkillScope = "global" | "project";
+export type SkillInstall = { client: string; dir: string; skills: string[] };
+
+/** Skills usable against the current backend: available plus open beta. */
+function payload(): { name: string; path: string }[] {
+  return loadRegistry("skill")
+    .filter(assetRunnable)
+    .map((a) => ({ name: a.name, path: a.path }));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Copy the skill payload into each client's skills directory.
+ * Replaces our own skill directories and leaves every other one alone.
+ */
+export function installAgentSkills(
+  clients: string[],
+  opts: { scope?: SkillScope; root?: string; dryRun?: boolean } = {},
+): SkillInstall[] {
+  const scope = opts.scope ?? "global";
+  const base = scope === "global" ? homedir() : (opts.root ?? process.cwd());
+  const skills = payload();
+  const targets = [...new Set(["generic", ...clients])]
+    .map((client) => ({ client, rel: CLIENT_SKILL_DIRS[client] }))
+    .filter((t): t is { client: string; rel: string } => Boolean(t.rel));
+
+  return targets.map(({ client, rel }) => {
+    const dir = join(base, rel);
+    if (!opts.dryRun) {
+      mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+      for (const s of skills) {
+        const dest = join(dir, s.name);
+        rmSync(dest, { recursive: true, force: true });
+        cpSync(pkgPath(s.path), dest, { recursive: true });
+      }
+    }
+    return { client, dir, skills: skills.map((s) => s.name) };
+  });
+}
+
+/** Clients we can install skills for, for error messages and help text. */
+export function supportedSkillClients(): string[] {
+  return Object.keys(CLIENT_SKILL_DIRS).filter((c) => c !== "generic");
+}
+
+/** True when our skills are already installed for a client at this scope. */
+export function hasAgentSkills(client: string, scope: SkillScope = "global", root?: string): boolean {
+  const rel = CLIENT_SKILL_DIRS[client];
+  if (!rel) return false;
+  const base = scope === "global" ? homedir() : (root ?? process.cwd());
+  return existsSync(join(base, rel, "zenrows"));
+}
diff --git a/tests/agent-skills.test.ts b/tests/agent-skills.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a04cce7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/agent-skills.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { homedir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { installAgentSkills, CLIENT_SKILL_DIRS } from "../src/installers/agent-skills.ts";
+import { tempRoot } from "./helpers.ts";
+
+const CLAUDE_DIR = CLIENT_SKILL_DIRS["claude-code"] as string;
+
+test("project scope installs where the agent reads, not only in .zenrows", () => {
+  const { root, cleanup } = tempRoot();
+  try {
+    const done = installAgentSkills(["claude-code"], { scope: "project", root });
+    assert.ok(done.some((t) => t.client === "claude-code"), "claude-code targeted");
+    assert.ok(done.some((t) => t.client === "generic"), "vendor-neutral path always written");
+    assert.ok(existsSync(join(root, CLAUDE_DIR, "zenrows", "SKILL.md")));
+  } finally {
+    cleanup();
+  }
+});
+
+test("global is the default scope and resolves under the home directory", () => {
+  const done = installAgentSkills(["claude-code"], { dryRun: true });
+  for (const t of done) assert.ok(t.dir.startsWith(homedir()), `${t.dir} is under home`);
+});
+
+test("a rerun replaces our skills and leaves other skills alone", () => {
+  const { root, cleanup } = tempRoot();
+  try {
+    const dir = join(root, CLAUDE_DIR);
+    mkdirSync(join(dir, "someone-elses"), { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(join(dir, "someone-elses", "SKILL.md"), "keep me");
+
+    installAgentSkills(["claude-code"], { scope: "project", root });
+    writeFileSync(join(dir, "zenrows", "SKILL.md"), "stale");
+    installAgentSkills(["claude-code"], { scope: "project", root });
+
+    assert.equal(readFileSync(join(dir, "someone-elses", "SKILL.md"), "utf8"), "keep me");
+    assert.notEqual(readFileSync(join(dir, "zenrows", "SKILL.md"), "utf8"), "stale");
+  } finally {
+    cleanup();
+  }
+});
+
+test("dryRun reports the targets without writing", () => {
+  const { root, cleanup } = tempRoot();
+  try {
+    const done = installAgentSkills(["claude-code"], { scope: "project", root, dryRun: true });
+    assert.ok(done.length > 0);
+    assert.ok(!existsSync(join(root, CLAUDE_DIR)));
+  } finally {
+    cleanup();
+  }
+});
+
+test("an unknown client is skipped, not written to a guessed path", () => {
+  const { root, cleanup } = tempRoot();
+  try {
+    const done = installAgentSkills(["not-a-real-agent"], { scope: "project", root });
+    assert.deepEqual(done.map((t) => t.client), ["generic"]);
+  } finally {
+    cleanup();
+  }
+});