Skill library
The skill library keeps reusable agent skills — a SKILL.md with instructions, plus helper scripts and other files — for all your sessions. Every save is a new version, and older versions can be restored. Sessions put the matching skills into the agent's own skill directory and keep it up to date while they run, and agents can search, read and save skills themselves, so what one session works out is there for the next.
Edition: Community · Enterprise for sharing with other users, groups or everyone · Who: every user for their own skills; admins for sharing and publishing settings
Managing skills in Settings
Open Settings → Skills. The list shows each skill with its version (v3), its project if it has one, and shared · owner (with the owner's name) for skills other users shared with you. Search skills… filters the list.
Add skill opens the form:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Name | kebab-case: lowercase letters, digits, hyphens, e.g. review-checklist |
| Description | When the agent should use it — this is what the agent sees when choosing a skill |
| Scope | Personal (all my sessions) or Project: and the project name — a project skill is only loaded into that project's sessions |
| Content | The SKILL.md Markdown |
Edit changes a skill and takes an optional Change note for the history. Files that came with the skill (scripts, assets) are listed and kept on save; agents manage them through the library tools. Delete removes the skill. Skills shared with you are read-only.
Versions and restore
History lists every version with time, author and change note. View shows that version's content; Restore makes it the new latest version, content and files together, so restoring is itself a new version and nothing is lost.
Which skills a session gets
There is no per-session list to manage. A session receives:
- your personal skills,
- the skills of the session's project, if it has one,
- skills shared with you (Enterprise).
When two have the same name, the project skill wins over a personal one, and your own skill wins over a shared one.
Skills stay in sync while sessions run
The session writes its skills into ~/.claude/skills at start (Codex, Cursor and OpenClaw read the same directory as ~/.agents/skills) and checks the library for changes every minute. A skill saved in Settings or by another session therefore reaches running sessions:
| Agent | A new or changed skill appears |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | On the next turn |
| Codex | On the next turn |
| OpenCode | When the agent is idle, before its next turn |
| OpenClaw | At the next start of the session |
| Cursor | Not verified — assume the next start |
If the agent edits a library skill in place, the session keeps its edit rather than overwriting it with the library's version; the agent is told to save the edit with upload_skill to share it.
Skills the agent creates
A skill the agent creates as a new directory under ~/.claude/skills is imported into the library automatically — within about a minute and when the session ends. It lands in the session's project, or in your personal library when the session has none. Unchanged skills do not create new versions.
The end-of-turn reminder
Claude Code, Codex and Cursor sessions get a reminder at the end of a turn that edited files or ran commands: is there a reusable procedure or script that belongs in the library? The agent saves it or says in one line that there is nothing. Turns that only answered a question are left alone.
The agent's library tools
Every session gets the built-in skill-library MCP server:
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
search_skills | Search project, personal and shared skills by keywords — and by meaning if the operator configured embeddings |
get_skill | Read a skill, a single file of it, or an older version; with out_dir, write the whole skill to disk |
upload_skill | Create or update a skill, with an optional change note; takes a local path (a directory, a file or a .tar.gz) so large scripts never pass through the agent's context |
list_skill_versions | A skill's history, newest first |
restore_skill_version | Restore an older version of one of your own skills as the new latest |
Uploads go to the session's project, or to your personal library when the session has no project.
Sharing skills (Enterprise)
On the Enterprise edition, admins see Sharing on their own skills in Settings → Skills: Share with everyone, with selected Users, or with Groups from your OIDC provider. Recipients get the skill read-only, in Settings and in their sessions.
Under Settings → Skill publishing, an admin can tick Allow users to publish skills to everyone. Users then see Publish to everyone on their own skills. Without an Enterprise licence these controls show a licence notice instead.
For operators
| Value | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
skillLibrary.mcp | true | Give sessions the skill-library MCP server |
skillLibrary.embeddings.endpoint | "" | An /embeddings HTTP endpoint for search by meaning; empty means keyword search only |
skillLibrary.embeddings.model | "" | The embedding model to request |
skillLibrary.embeddings.apiKey | "" | Key for that endpoint |
See Chart values.