← All skills
find-references
79 / 100 · Review before installing
Check before installing. Some of what it can do is expected: a media skill usually calls an AI service over the internet.
By vargHQ/skills (GitHub) · media · 25 stars · scanned at commit 72e8109
Find real, human-made references before anything is made, for AI image, video and music and for video made with code. Turns a request into one query pack per job (light first, then framing, people, location, texture, type, motion, palette, music and a "never" board), searches each source in its own words, opens everything it keeps, proves who made it, measures what code can measure, checks light with an LLM judge, and hands a person three candidates per job. Use when someone says "find referenc…
Works with any agent that supports SKILL.md skills.
What this skill can do
Downloads and installs other software
The author does not mention this.
Found in 18 places.
Show 15 more
- find-references/references/experts.md, line 161
| [tmdb](https://github.com/cyanheads/tmdb-mcp-server) | `token` | `claude mcp add tmdb-mcp-server -e TMDB_API_KEY=your-tmdb-read-access-token -- npx -y @cyanhe - find-references/references/goal-prompt.md, line 10
npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill find-references # the method and the search helper - find-references/references/texture.md, line 154
the HyperFrames `grain-overlay` block (`npx hyperframes add grain-overlay`, install not run). Grain packs spread widely - find-references/scripts/motion_read.py, line 35
cuts pip install scenedetect opencv-python - find-references/scripts/motion_read.py, line 36
camera, elements, scale pip install opencv-python numpy - find-references/scripts/motion_read.py, line 82
fail(f"this subcommand needs the Python module '{name}'. Install it: pip install {package}") - find-references/scripts/motion_read.py, line 184
fail(f"cuts needs the Python module '{module}'. Install it: pip install {package}") - README.md, line 19
npx skills add vargHQ/skills # pick skills and agents - README.md, line 20
npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill caption-styles -a codex # one skill, one agent - README.md, line 283
| Any agent (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Grok, Gemini CLI, Copilot, OpenCode and 60+ more) | `npx skills add vargHQ/skills` or one skill: `npx skills add vargHQ - README.md, line 297
- **Update skills installed with the skills CLI:** `npx skills update`. - README.md, line 298
- **Pick agents and scope:** `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill varg-ai -a claude-code -a codex -g -y` (`-g` global, `-y` no prompts, `--list` to see every s - README.md, line 299
- **OpenCode:** `npx skills add vargHQ/skills -a opencode -g`, or copy one skill folder to `~/.config/opencode/skills/<skill>/`. - how-to/download-videos-from-x-youtube-tiktok/README.md, line 14
npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill media-download --skill find-references --skill video-asset-sources - how-to/make-an-ai-movie/README.md, line 14
npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill video-script --skill find-references --skill video-moodboard --skill character-passport --skill varg-mockups --skill video-
Runs commands on your computer
This is disclosed by the author in the skill's SKILL.md or README.
Found in 23 places.
Show 17 more
- find-references/SKILL.md, line 233
python3 -I "$S/search.py" fuse light-1.json light-2.json light-3.json --limit 20 - find-references/SKILL.md, line 258
python3 -I "$S/frame_light.py" refs/light/07-light-met.jpg # bright side, contrast in stops, highlight and shadow colour - find-references/SKILL.md, line 270
C="$S/../assets/criteria/light.json" - find-references/SKILL.md, line 288
python3 -I "$S/board.py" board.json board.html --seed 7 # input shape in references/templates.md - find-references/scripts/frame_light.py, line 74
out = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True) - find-references/scripts/frame_light.py, line 83
out = subprocess.run(["ffprobe", "-v", "error", "-select_streams", "v:0", "-show_entries", "stream=width,height", - find-references/scripts/judge.py, line 572
out = subprocess.run(["magick", source, "-auto-orient", *ops, "-format", "%w %h", "info:"], - find-references/scripts/judge.py, line 585
done = subprocess.run(["magick", src, "-auto-orient", *(trim if do_trim else []), - find-references/scripts/judge.py, line 593
except subprocess.CalledProcessError: - find-references/scripts/judge.py, line 641
done = subprocess.run(command, cwd=cwd, env=env, capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=READ_TIMEOUT, - find-references/scripts/judge.py, line 642
stdin=subprocess.DEVNULL) - find-references/scripts/judge.py, line 666
done = subprocess.run(command, cwd=cwd, env=env, input=user, capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=READ_TIMEOUT) - find-references/scripts/judge.py, line 728
except subprocess.TimeoutExpired: - find-references/scripts/judge.py, line 967
except (OSError, ValueError, subprocess.SubprocessError) as error: - find-references/scripts/motion_read.py, line 98
done = subprocess.run(["ffprobe", "-v", "error", "-select_streams", "v:0", "-show_entries", "packet=pts_time", - find-references/scripts/motion_read.py, line 136
done = subprocess.run(command, capture_output=True, text=True) - find-references/scripts/motion_read.py, line 166
process = subprocess.Popen(command, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
and 3 more places
Sends data to these websites: varg.ai, dl.polyhaven.org, www.loc.gov, raw.githubusercontent.com, cdn.jsdelivr.net, api.fontsource.org
This is disclosed by the author in the skill's SKILL.md or README. Expected for a media skill.
