Skills Guide
Skills are reusable procedural workflows defined in a
SKILL.mdfile. Invoke skills using@skill:namein chat, or let agents select them from<available_skills>.
Built-in skills reside inbundled_skills(mirrored tosystem_skillsat runtime). Custom skills are stored in distinct directories according to their scope.
What is a Skill?
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| What it is | A folder containing SKILL.md and optional scripts/, references/, and assets/. It specifies standard operating procedures. |
| What it is not | It is not a settings menu or an MCP server. It instructs models on how and when to use existing tools. |
| Who uses it | Users invoke skills with @skill:..., or agents read them contextually to complete specialized tasks. |
Built-in tools provide execution capabilities. Skills provide operational instructions and domain logic.
To install MCP tools, refer to Extensions and Custom MCP.
Skill Scope and Precedence
When skills with identical names exist in multiple scopes, the scope with higher precedence takes priority (case-insensitive, first-wins matching).
Precedence Hierarchy (Highest to Lowest)
workspace → agent import (IDE skills) → assistant → custom (additionalSkillPaths) → global (user) → system (bundled mirror)
Scope Overview
workspace — Limited to the current session or project repository
- Path:
{workspace}/.libragent/skills/{name}/ - Usage: Recommended for project-specific instructions and easy deletion.
assistant — Assigned to a specific assistant profile
- Path:
{dataDir}/assistants/{assistantId}/skills/{name}/ - Usage: Managed directly via the Skills tab in Assistant configuration.
global (user) — Shared across all sessions for the current user
- Path:
{dataDir}/user_skills/{name}/ - Usage: Standard location for permanent user-created skills.
system (bundled) — Provided out of the box by LibrAgent
- Path:
{dataDir}/system_skills/{name}/ - Usage: Runtime mirror of
bundled_skills. Do not write custom files here because the app refreshes this folder on launch.
agent import — Auto-discovered from existing IDE skills in workspace
- Path:
.cursor/skills/,.agents/skills/, etc. - Usage: Automatically indexed from supported coding assistants.
NOTE
Typical dataDir locations:
- Linux:
~/.local/share/com.fritzprix.libragent/ - macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/com.fritzprix.libragent/ - Windows:
%APPDATA%\com.fritzprix.libragent\
Common Misconceptions
| Statement | Reality |
|---|---|
| "I want to install a global custom skill." | Place it in user_skills (global), not system_skills. |
| "I want to edit bundled skills directly." | Bundled skills update through source code in src-tauri/bundled_skills/. |
"I placed a skill at the workspace root (my-skill/)." | Scanners ignore it. Skills must reside in .libragent/skills/{name}/. |
Accessing Scopes in the UI
| Goal | Location in UI |
|---|---|
| Manage local skills | Sidebar: Extensions → Skills |
| Configure skills per assistant | Assistants → Edit → Skills tab |
| Deploy via chat command | Use @skill:skill-deployer |
How to Use Skills (@skill:)
- In the chat input, type
@and select@skill:. - Choose a skill name from the auto-complete menu and state your objective.
@skill:deep-research
Compare recent product releases from Vendor A and Vendor B into a Markdown report.Reference files with @file:path. The available skill index updates on the subsequent turn.
Create and Deploy Skills (Meta-Skills)
| Phase | Skill | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Author and Validate | @skill:skill-creator | Drafts frontmatter and runs validate_skill.py --strict |
| 2. Deploy to Scope | @skill:skill-deployer | Copies validated skill folders to workspace, global, or assistant paths |
Example workflow:
@skill:skill-creator
Create a 'weekly-notes' skill and validate it with --strict.@skill:skill-deployer
Deploy the 'weekly-notes' skill into the workspace scope for this session.Never deploy custom skills to system_skills or bundled_skills. When uncertain, choose workspace scope.
Bundled Skills Catalog
Bundled skills ship with the app (bundled_skills → system_skills). Auto-complete suggestions in chat reflect the latest available catalog.
Setup and Environment
setup-wizard, tool-installer, agent-init, computer-diagnosis
Multi-Agent and Orchestration
To learn about child sessions and multi-agent coordination patterns, refer to the Sub-Agents & Orchestration Guide.
delegate, teamwork, org, org-restructure, divide-conquer, hub-spoke, pipeline, consensus-delegation, gatekeeper, pair-programming, recruit, boost
Scheduling and Timer Triggers
schedule, loop, call-me-back
Context and History
context-recall — Recovers conversation history and architectural decisions from pre-compaction epochs (.libragent/pre_compaction_epoch_{N}.md).
Research and Documentation
deep-research, science-search, knowledge-distiller, to-md, docx, pptx, visualize, workspace-indexer, repo-wiki, soul-awakening
science-search — Search ~200 million scholarly papers (titles/abstracts), look up DOIs, find similar works, and walk citation graphs via the free ScienceMadeReadable API (no key).
Development and Integrations
git-workflow, bench, fine-tune, email-integration, calendar-mgmt, telegram-cli, x-cli, ig-cli, skill-creator, skill-deployer, tool-creator, playbook-creator
Common Workflows
| Objective | Recommended Approach |
|---|---|
| Install runtimes (Python, Node) | @skill:setup-wizard or App Wizard |
| Install recommended MCP servers | Extensions Guide |
| Install custom MCP servers | Custom MCP Guide or @skill:tool-installer |
| Turn procedures into skills | @skill:skill-creator → @skill:skill-deployer |
| Orchestrate multi-agent teams | Sub-Agents & Orchestration Guide |
| Recover lost session context | @skill:context-recall |
| Find peer-reviewed papers / DOIs | @skill:science-search |
| Email triage with browser fallback | @skill:email-integration |
| Configure custom assistants | Assistants Guide |
| Automate recurring tasks | Playbooks Guide and Automation Guide |
Related Documentation
- Sub-Agents & Orchestration Guide — Multi-agent execution patterns
- Extensions Guide — Pre-configured MCP presets
- Custom MCP Guide — Manual MCP server registration
- 5-Minute Quickstart — Core concepts
- First Agent Chat — Prompting basics
- Troubleshooting Guide — Common error resolution