Learn how to install Vercel agent-skills in minutes and speed up React apps with automated best-practice checks. This guide shows the steps, the tools you need, and how to use the built-in skills for performance, accessibility, and one-click, claimable Vercel deployments. You will wire these skills into popular AI coding agents without custom prompt engineering. AI coding agents are great at writing code, but they often miss project rules, performance patterns, and design details. Vercel’s agent-skills fix that by packaging proven playbooks into reusable, machine-readable skills. These skills work across tools and give agents a stable, shared knowledge base. In this guide, you will learn how to install Vercel agent-skills, connect them to agents like Claude Code and Cursor, and use them to speed up React and Next.js apps. You will also see how to run design checks and ship claimable preview deployments on Vercel.

What Agent Skills Are and Why They Matter

Agent skills are small, portable folders that describe a capability an AI agent can use during coding. Each skill includes:

SKILL.md: clear, natural-language instructions for what the skill does and how it behaves

scripts: optional helper commands to inspect or change the project

references: optional docs and examples for extra context

The format is open, so different AI coding tools can understand the same layout. Vercel’s repository compiles React rules into a single AGENTS.md file, which agents can load as a knowledge source during review or refactor. This removes ad hoc prompt hacks and keeps guidance consistent. For React and Next.js teams, this is powerful. It turns a decade of tuning into actionable checklists that an agent can follow. The rules are ordered by impact, come with examples, and help agents find the highest-leverage fixes first.

How to install Vercel agent-skills

You can set up everything from the command line. Think of it like installing packages and then wiring them to your agent.

Prerequisites

Node.js and npm installed

At least one AI coding agent installed (for example, Claude Code or Cursor)

Access to your project code locally

Step 1: Install the skills package

Use the skills installer to fetch the main repository:

Run: npx skills i vercel-labs/agent-skills

This command pulls the Vercel skills bundle to your system for later discovery by compatible agents. If you prefer, you can clone the repository directly from GitHub and point your agent to the folder. The npx route is simpler for most users.

Step 2: Wire skills to your coding agent

Use the add-skill CLI to connect skills to your agent:

Run: npx add-skill vercel-labs/agent-skills

The CLI scans your machine for supported agents:

Claude Code usually keeps configuration under a .claude directory

Cursor uses .cursor and a directory under your home folder

The tool installs the selected skills into the correct skills folders for each agent. After that, your agent reads SKILL.md and can call skill scripts when needed. You can use non-interactive flags with add-skill to control exactly which skills go to which agent and where they live (global vs. project). This is helpful in teams that standardize skill sets per workspace.

Step 3: Verify the installation

Check the agent-specific skills directories:

Claude Code: ~/.claude/skills

Cursor: .cursor/skills (project-level) and a user folder under your home directory

You should see folders for the installed skills, such as react-best-practices, web-design-guidelines, and vercel-deploy-claimable.

Step 4: Update or remove skills

To update, re-run the installer, then re-run add-skill. To remove a skill, either use your agent’s management UI (if available) or delete the skill folder from the agent’s skills directory. This simple flow covers how to install Vercel agent-skills on a local machine and connect them to your favorite AI coding tools.

Wiring Skills to Popular Coding Agents

Claude Code

After installation, Claude Code discovers skills in ~/.claude/skills. You can test by asking:

“Review this component for React performance issues.”

“Check this page for accessibility problems.”

Claude should route to react-best-practices or web-design-guidelines and return findings with fixes. If it does not, restart the tool or confirm the skills directory exists and is readable.

Cursor

Cursor looks for skills under .cursor/skills at the project level and may also scan a user folder. Once installed, prompt Cursor with:

“Audit bundle size impact for this route.”

“List missing ARIA attributes on this form.”

Cursor should load the right skill and give actionable steps. If it fails to find the skills, ensure they sit in the correct project directory and reload Cursor.

Other tools

Many AI coding tools adopt the Agent Skills format. If your agent supports custom skills, point it to the installed skill directories. It should read SKILL.md and call scripts as needed.

What You Get Out of the Box

react-best-practices

This skill encodes more than 40 React and Next.js rules across eight categories. It focuses on high-impact performance wins:

Eliminate network waterfalls with proper data fetching and caching

Reduce bundle size by lazy loading, tree-shaking, and tighter imports

Improve server-side performance with better streaming and data access

Fix re-render loops and stabilize components with memoization and keys

Speed client rendering by shrinking props and avoiding expensive computations

Apply JavaScript micro optimizations where they matter

Each rule has an impact rating and includes code examples that show anti-pattern and correction. During review, the agent maps findings to these rules and gives focused, ordered suggestions. You get fewer generic tips and more fixes that matter for real-world speed. Example issues the agent can surface:

Suspense misplacement that triggers waterfalls

Large third-party imports pulled into the main bundle

Unstable dependency arrays causing extra renders

Blocking image loads without lazy loading

web-design-guidelines

This skill ships with more than 100 rules that cover key UI and UX areas:

