Install your skill
Every Godmode skill installs into ~/.claude/skills/, which Claude Code reads from automatically on its next launch. Free Godmode Lite downloads with no login; paid skills (Godmode, Godmode+, One-Shot Scripts, Evolution) arrive as a link in your purchase email or from your account page. Pick your skill below and copy-paste the commands.
Want to check what you're installing first? Every skill is plain-text you can read line by line, and each download has a published SHA-256. See how to verify a download before you run it.
Pick your skill
- Godmode Lite (Free)
- Godmode
- Godmode+
- One-Shot Scripts
- Godmode Evolution
- After install — using your skill
- Troubleshooting
Godmode Lite (Free)
Lite is free and needs no account. It ships the same way as the paid skills (a SKILL.md plus a small zero-dep runner/ CLI), and the zip is flat (SKILL.md at the archive root), so it extracts straight into the skill folder. Two ways to install:
Option A: one command via MCP (handles everything).
claude mcp add --transport stdio godmode -- npx -y godmode-mcp@0.1.0
Then in Claude Code, say install godmode lite. The MCP server downloads and places the skill for you (full walkthrough on the MCP setup page).
Option B: direct download, no login. Grab godmode-lite.zip (no email, no account), then:
macOS / Linux / Git Bash on Windows:
cd ~/Downloads mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/godmode-lite unzip godmode-lite.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/godmode-lite/
Windows PowerShell:
cd $HOME\Downloads Expand-Archive -Path godmode-lite.zip -DestinationPath $HOME\.claude\skills\godmode-lite
Trigger phrase: godmode lite (or gm lite). For example: "godmode lite: build a login system". Want the full 8-layer protocol with security hardening and auto-docs? Upgrade to Godmode.
Godmode
Multi-file skill — SKILL.md plus a runner/ CLI. The zip contents are flat (SKILL.md at the archive root), so extract straight into the skill folder. After downloading godmode.zip from the email or account page:
macOS / Linux / Git Bash on Windows:
cd ~/Downloads mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/godmode unzip godmode.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/godmode/
Windows PowerShell:
cd $HOME\Downloads Expand-Archive -Path godmode.zip -DestinationPath $HOME\.claude\skills\godmode
Trigger phrase: godmode — e.g. "godmode: build me a personal recipe website".
Godmode+
Multi-file skill — ships with SKILL.md plus a runner/ CLI that drives the phases. Everything must land in ~/.claude/skills/godmode-plus/, not just the SKILL.md.
macOS / Linux / Git Bash on Windows:
cd ~/Downloads mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/godmode-plus unzip godmode-plus.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/godmode-plus/
Windows PowerShell:
cd $HOME\Downloads Expand-Archive -Path godmode-plus.zip -DestinationPath $HOME\.claude\skills\godmode-plus
After install, the layout under ~/.claude/skills/godmode-plus/ should be:
godmode-plus/
├── SKILL.md
├── LICENSE.txt
└── runner/
├── bin/godmode-plus
├── package.json
└── src/…
Trigger phrase: godmode+ — e.g. "godmode+: refactor this API for performance".
One-Shot Scripts
Same multi-file pattern as Godmode+ — SKILL.md plus a phases/ folder containing every phase, the scoring rubric, and the loop mechanics, and a runner/ CLI for the deterministic gates.
macOS / Linux / Git Bash on Windows:
cd ~/Downloads mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/one-shot-scripts unzip one-shot-scripts.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/one-shot-scripts/
Windows PowerShell:
cd $HOME\Downloads Expand-Archive -Path one-shot-scripts.zip -DestinationPath $HOME\.claude\skills\one-shot-scripts
Trigger phrase: one-shot — e.g. "one-shot this API refactor" or "one-shot: build a login system".
Godmode Evolution
Evolution is a full skill, delivered the same multi-file way as the others: SKILL.md plus the protocol files (evolution loop, scoring engine, mutation operators, benchmark harness) and a runner/ CLI.
macOS / Linux / Git Bash on Windows:
cd ~/Downloads mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/godmode-evolution unzip godmode-evolution.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/godmode-evolution/
Windows PowerShell:
cd $HOME\Downloads Expand-Archive -Path godmode-evolution.zip -DestinationPath $HOME\.claude\skills\godmode-evolution
After install, the layout under ~/.claude/skills/godmode-evolution/ should be:
godmode-evolution/ ├── SKILL.md ├── LICENSE.txt ├── evo-loop.md ├── scoring-engine.md ├── mutation-engine.md ├── blind-grader.md ├── … (11 protocol files in all) └── runner/
Trigger phrase: evolve or godmode evo (e.g. "evolve my one-shot skill" or "godmode evo: score the last session").
Evolution works on any skill you already have: point it at a SKILL.md and it forks named variants that improve independently, never touching the original. If you don't have a skill to evolve yet, install Godmode or Godmode+ first using the steps above.
After install — using your skill
- Restart Claude Code. If a session is already running, exit and reopen it so the skill loader picks up the new directory. New sessions auto-load.
- Trigger the skill by prefixing your task with the trigger phrase from the section above.
- Confirm it's loaded — type
/helpin Claude Code and check the available skills list.
Troubleshooting
-
"Skill not found" or trigger phrase doesn't activate — check the folder is in the right place. Run
ls ~/.claude/skills/(macOS/Linux) ordir $HOME\.claude\skills\(PowerShell). You should see the skill folder. The folder must containSKILL.mdat its root, not nested inside another subfolder. -
"unzip command not found" on Windows — open PowerShell instead of cmd and use
Expand-Archiveas shown above. Or install Git Bash for the Unix commands. -
Used a GUI unzip instead of the commands? GUI extractors usually create a folder named after the zip (e.g.
godmode-plus/withSKILL.mdinside). Move that whole folder into~/.claude/skills/so the file ends up at~/.claude/skills/godmode-plus/SKILL.md— at the folder root, not nested a level deeper. - Download link expired — sign in at getgodmode.dev/account and click DOWNLOAD on the relevant skill card. Fresh links mint instantly.
-
Phase scripts reference Node helpers that don't exist (
run-report.jsetc.) — those are optional run-tracking helpers. The skill works without them; the run-report at the end of each task just gets skipped. Full helper bundle install is rolling out shortly. -
Still stuck — email support@getgodmode.dev with the output of
ls ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/and we'll sort it.
Links
- Account & re-download: getgodmode.dev/account
- MCP one-click installer: getgodmode.dev/mcp-setup
- Verify a download (readable source + SHA-256): getgodmode.dev/security
- Pricing: getgodmode.dev/pricing