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What are Skills?

Skills are composable capability bundles that enhance agent functionality. They package together:
  • A set of related tools
  • System prompt additions
  • Configuration parameters
  • Optional external dependencies
Think of skills like npm packages or Kubernetes operators—reusable modules that extend the base system.

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Skill Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     SKILL                           │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │               Metadata                        │  │
│  │  name, version, description, author           │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │               Tools                           │  │
│  │  [tool1] [tool2] [tool3]                      │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │           System Prompt                       │  │
│  │  Instructions for using this skill            │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │            Config                             │  │
│  │  Skill-specific parameters                    │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Built-in Skills

klaw includes 10+ skills out of the box:

web-search

Search the internet and retrieve information.Tools: web_search, web_fetch

browser

Interactive web browsing and scraping.Tools: web_fetch, web_screenshot

code-exec

Execute code in sandboxed environments.Tools: code_run, code_eval

git

Version control operations.Tools: git_status, git_commit, git_push

docker

Container management.Tools: docker_run, docker_build, docker_ps

database

SQL database interactions.Tools: sql_query, sql_exec

api

REST API interactions.Tools: http_get, http_post, http_request

slack

Slack messaging and management.Tools: slack_send, slack_read

email

Email sending and reading.Tools: email_send, email_read

calendar

Calendar management.Tools: calendar_create, calendar_list

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Managing Skills

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List Available Skills

klaw skill list
Output: 
NAME         VERSION  STATUS     DESCRIPTION
web-search   1.0.0    installed  Search the internet
browser      1.0.0    available  Web browsing capabilities
code-exec    1.0.0    installed  Code execution sandbox
git          1.0.0    available  Git version control
docker       1.0.0    available  Docker container management
database     1.0.0    available  SQL database interactions
api          1.0.0    available  REST API client
slack        1.0.0    available  Slack integration
email        1.0.0    available  Email capabilities
calendar     1.0.0    available  Calendar management

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Install a Skill

klaw skill install browser

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Uninstall a Skill

klaw skill uninstall browser

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View Skill Details

klaw skill describe web-search
Output: 
Name:        web-search
Version:     1.0.0
Description: Search the internet and retrieve information
Author:      each::labs
Status:      installed

Tools:
  - web_search: Search the web for information
  - web_fetch: Fetch and process a URL

System Prompt:
  You have access to web search capabilities. Use web_search
  to find current information and web_fetch to read specific
  pages. Always cite your sources.

Config:
  max_results: 10
  safe_search: true

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Using Skills with Agents

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At Creation Time

klaw create agent researcher \
  --model claude-sonnet-4-20250514 \
  --skills web-search,browser,code-exec

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In Agent Definition

# ~/.klaw/agents/researcher.toml
name = "researcher"
model = "claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
skills = ["web-search", "browser", "code-exec"]

[skill_config.web-search]
max_results = 20

[skill_config.database]
connection_string = "${DATABASE_URL}"

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Skill Composition

Skills can be combined to create powerful agents: 
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            FULL-STACK DEVELOPER AGENT               │
│                                                     │
│  Skills: code-exec + git + docker + database        │
│                                                     │
│  ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐  │
│  │code-exec│ │   git   │ │ docker  │ │database │  │
│  └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘  │
│       │           │           │           │        │
│       └───────────┴───────────┴───────────┘        │
│                       │                            │
│                       ▼                            │
│              Combined Tool Registry                │
│              Merged System Prompts                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Example: DevOps Agent

klaw create agent devops \
  --model gpt-4o \
  --skills docker,git,api \
  --task "Manage deployments and infrastructure"

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Example: Research Agent

klaw create agent researcher \
  --model claude-sonnet-4-20250514 \
  --skills web-search,browser \
  --task "Research topics and compile reports"

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Skill Definition Format

Skills are defined in TOML format: 
# skill.toml
name = "my-skill"
version = "1.0.0"
description = "My custom skill"
author = "Your Name"

# Tools this skill provides
tools = ["my_tool_1", "my_tool_2"]

# System prompt addition
system_prompt = """
You have access to my custom tools.
Use my_tool_1 for X and my_tool_2 for Y.
Always follow best practices when using these tools.
"""

# Configuration schema
[config]
api_key = { type = "string", required = true, env = "MY_API_KEY" }
timeout = { type = "integer", default = 30 }

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Skill Registry

Skills are stored and loaded from: 
~/.klaw/
├── skills/
│   ├── installed.json    # Installed skills registry
│   ├── web-search/       # Skill files
│   ├── browser/
│   └── custom-skill/

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installed.json

{
  "skills": {
    "web-search": {
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "installed_at": "2024-12-14T10:00:00Z",
      "source": "builtin"
    },
    "custom-skill": {
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "installed_at": "2024-12-14T11:00:00Z",
      "source": "local"
    }
  }
}

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Creating Custom Skills

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Step 1: Create Skill Directory

mkdir -p ~/.klaw/skills/my-skill

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Step 2: Define the Skill

# ~/.klaw/skills/my-skill/skill.toml
name = "my-skill"
version = "1.0.0"
description = "My custom skill for doing X"

tools = ["my_tool"]

system_prompt = """
You have access to my_tool which does X.
Use it when the user asks about Y.
"""

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Step 3: Implement Tools (Optional)

For custom tools, create a Go file: 
// ~/.klaw/skills/my-skill/tools.go
package myskill

type MyTool struct{}

func (t *MyTool) Name() string { return "my_tool" }
// ... implement Tool interface

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Step 4: Install

klaw skill install ./my-skill

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Remote Skills

Install skills from the marketplace: 
# From skills.sh marketplace
klaw skill install skills.sh/eachlabs/notion

# From GitHub
klaw skill install github.com/user/repo

# From URL
klaw skill install https://example.com/skill.tar.gz

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Skill Configuration

Configure skill behavior per-agent: 
# ~/.klaw/agents/my-agent.toml
name = "my-agent"
skills = ["database", "api"]

[skill_config.database]
connection_string = "${DATABASE_URL}"
max_connections = 10

[skill_config.api]
base_url = "https://api.example.com"
auth_header = "Bearer ${API_TOKEN}"

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System Prompt Composition

When multiple skills are used, their system prompts are merged: 
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              FINAL SYSTEM PROMPT                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Base Agent Prompt                                   │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│ You are a helpful assistant...                      │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Skill: web-search                                   │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│ You can search the web using web_search...          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Skill: code-exec                                    │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│ You can execute code using code_run...              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Workspace Context                                   │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│ [SOUL.md content]                                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Best Practices

Each skill should do one thing well. Don’t create monolithic skills.
Use environment variables for API keys and secrets, never hardcode them.
Write clear system prompts that explain when and how to use each tool.
Test skills locally before installing on production agents.

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Next Steps

Memory System

Learn about persistent agent context

Custom Tools

Build your own tools and skills