Skills
Reusable, versioned units of capability — a SKILL.md plus optional bundled files — that agents discover and load to follow your team's workflows.
A skill is a reusable, versioned unit of capability. It's a SKILL.md file
(instructions and workflow) plus optional bundled files (scripts, reference
docs, templates). Skills are team-scoped: agents connected to a team discover
its published skills and load them to follow your team's established way of
doing something.
Skills turn "the way we do X" into governed, versioned context an agent can pull in on demand — instead of re-explaining it in every session.
The SKILL.md format
A skill is Markdown with YAML frontmatter:
---
name: debug-connector
description: Use when diagnosing a failing MCP connector — auth errors, empty tool lists, or timeouts.
---
# Debug a connector
1. Confirm the connector is installed and approved for the team.
2. Run `mesh_search_tools` to check the tool is visible.
3. ...| Frontmatter key | Required | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
name | Yes | Skill slug — lowercase, alphanumeric with hyphens, up to 64 chars. |
description | Yes | One-line trigger summarizing when to use the skill (agents match on this). |
required_connectors | No | Connector slugs the skill depends on. |
required_permissions | No | Permission strings the skill needs. |
The body is normal Markdown. A skill is identified by its id, its slug, or
the name in its frontmatter.
Where skills live
- In the UI: Teams → [Team] → Setup → Skills — list, create, edit, and view version diffs.
- In the agent context package: published skills are bundled into the team's package as
skills/<slug>/SKILL.md(plus any bundled files), indexed inskills/index.md.
How agents use skills
Only published skills are bundled by default. At runtime an agent:
- Discovers skills with
wato_list_skillsorwato_search_agent_context. - Loads one with
wato_get_skill(returns the SKILL.md and lists its bundled files). - Fetches bundled files on demand with
wato_get_skill_file.
Skill tools
Everything you can do with skills over MCP:
Reading
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
wato_list_skills | List published skills (pass includeDrafts=true for drafts/proposed). |
wato_get_skill | Fetch one skill's current SKILL.md by id/slug, plus a listing of its bundled files. |
wato_get_skill_file | Fetch one bundled file by relative path (e.g. scripts/run.sh). |
wato_search_agent_context | Keyword-search published skills, plugins, and structured memory. |
Creating & managing
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
wato_save_skill_draft | Create or update a skill draft from full SKILL.md; optionally set bundled files and submit for review. |
wato_publish_skill | Publish a skill by id/slug (requires publish access). |