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117 lines
3.8 KiB
Plaintext
117 lines
3.8 KiB
Plaintext
---
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title: Skills
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description: Filesystem-based skill packages that inject context into agent prompts.
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icon: bolt
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mode: "wide"
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---
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## Overview
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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.
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Skills use **progressive disclosure** — metadata is loaded first, full instructions only when activated, and resource catalogs only when needed.
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## Directory Structure
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```
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my-skill/
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├── SKILL.md # Required — frontmatter + instructions
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├── scripts/ # Optional — executable scripts
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├── references/ # Optional — reference documents
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└── assets/ # Optional — static files (configs, data)
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```
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The directory name must match the `name` field in `SKILL.md`.
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## SKILL.md Format
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```markdown
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---
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name: my-skill
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description: Short description of what this skill does and when to use it.
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license: Apache-2.0 # optional
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compatibility: crewai>=0.1.0 # optional
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metadata: # optional
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author: your-name
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version: "1.0"
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allowed-tools: web-search file-read # optional, space-delimited
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---
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Instructions for the agent go here. This markdown body is injected
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into the agent's prompt when the skill is activated.
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```
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### Frontmatter Fields
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| Field | Required | Constraints |
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| :-------------- | :------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| `name` | Yes | 1–64 chars. Lowercase alphanumeric and hyphens. No leading/trailing/consecutive hyphens. Must match directory name. |
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| `description` | Yes | 1–1024 chars. Describes what the skill does and when to use it. |
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| `license` | No | License name or reference to a bundled license file. |
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| `compatibility` | No | Max 500 chars. Environment requirements (products, packages, network). |
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| `metadata` | No | Arbitrary string key-value mapping. |
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| `allowed-tools` | No | Space-delimited list of pre-approved tools. Experimental. |
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## Usage
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### Agent-level Skills
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Pass skill directory paths to an agent:
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```python
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from crewai import Agent
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agent = Agent(
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role="Researcher",
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goal="Find relevant information",
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backstory="An expert researcher.",
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skills=["./skills"], # discovers all skills in this directory
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)
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```
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### Crew-level Skills
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Skill paths on a crew are merged into every agent:
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```python
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from crewai import Crew
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crew = Crew(
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agents=[agent],
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tasks=[task],
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skills=["./skills"],
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)
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```
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### Pre-loaded Skills
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You can also pass `Skill` objects directly:
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```python
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from pathlib import Path
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from crewai.skills import discover_skills, activate_skill
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skills = discover_skills(Path("./skills"))
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activated = [activate_skill(s) for s in skills]
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agent = Agent(
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role="Researcher",
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goal="Find relevant information",
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backstory="An expert researcher.",
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skills=activated,
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)
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```
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## Disclosure Levels
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Skills load progressively through three levels:
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| Level | What's loaded | When |
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| :--------------- | :------------------------------------------------ | :----------------- |
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| `METADATA` | Name, description, frontmatter fields | `discover_skills()` |
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| `INSTRUCTIONS` | Full SKILL.md body text | `activate_skill()` |
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| `RESOURCES` | File listings from scripts/, references/, assets/ | `load_resources()` |
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During normal agent execution, skills are automatically discovered and activated (promoted to `INSTRUCTIONS`). Use `load_resources()` only when you need to inspect available files programmatically.
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