When to use a skill
| To... | Use |
|---|---|
| Keep a fact or preference | Memory |
| Repeat a method | A skill |
| Run work on a schedule | A routine, which can use a skill |
For example, a release-notes skill can define where to find changes, how to group them, the writing style, and what to check before finishing.
Create a skill
- Open Marketplace, then choose Manage → Private skills.
- Choose Create skill, or Import SKILL.md to load an existing skill file.
- Fill in:
- Skill name
- When to use it: a sentence that helps bots recognize when the skill applies
- Instructions: the method itself
- Supporting files (optional): templates, examples, or reference text, entered as JSON that maps each file path to its text
- Under Available to Bots, choose which bots can use it.
- Choose Save skill.
Good instructions are specific about inputs, steps, and the finished result:
When preparing release notes, use only the supplied changes. Group them into Added, Changed, and Fixed. Explain the user-visible effect of each change, link the source, and flag anything that needs confirmation.
If the format matters, include an example of a good result as a supporting file. Don't put passwords or API keys in a skill; connect accounts through plugins instead.
You can also ask a bot to save a method it just used as a skill:
Save how you prepared these release notes as a skill, so you can do it the same way next time.
Skills that bots save are available to all your bots. They don't appear under Private skills.
Skills from plugins
Some installed plugins include skills and runtime instructions. These load for all bots. A plugin can also give a skill to the browser and desktop workers that bots start; 1Password does this so those workers can sign in to websites.
| Plugin | Included skills |
|---|---|
| Slack | 8: slack-messaging, slack-search, slack-docs, slack-api, slack-cli, create-slack-app, test-slack-app, and block-kit |
| Granola | 3: granola-context, granola-prep, and granola-review |
| Notion | 14: search, find, create-page, create-task, create-database-row, database-query, knowledge-capture, meeting-intelligence, research-documentation, spec-to-implementation, tasks-plan, tasks-build, tasks-explain-diff, and tasks-setup |
| Plaid | 4: plaid-setup, plaid-connections, plaid-financial-data, and plaid-troubleshooting |
| 1Password | 1: 1password |
| Google Drive | 1: google-drive |
| Google Docs | 1: google-docs |
| Google Sheets | 1: google-sheets |
| Google Slides | 1: google-slides |
Gmail, Google Calendar, GitHub, and Linear provide tools without bundled skills. You can create a private skill that uses those tools.
Provider skills keep their original upstream instructions. Installing or updating Granola and Notion fetches their pinned skills automatically; you don't need to copy files yourself. Updating a plugin updates its included skills. Your private skills remain separate.
Slack and Granola also include commands. For example, ask for /slack:summarize-channel #general or /granola-brief <meeting or topic>. See their package guides for all commands and any extra setup. Slack's app-development skills may need the Slack CLI and a language runtime on the bot computer. The 1Password skill installs the 1Password CLI on the bot computer the first time it runs and uses the token entered when the plugin was added.
Test and improve a skill
Ask a bot to use the skill on a small task and check the result. If it missed a step, update the instructions and try again. Once it works reliably, use it in other conversations or in a routine.
To share a skill with others as a package, see build a plugin.