Install, Create and Manage Skills
See, create, install, change and delete your skills.
What it is
Skills come from several places: built into Cowork, this computer, the workspace, your home folder, and your platform or institution (see What Skills Are). Your own skills you can change; published ones are read-only. Everything here is done either in Settings › Skills or by asking the AI.
When to use it
| To | Use |
|---|---|
| Turn a job you just did into a method | Create, by asking the AI |
| Use a skill someone published | Install from its source |
| Fix a skill that gives the wrong result | Change it |
| Take a skill with you or give it to a colleague | Export, then import |
How to use it
| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| See your skills | Open Settings › Skills to browse every skill by source and read it |
| Create one | Ask: "Turn what we just did into a skill called weekly-summary". The AI writes SKILL.md, checks its format and tells you where it saved it: in the workspace if one is open, otherwise on this computer |
| Install one | Paste the source into the chat (a GitHub address, an npm package or a skills add command) and ask the AI to install it. It shows what is inside first, then installs only what you choose |
| Change one | Ask the AI to change it, or edit its SKILL.md yourself |
| Export or import | Settings › Skills imports or exports a skill package |
| Delete one of this computer's skills | Ask the AI; it asks you to confirm first |
Manage your / commands | Type /shortcut |
Example
text
Install the skill from https://github.com/example/meeting-minutes-skillThe AI shows the files in the package and asks which to install. After you choose, the skill appears in Settings › Skills and as /meeting-minutes.
Limits and permissions
- Platform and institution skills are read-only. To adapt one, copy it into your own skills.
- A skill's scripts run with your normal permissions; running one asks you first. Install only from sources you trust.
- After you edit a skill outside Cowork, ask the AI to "reload skills", or start a new chat.
- Updating or removing an installed skill is refused if you changed its files locally.
If something goes wrong
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| The AI does not use your skill | Make the description say when to use it, in the words you type. See What Makes a Good Skill |
| An edited skill still behaves the old way | Ask the AI to "reload skills", or start a new chat |
| Two skills have the same name | Both are listed with their source; run the one you mean with /name, or rename one |
Related
- Build Your First Skill Step by step from a finished job
- How a Skill Is Written The parts of
SKILL.md - Built-in Skills The skills that come with Cowork