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Context docs

Create a skill

A skill is created in the skill editor or drafted with an agent, then tested on a real task.

Steps

  1. Choose a method:
    • Skill editor. Go to Skills in the left rail and click New Skill, or in the composer click Attach skills (the scroll) > Add skill > Create with skill editor. The editor opens beside the list. Each field is described in Skill editor reference.
    • With an agent. In an empty composer, click Attach skills > Add skill > Create skill with Context. The agent asks what the skill should do, then writes it with you. Clear the composer first: it won’t replace a draft you’ve started.
  2. Name the skill. Then write, in this order:
    • What it’s for: one sentence, so an agent knows when to use it.
    • The steps, numbered, in the order they happen.
    • The rules: what must always or never happen.
    • An example of good output, if you have one.
  3. In the skill editor, click Save. The top bar shows “Saved”.
  4. Try the skill on a real task. In the composer, click Attach skills and add it. Compare the result with what you expected.
  5. Edit the skill where the result went wrong, and try again.

Skill editor reference

The video on Skills builds an “Account brief” skill this way.

The library on Skills lists your organization’s skills, with the tabs All, Your skills and Shared with you. New Skill opens the editor beside the list. If your organization has renamed skills, the button uses its own name.

FieldWhat goes in it
Skill nameThe skill’s name, for example “Account brief”.
Add a description…When to use the skill, for example “Use this when you prepare a brief on a client company before a meeting.” Agents see only a skill’s name and description until they open it, so the description is how they know when to reach for it.
Add tagA tag such as account-briefs, so the skill is easy to find later. Pick an existing tag, or choose Create new tag. Tags use lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens: “My Tag” becomes my-tag. A tag can be up to 50 characters, and a skill can have up to 20 tags.
BodyThe steps in plain language. They are saved as the skill’s SKILL.md.

An example body for “Account brief”:

  1. Say what the client does and who it serves, in two sentences.
  2. Summarize the client’s last quarter in three bullets.
  3. List three open questions for our next call.
  4. Close with a one-line recommendation.

Save shows “Saved” in the top bar. After the first save, the editor shows Share, the tabs Editor, Activity and Evaluations (where evaluations are available to you), and a footer to add files and connectors.

A new skill stays private until you share it: only you, and your agents working in your tasks, can use it.

Best practices

  • Do the job by hand in a task first. The skill then records what already worked.
  • Give the skill a clear name and description. Agents see only a skill’s name and description until they open it.
  • Write rules the agent can check. “Under 400 words” works; “Concise” doesn’t.
  • Keep each skill to one job. “Board decks” and “Sales data cleaning” are two skills, because if one large skill covers everything, the agent can’t tell which part applies.

Next steps