Accessibility: ARIA roles, labels, color contrast, alt text

Focus: trap, order, and skip links

Forms: labels, validation, and error messaging

Animation: reduced motion support and timing

Typography: line length, scaling, and readability

Images: responsive sizes, lazy loading, and formats

Performance: critical CSS, preloading, and caching

Navigation: keyboard shortcuts and structure

Dark mode: color tokens and contrast

Touch: hit targets and gesture handling

Internationalization: direction, date, and number formats

The agent can catch subtle issues like incorrect label associations or misuse of motion when the user prefers reduced motion. It helps you improve real user experience, not just pass a checklist.

vercel-deploy-claimable

This skill connects your review loop to a live preview:

Packages the project into a tarball

Auto-detects the framework from package.json (40+ frameworks supported, plus static HTML)

Creates a deployment on Vercel

Returns two links: a preview URL and a claim URL

The claim URL lets a user or team attach the deployment to a Vercel account without sharing credentials. This is great for agencies, contractors, and teams with strict credential policies.

Practical Workflow: From Review to Deployment

1) Run a performance audit on a component

Ask your agent: “Review this component for React performance problems.” The agent loads react-best-practices, scans for high-impact issues, and lists fixes. It might suggest code-splitting, moving fetches to the server, or memoizing computed props.

2) Address the top-impact fixes

Start with critical issues first. These deliver the biggest speed-ups with the least risk. Test locally and measure bundle size and render timings as you go.

3) Check UI and accessibility

Ask: “Check this page for accessibility problems.” The agent uses web-design-guidelines and flags missing alt text, incorrect labels, or weak focus order. Fix issues so the app is usable by everyone.

4) Deploy and share for feedback

Ask: “Create a claimable Vercel preview for this branch.” The agent uses vercel-deploy-claimable, then returns the preview link and a claim URL. Share the preview for quick team reviews. Give the claim URL to the owner to attach it to the Vercel account.

Performance Wins You Can Expect

Fewer network waterfalls and faster time to interactive

Smaller JavaScript bundles from better import and code-splitting patterns

Fewer unnecessary re-renders and smoother UI

Better accessibility and UX consistency across pages

Faster feedback cycles with live, claimable previews

These gains add up, especially on large React and Next.js apps with many contributors.

Tips, Pitfalls, and Troubleshooting

Keep Node and your agents updated

Newer versions of Node or your coding agent can improve skill discovery and script execution. If a script fails, check your Node version and update.

Watch install locations

If your agent can read both global and project-level skills, decide on one approach for predictability. Teams often prefer project-level installs in versioned repositories.

Avoid duplicate skills

Duplicate installs can cause confusion. Keep one canonical skill path per agent unless you know you need overrides.

Check permissions and paths

If the agent cannot read skills, ensure the directories (like ~/.claude/skills or .cursor/skills) exist and have the right permissions. Restart the agent after changes.

Use non-interactive installs for CI

You can run add-skill in non-interactive mode in CI to ensure the same skills are always available during automated checks. This helps standardize outputs across machines.

Governance for Teams and CI

Version control your skill set

Commit the selected skills configuration or document the exact installer commands in your repo. This makes the setup repeatable for new developers and CI runners.

Centralize AGENTS.md for shared knowledge

Treat AGENTS.md as a stable knowledge source. If you extend rules, keep the file in a common location and document change history.

Add agent checks to your pipeline

You can run agent-driven reviews on pull requests and block merges on critical issues. Pair it with static analysis and tests to raise the quality bar.

When to Use, and What to Watch

Use agent-skills when you need consistent, high-impact guidance across many files and contributors. They are great for performance sprints, design audits, and pre-release reviews. Keep in mind:

Skills complement, not replace, linters and tests

Human review still matters for edge cases and trade-offs

React and Next.js coverage is strong; other stacks may be less complete

With that context, the tooling gives you a strong base and saves hours of manual checks.

Real-World Prompts That Work

“Audit this route for network waterfalls and bundle size.”

“List top three React performance risks in this component and propose code changes.”

“Check keyboard navigation and focus behavior on this dialog.”

“Create a claimable preview deployment for this branch and return the URLs.”

These prompts let the agent route to the right skill and produce concrete, testable steps.

The Bottom Line

Vercel’s agent-skills turn best practices into reusable, cross-tool building blocks. They give AI coding agents a consistent rulebook, remove guesswork, and speed up React and Next.js work. If you wanted to know how to install Vercel agent-skills, the steps are simple: install the package, wire it to your agent, verify, and start asking targeted prompts. The built-in skills help you find the biggest wins fast, keep your UI accessible, and ship preview deployments your team can claim and own.

(Source: https://www.marktechpost.com/2026/01/18/vercel-releases-agent-skills-a-package-manager-for-ai-coding-agents-with-10-years-of-react-and-next-js-optimisation-rules/)

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