Skills: Teaching Your Agent New Tricks
A skill is a loaded-on-demand manual, and sometimes the manual comes with scripts.
A skill is a reusable packet of instructions an agent can load when a task matches. The simplest skill is a markdown file that says how to do a specific kind of work. More advanced skills include references, templates, assets, or scripts.
The shape
A common shape looks like:
skills/
product-research/
SKILL.md
scripts/
references/
SKILL.md explains when to use the skill and how to do the work. The extra files are supporting material the agent can open or run when needed.
Why skills matter
Skills turn a good one-off workflow into something reusable. If you discover a strong process for product research, trace debugging, browser testing, or writing release notes, a skill lets the agent repeat that process next time.
The failure mode
Skills are only useful if they trigger. Bad names and vague descriptions mean the agent may never load them. Over-broad descriptions mean they trigger when they should not.
The security part
Skills can come from GitHub repos and can include scripts. Treat them like code. Read before installing, scope them narrowly, and do not give random bundles access to sensitive projects.