What are Agent Skills?
A simple, open format for giving AI agents new capabilities and expertise. Originally developed by Anthropic, now adopted across the ecosystem.
How Skills Work
1. Discovery
At startup, agents load only the name and description of each skill—just enough to know when it might be relevant.
2. Activation
When a task matches a skill's description, the agent reads the full SKILL.md instructions into context.
3. Execution
The agent follows the instructions, optionally loading referenced files or executing bundled scripts as needed.
Skill Structure
Directory Layout
skill-name/ ├── SKILL.md # Required ├── scripts/ # Optional ├── references/ # Optional └── assets/ # Optional
SKILL.md Format
--- name: my-skill description: What this skill does and when to use it. --- # Instructions Step-by-step guide...
Required Fields
nameMax 64 chars. Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens only.
descriptionMax 1024 chars. What the skill does and when to use it.
Why Agent Skills?
For Skill Authors
Build capabilities once and deploy them across multiple agent products. Your skills work everywhere.
For Compatible Agents
Support for skills lets end users give agents new capabilities out of the box without custom development.
For Teams & Enterprises
Capture organizational knowledge in portable, version-controlled packages that can be shared and audited.
Interoperability
Reuse the same skill across different skills-compatible agent products. Write once, run anywhere.
Compatible Tools
Agent Skills are supported by leading AI development tools.
Resources
What are Skills?
Learn about skills, how they work, and why they matter.
Specification
The complete format specification for SKILL.md files.
Integrate Skills
Add skills support to your agent or tool.
Example Skills
Browse example skills on GitHub from Anthropic.
Our GitHub Repo
View source code, contribute, and star on GitHub.
Browse All Skills
Explore 52+ skills from the community.