---
title: Skills
description: Filesystem-based skill packages that inject context into agent prompts.
icon: bolt
mode: "wide"
---

## Overview

Skills are self-contained directories that provide agents with domain-specific instructions, references, and assets. Each skill is defined by a `SKILL.md` file with YAML frontmatter and a markdown body.

Skills use **progressive disclosure** — metadata is loaded first, full instructions only when activated, and resource catalogs only when needed.

## Directory Structure

```
my-skill/
├── SKILL.md            # Required — frontmatter + instructions
├── scripts/            # Optional — executable scripts
├── references/         # Optional — reference documents
└── assets/             # Optional — static files (configs, data)
```

The directory name must match the `name` field in `SKILL.md`.

## SKILL.md Format

```markdown
---
name: my-skill
description: Short description of what this skill does and when to use it.
license: Apache-2.0                    # optional
compatibility: crewai>=0.1.0          # optional
metadata:                              # optional
  author: your-name
  version: "1.0"
allowed-tools: web-search file-read   # optional, space-delimited
---

Instructions for the agent go here. This markdown body is injected
into the agent's prompt when the skill is activated.
```

### Frontmatter Fields

| Field           | Required | Constraints                                                              |
| :-------------- | :------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `name`          | Yes      | 1–64 chars. Lowercase alphanumeric and hyphens. No leading/trailing/consecutive hyphens. Must match directory name. |
| `description`   | Yes      | 1–1024 chars. Describes what the skill does and when to use it.          |
| `license`       | No       | License name or reference to a bundled license file.                     |
| `compatibility` | No       | Max 500 chars. Environment requirements (products, packages, network).   |
| `metadata`      | No       | Arbitrary string key-value mapping.                                      |
| `allowed-tools` | No       | Space-delimited list of pre-approved tools. Experimental.                |

## Usage

### Agent-level Skills

Pass skill directory paths to an agent:

```python
from crewai import Agent

agent = Agent(
    role="Researcher",
    goal="Find relevant information",
    backstory="An expert researcher.",
    skills=["./skills"],  # discovers all skills in this directory
)
```

### Crew-level Skills

Skill paths on a crew are merged into every agent:

```python
from crewai import Crew

crew = Crew(
    agents=[agent],
    tasks=[task],
    skills=["./skills"],
)
```

### Pre-loaded Skills

You can also pass `Skill` objects directly:

```python
from pathlib import Path
from crewai.skills import discover_skills, activate_skill

skills = discover_skills(Path("./skills"))
activated = [activate_skill(s) for s in skills]

agent = Agent(
    role="Researcher",
    goal="Find relevant information",
    backstory="An expert researcher.",
    skills=activated,
)
```

## How Skills Are Loaded

Skills load progressively — only the data needed at each stage is read:

| Stage            | What's loaded                                     | When               |
| :--------------- | :------------------------------------------------ | :----------------- |
| Discovery        | Name, description, frontmatter fields             | `discover_skills()` |
| Activation       | Full SKILL.md body text                           | `activate_skill()` |

During normal agent execution, skills are automatically discovered and activated. The `scripts/`, `references/`, and `assets/` directories are available on the skill's `path` for agents that need to reference files directly.

