Read time: ~5 minutes · Series: Analyst advanced · Previous: Plan vs Agent Memory · Details: User Guide §14
What a Skill is
A Skill is a reusable package of methodology and professional knowledge. It tells an Agent how to think about, check, and deliver a class of work. It is not a new tool or an additional permission.
| A Skill is | A Skill is not |
|---|---|
| Checklists, quality rules, and delivery conventions | API keys, database connections, or system permissions |
Guidance you explicitly load with / in a conversation |
A way to bypass Plan or approval |
| One definition that built-in and MCP external Agents can share | A public marketplace |
Agent state, enabled tools, MCP access mode, approvals, and audit still decide what an Agent may do. A Skill only guides how it does the work.
How to use one
- Open Skill Library from the top right. Import personal Skills, then set Enabled and, when appropriate, Share with external agents.
- In the built-in chat box, type
/and choose a Skill from the picker. - App-managed methods—including Plan, statistics, HTML, and local-document-to-Reference (
lantide:load-external-ref)—do not appear in your personal list.
You can also ask an Agent to turn a repeatable workflow into a Skill. It creates a read-only preview first. Review its name, suitable situations, references, sharing scope, and suggested location; then choose Create. Only the unchanged preview you confirmed can be saved. Ask mode can preview but cannot create.
Do not put one-off conclusions, secrets, or large raw data in a Skill. Keep short reusable rules in Memory and large project references in Reference docs.
Skill, Memory, or Plan?
| Store it in | Best for |
|---|---|
| Plan / Report | The definitions and deliverables for this analysis |
| Agent Memory (after Queued Knowledge approval) | Short rules reused across conversations |
| Skill | A reusable methodology package loaded with / |
Try this now
Open Skill Library, make sure at least one personal Skill is Enabled, then type / in a chat to confirm it appears in the picker.