Found in 18 places.
Show 15 more
- find-references/references/texture.md, line 142
curl -s "https://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=kodachrome&co=fsac&fo=json" # 1 hit, "Guide at Little Norway, Blue Mounds, Wis." - find-references/references/texture.md, line 143
curl -s "https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017878934/?fo=json" - find-references/references/type-graphics.md, line 93
curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google/fonts/main/tags/all/families.csv -o families.csv - find-references/references/type-graphics.md, line 118
curl -s -o archivo-latin-400.woff2 https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/fontsource/fonts/archivo@5.3.0/latin-400-normal.woff2 - find-references/references/type-graphics.md, line 153
curl -s https://api.fontsource.org/v1/fonts/bagnard - find-references/scripts/mcp_call.py, line 14
import urllib.request - find-references/scripts/mcp_call.py, line 21
req = urllib.request.Request(url, data=json.dumps(body).encode(), headers=headers, method="POST") - find-references/scripts/mcp_call.py, line 22
with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=120) as resp: - find-references/scripts/search.py, line 54
import http.client - find-references/scripts/search.py, line 64
import urllib.request - find-references/scripts/search.py, line 145
except (OSError, http.client.HTTPException) as error: # includes URLError, timeouts and IncompleteRead - find-references/scripts/search.py, line 153
def fetch(url): - find-references/scripts/search.py, line 156
request = urllib.request.Request(url, headers={"User-Agent": USER_AGENT, "Accept": "application/json"}) - find-references/scripts/search.py, line 157
with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=TIMEOUT) as response: - find-references/scripts/search.py, line 163
status, body = fetch(url)
Safer alternatives
Low-risk skills in the same category (media) that look related. Check that one does what you need.
Install
Paste this into your terminal. It downloads exactly the version we scanned, not whatever is newest.
if [ -e ~/.agents/skills/'find-references' ] || [ -L ~/.agents/skills/'find-references' ]; then echo 'A skill folder named find-references already exists — not replacing it' >&2; false; else d=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --quiet --filter=blob:none --no-checkout 'https://github.com/vargHQ/skills' "$d" && git -C "$d" checkout --quiet '72e8109188e3366ba8d365902a84d6b237dec1d7' -- 'find-references' && mkdir -p ~/.agents/skills && cp -R "$d"/'find-references' ~/.agents/skills/'find-references' && rm -rf "$d"; fi
Codex reads ~/.agents/skills directly. For Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Antigravity or OpenCode, also link it. For Claude Code: ln -s ~/.agents/skills/'find-references' ~/.claude/skills/'find-references' (other agents: ~/.cursor/skills, ~/.copilot/skills, ~/.gemini/skills, ~/.gemini/config/skills, ~/.config/opencode/skills). Or install through the finder skill, which does both.
Badge for your README
The badge for vargHQ/skills shows the score of its lowest-scoring skill.
[](https://zalavijaysinh.github.io/skilltrust/repos/vargHQ/skills/)
Score history
| Date | Version | Score |
|---|
| 2026-11-07 | 72e8109 | 79 |