fix: deduplicate coerce_skill_paths and activate pre-loaded METADATA skills

lib/crewai/src/crewai/agent/core.py

@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ from crewai.mcp.tool_resolver import MCPToolResolver
 from crewai.rag.embeddings.types import EmbedderConfig
 from crewai.security.fingerprint import Fingerprint
 from crewai.skills.loader import activate_skill, discover_skills
-from crewai.skills.models import Skill as SkillModel
+from crewai.skills.models import DisclosureLevel, Skill as SkillModel
 from crewai.tools.agent_tools.agent_tools import AgentTools
 from crewai.utilities.agent_utils import (
     get_tool_names,
@@ -296,11 +296,10 @@ class Agent(BaseAgent):
             raise ValueError(f"Invalid Knowledge Configuration: {e!s}") from e
 
     def set_skills(self) -> None:
-        """Resolve skill paths into loaded Skill objects.
+        """Resolve skill paths and activate skills to INSTRUCTIONS level.
 
-        Path entries trigger discovery and activation. Skill entries pass through.
-        Crew-level skill paths are merged in. Skips work when all items are
-        already resolved and there are no crew-level paths to merge.
+        Path entries trigger discovery and activation. Pre-loaded Skill objects
+        below INSTRUCTIONS level are activated. Crew-level skills are merged in.
         """
         from crewai.crew import Crew
 
@@ -313,8 +312,15 @@ class Agent(BaseAgent):
         if not self.skills and not crew_skills:
             return
 
-        has_unresolved = self.skills and any(isinstance(s, Path) for s in self.skills)
-        if not has_unresolved and not crew_skills:
+        needs_work = self.skills and any(
+            isinstance(s, Path)
+            or (
+                isinstance(s, SkillModel)
+                and s.disclosure_level < DisclosureLevel.INSTRUCTIONS
+            )
+            for s in self.skills
+        )
+        if not needs_work and not crew_skills:
             return
 
         seen: set[str] = set()

lib/crewai/src/crewai/agents/agent_builder/base_agent.py

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ from crewai.mcp.config import MCPServerConfig
 from crewai.rag.embeddings.types import EmbedderConfig
 from crewai.security.security_config import SecurityConfig
 from crewai.skills.models import Skill
+from crewai.skills.validation import coerce_skill_paths as _coerce_skill_paths
 from crewai.tools.base_tool import BaseTool, Tool
 from crewai.utilities.config import process_config
 from crewai.utilities.i18n import I18N, get_i18n
@@ -225,9 +226,7 @@ class BaseAgent(BaseModel, ABC, metaclass=AgentMeta):
     @classmethod
     def coerce_skill_paths(cls, v: list[Any] | None) -> list[Path | Skill] | None:
         """Coerce string entries to Path objects."""
-        if not v:
-            return v
-        return [Path(item) if isinstance(item, str) else item for item in v]
+        return _coerce_skill_paths(v)
 
     @model_validator(mode="before")
     @classmethod

lib/crewai/src/crewai/crew.py

@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ from crewai.rag.types import SearchResult
 from crewai.security.fingerprint import Fingerprint
 from crewai.security.security_config import SecurityConfig
 from crewai.skills.models import Skill
+from crewai.skills.validation import coerce_skill_paths as _coerce_skill_paths
 from crewai.task import Task
 from crewai.tasks.conditional_task import ConditionalTask
 from crewai.tasks.task_output import TaskOutput
@@ -302,9 +303,7 @@ class Crew(FlowTrackable, BaseModel):
     @classmethod
     def coerce_skill_paths(cls, v: list[Any] | None) -> list[Path | Skill] | None:
         """Coerce string entries to Path objects, pass through Skill instances."""
-        if not v:
-            return v
-        return [Path(item) if isinstance(item, str) else item for item in v]
+        return _coerce_skill_paths(v)
 
     security_config: SecurityConfig = Field(
         default_factory=SecurityConfig,

lib/crewai/src/crewai/skills/__init__.py

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ from crewai.skills.models import (
     SkillFrontmatter,
 )
 from crewai.skills.parser import SkillParseError, parse_skill_md
+from crewai.skills.validation import coerce_skill_paths
 
 
 __all__ = [
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ __all__ = [
     "SkillFrontmatter",
     "SkillParseError",
     "activate_skill",
+    "coerce_skill_paths",
     "discover_skills",
     "format_skill_context",
     "load_resources",

lib/crewai/src/crewai/skills/validation.py

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Validates skill names and directory structures per the Agent Skills standard.
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
 
 
 MAX_SKILL_NAME_LENGTH: int = 64
@@ -13,6 +14,20 @@ MIN_SKILL_NAME_LENGTH: int = 1
 SKILL_NAME_PATTERN: str = r"^[a-z0-9]+(?:-[a-z0-9]+)*$"
 
 
+def coerce_skill_paths(v: list[Any] | None) -> list[Any] | None:
+    """Coerce string entries to Path objects, pass through other types.
+
+    Args:
+        v: List of skill paths or Skill objects, or None.
+
+    Returns:
+        The list with string entries converted to Path objects, or None.
+    """
+    if not v:
+        return v
+    return [Path(item) if isinstance(item, str) else item for item in v]
+
+
 def validate_directory_name(skill_dir: Path, skill_name: str) -> None:
     """Validate that a directory name matches the skill name.