Skills

A skill is a reusable package that bundles tools, credentials, knowledge, and an optional runtime into a single assignable unit. Instead of configuring individual tools and API keys on every agent, you create a skill once and assign it to any agent that needs those capabilities.

What a Skill Bundles

Each skill is a self-contained capability package with up to five components:

Component	Description
Tools	A list of tool names from the platform's tool library. These are the actions the skill provides (e.g., web_search, read_file, github_create_issue).
Credentials	API keys and secrets required by the skill's tools. Assigned via credential assignments.
Knowledge	A text block of domain knowledge injected into the agent's context when the skill is active. Use this for instructions, reference data, or behavioral guidelines specific to the skill.
Runtime	An optional runtime environment (e.g., a sandboxed Python container) required by tools that execute code.
App	An optional link to an installed App, connecting the skill to an external service's adapter and channels.

Skills vs. Stage Tools

Understanding the difference between skills and stage tools is key to building effective workflows.

Skills are the agent's general capabilities — the expertise it brings to every task, regardless of context. Think of it like hiring an employee: a researcher you hire knows how to search the web and read documents. That's their professional skillset. You assign these skills once in the Team Builder and they stay with the agent across all stages.

Stage tools are task-specific instruments — tools an agent needs only for a particular stage. A researcher might need access to a GitHub API in one stage to gather issue data, but not in the next stage where they're writing a summary. Assigning tools at the stage level (via Assignments) keeps agents focused and avoids overloading them with irrelevant capabilities.

	Skills (on the Agent)	Stage Tools (on the Assignment)
Configured in	Team Builder	Workflow Builder (assignment)
Scope	All stages the agent participates in	One specific stage only
Analogy	Education and expertise an employee brings when hired	Specific equipment handed out for a particular task
Example	Web search, code execution	GitHub API for a data-gathering stage

tip

Start with skills for the core capabilities that define the agent's role. Add stage tools only when a specific stage requires something the agent doesn't normally need.

Assigning Skills to Agents

Skills are assigned to agents through the Team Builder or the agent edit form. When you assign a skill to an agent, the agent gains access to all of the skill's tools during workflow execution.

In the Team Builder, drag a skill card from the sidebar palette onto an agent node. The visual graph shows skill nodes connected to their assigned agents via dashed links. To remove a skill assignment, click the "x" button on the skill node.

An agent can have multiple skills assigned. The tools from all assigned skills are merged into the agent's available tool set.

info

Skills are scoped to the organization. Any agent in any team within the organization can be assigned any of the organization's skills.

Platform Skills vs Custom Skills

Skills come in two varieties:

Platform Skills

Platform skills are pre-built by the platform and available to all organizations. They bundle commonly needed capabilities like web search, file operations, or code execution.

• Locked platform skills are auto-installed for every new organization and cannot be deleted or modified. They provide core capabilities that the platform expects to be available.
• Unlocked platform skills are pre-built but can be customized or removed by the organization.

Platform skills are identified by a unique key and marked with a "Platform" badge in the UI.

Custom Skills

Custom skills are created by the organization to package project-specific or domain-specific tool sets. For example, you might create:

• A "GitHub Operations" skill bundling github_create_issue, github_list_repos, and github_create_pr with a GitHub API token credential.
• A "Data Analysis" skill bundling read_csv, run_sql, and generate_chart with a database credential and a code execution runtime.
• A "Content Publishing" skill bundling tools from an installed CMS App with editorial guidelines as knowledge.

Custom skills can be freely edited and deleted.

Skill Components in Detail

Tool Names

Each skill lists the tools it bundles. Tools must exist in the platform's tool library or as project tool definitions. The skill card shows the count of bundled tools.

Credential Requirements

Skills track which credentials their tools require. The platform automatically detects requirements and surfaces a checklist:

Status	Meaning
Satisfied	The required credential is assigned to the skill
Missing	A required credential has not been assigned yet

Unsatisfied credential requirements are surfaced as warnings in the skill card. Tools that require missing credentials will fail at runtime.

Knowledge

The knowledge field is a free-text block that gets injected into the agent's context when the skill is active. Use it for:

• Domain-specific instructions ("When searching for academic papers, prefer peer-reviewed sources and cite DOI links")
• API usage guidelines ("The GitHub API has a rate limit of 5000 requests/hour -- batch operations where possible")
• Behavioral constraints ("Never modify the main branch directly -- always create a feature branch")

Runtime

Some tools require a sandboxed execution environment (e.g., running Python code, executing shell commands). You can link the skill to a configured runtime. If a skill includes tools that require a runtime but none is assigned, the skill shows a "missing runtime" status.

Runtime status values:

Status	Meaning
Not needed	None of the skill's tools require a runtime
Satisfied	A runtime is assigned and currently running
Missing	Tools require a runtime but none is assigned
Not running	A runtime is assigned but the container is not active

Status Badges

The skill card in the UI displays status badges that give a quick health overview:

• Tool count -- "3 tools" indicating how many tools the skill bundles.
• Credential count -- "2 credentials" showing assigned credentials.
• Runtime indicator -- "1 runtime" if a runtime is linked.
• App link -- "app: Slack" if connected to an installed App.
• Requirement warnings -- Red badges for missing credentials or runtimes.

Field Reference

Field	Required	Default	Description
Name	Yes	--	Unique display name within the organization
Description	No	--	What the skill does and when to use it
Category	No	--	Grouping label (e.g., "search", "code", "communication")
Icon	No	Puzzle piece	Icon shown on the skill card
Tools	No	None	Tools bundled with this skill
Knowledge	No	--	Domain knowledge injected into agent context
Runtime	No	None	Execution environment for tools that run code
App	No	None	Link to an installed App

How-to Guides

• Create a Skill
• Assign Tools via Skills