Skills

A Skill is a reusable set of instructions and optional resources that teaches an Agent how to perform a particular kind of work. Skills shape how work is done; tools provide the actions used to do it.

New installations start with a compact Core set: summarize, define-task, find-skills, and doc-coauthoring. The Gateway Agent Defaults screen also provides Office, Local App, Developer, and Desktop Pet capability packs. A pack is a convenient Agent allowlist, not a separate installation format; installed Skills remain visible in the Skills catalog and can be assigned to individual Agents.

Existing configurations are preserved. Selecting Use every enabled skill opts an Agent into the complete enabled catalog, including Skills installed later.

Find and enable a Skill

You can manage Skills in a conversation when the current Agent has the Skill tools:

• “Find a Skill for weekly reports. Recommend options without installing anything.”
• “Install this Skill globally, then summarize these sales rows.”
• “Check whether the weekly-report Skill is installed, disabled, or unavailable to this Agent.”
• “Disable weekly-report but keep its files.” / “Enable it again.”
• “Uninstall the weekly-report Skill I installed.”

An explicit installation request authorizes that installation. Searching or sharing a link alone does not. Installs default to the shared global directory; ask for workspace scope when appropriate. Enabling a Skill changes its shared flag, while Agent selection and tool permissions remain separate. The Agent reports unmet requirements instead of bypassing them. Bundled, plugin-owned, and extra-directory Skills retain their owner's management rules. A successful install does not prove a task has run: ask for a small first use and check the result.

In the Gateway console, open Skills, review the description and requirements, then install or enable it for the intended Agent.

In a terminal:

xopc skills list
xopc skills status <skill-name>
xopc skills install <skill-name>
xopc skills enable <skill-name>

Some Skills are already present but need dependencies or configuration before they become ready.

Configure and verify

xopc skills config <skill-name>
xopc skills audit <skill-name>
xopc skills test <skill-name>

After enabling a Skill, start a new Session with the relevant Agent and make a small request that clearly matches the Skill. The Agent should identify the Skill's workflow and report any missing requirement.

Trust and security

A Skill can instruct an Agent to use powerful tools or install dependencies. Before enabling a Skill from outside this repository:

1. read its instructions and source;
2. review requested tools, commands, packages, environment variables, and network access;
3. run the security audit;
4. enable it only for Agents that need it;
5. test with non-sensitive input.

Do not assume a popular or signed archive is automatically safe. A Skill's effective access is the combination of its instructions and the Agent's enabled tools.

Enable, disable, or update

xopc skills disable <skill-name>
xopc skills status <skill-name>
xopc skills hub --help

Disable a Skill when its dependency is unavailable, its instructions are no longer appropriate, or you need to isolate a behavior problem. Disabling preserves its files and configuration.

When a Skill is not working

Symptom	Check
Skill is not listed	Its source directory is available to the current xopc profile
Status is not ready	Install required dependencies and complete configuration
Agent ignores the Skill	The Skill is enabled for that Agent and the request clearly matches its purpose
A command or tool is denied	The Agent policy intentionally allows the required capability
Test fails	Read the first failed check and fix that requirement before retrying

Use xopc skills status <skill-name> as the first diagnostic. Avoid editing installed Skill files unless you intend to maintain a custom copy.