Skills are reusable prompt modules that extend Octo’s capabilities. Each skill is a directory containing a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter.
Interactive Wizard
The fastest way to create a skill:
The wizard guides you through:
Name and description
Validated format with collision detection against existing skills. Description doubles as the trigger — describe WHEN to use the skill.
Purpose
Detailed description of what the skill does, its workflow, and expected input/output.
Settings
Model invocation (can the LLM trigger it?), permissions (filesystem, network, shell), and tags.
AI generation
An LLM generates the full skill body based on your description, using existing skills as examples. The SKILL.md is previewed before saving.
Manual Creation
---
name: summarize-pdf
description: Summarize PDF documents into concise bullet points
dependencies:
python:
- pymupdf
system:
- poppler
---
When asked to summarize a PDF:
1. Use the `Read` tool to read the PDF file
2. Extract the key sections and main arguments
3. Produce a bullet-point summary with:
- Main thesis / purpose
- Key findings (3-5 points)
- Conclusions and recommendations
4. Keep the summary under 500 words unless asked for more detail
Frontmatter Fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|
name | Yes | Skill identifier (lowercase, hyphens ok) |
description | Yes | One-line description shown in /skills list |
dependencies | No | Dependencies to auto-install |
Dependency Types
dependencies:
python:
- pymupdf>=1.23.0
- pandas
npm:
- "@playwright/mcp"
mcp:
- name: playwright
type: stdio
command: npx
args: ["@playwright/mcp@latest"]
system:
- poppler # shown for manual install
- ffmpeg
| Type | Auto-installed? | How |
|---|
python | Yes | pip install into active venv |
npm | Yes | npm install --prefix .octo/ |
mcp | Yes | Added to .mcp.json |
system | No | Displayed for manual installation |
Installation Location
Skills are installed to .octo/skills/<name>/SKILL.md.
Invoking Skills
Once installed, invoke a skill as a slash command:
The skill’s prompt is injected into the conversation, guiding the agent’s behavior for that interaction.
Publishing Skills
Skills can be shared via Git repositories. The marketplace commands (/skills search, octo skills search) discover published skills.
Keep skills focused on a single task. A skill that does one thing well is more reusable than one that tries to do everything.
