> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cloudthinker.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Custom Skills

> Create, upload, and manage workspace-level skills that give AI agents specialized knowledge

**Custom skills are workspace-private instruction packages that you create and control.** They encode your organization's specific knowledge—coding standards, review checklists, compliance rules, operational procedures—so AI agents apply them consistently across every task.

***

## What you get

* **Enable/disable** skills per workspace without deleting them
* **Feature assignment** to scope skills to Code Review, Incident, Assessment, or any combination
* **Two creation paths**: AI generation or manual writing
* **Detail view** with file tree and rendered markdown preview
* **AI-powered editing** to refine skills after creation

***

## Prerequisites

* A CloudThinker workspace

***

## Quick start

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Customize">
    Navigate to **Customize** from the sidebar menu to access the Skills management page.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a new skill">
    Click **New Skill** and choose a creation method—write instructions or generate with AI.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enable and assign">
    Toggle the skill on and select which features should use it (Code Review, Incident, Assessment).
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/cloudthinker/AeA396afvGSMYSou/images/skills/01-custom-skills-page.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=AeA396afvGSMYSou&q=85&s=d177965127f202fcc12161c16bf16220" alt="Custom Skills management page showing skill cards with enable toggles and feature assignment checkboxes" width="2706" height="1528" data-path="images/skills/01-custom-skills-page.png" />
</Frame>

***

## Creating a skill

Click **New Skill** to see the available creation methods.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/cloudthinker/AeA396afvGSMYSou/images/skills/02-create-skill-dropdown.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=AeA396afvGSMYSou&q=85&s=fb71e019f5ea88cbddca534ab84a57bd" alt="New Skill dropdown showing creation options: Create with AI, Write skill instructions" width="2704" height="1534" data-path="images/skills/02-create-skill-dropdown.png" />
</Frame>

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Create with AI">
    Describe what you need in plain language and let AI generate a complete SKILL.md for you.

    1. Click **Create with AI**
    2. A chat session opens with the skill creation agent
    3. Describe your requirements—coding standards, review rules, procedures
    4. The agent generates a SKILL.md with proper frontmatter and structured instructions
    5. Review the generated skill and click **Save**

    This is the fastest way to get started. You can always refine the skill later using AI editing.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Write skill instructions">
    Write your skill manually using a form interface.

    1. Click **Write skill instructions**
    2. Fill in the required fields:
       * **Name**: A slug-format identifier (e.g., `security-checklist`, `api-review-standards`)
       * **Description**: A short summary of what the skill does
       * **Instructions**: The full skill content in Markdown
    3. Click **Save**

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/cloudthinker/AeA396afvGSMYSou/images/skills/03-write-skill-form.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=AeA396afvGSMYSou&q=85&s=d6fbb4f33d01b882059b9d5b2b74d8cc" alt="Write skill dialog with name, description, and instructions fields" width="2676" height="1504" data-path="images/skills/03-write-skill-form.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Managing skills

Once created, you can manage skills from the Custom Skills page.

### Enable or disable

Toggle a skill on or off using the switch on its card. Disabled skills are preserved but not loaded by agents.

### Assign to features

Use the feature checkboxes on each skill card to control where it applies:

* **Code Review** — applied during PR analysis
* **Incident** — applied during incident investigation and RCA
* **Assessment** — applied during infrastructure assessments

A skill can be assigned to multiple features simultaneously.

### View details

Click a skill card to open the detail view. This shows a split-pane layout with the file tree on the left and rendered markdown content on the right.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/cloudthinker/AeA396afvGSMYSou/images/skills/05-skill-detail-dialog.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=AeA396afvGSMYSou&q=85&s=5499e3ed3fb609d01be3fc26ea662961" alt="Skill detail view showing file tree and rendered markdown content in a split-pane layout" width="2692" height="1512" data-path="images/skills/05-skill-detail-dialog.png" />
</Frame>

### Edit with AI

From the detail view, click **Edit with AI** to open a chat session where you can refine the skill's instructions through conversation. The AI understands the existing content and can help you restructure, expand, or simplify it.

### Delete

Remove a skill permanently from your workspace. This action cannot be undone.

***

## Tips

* **Start focused** — a skill that does one thing well is more effective than a broad skill that covers everything loosely.
* **One domain per skill** — separate security rules from performance guidelines. This lets you assign them independently to different features.
* **Use concrete examples** — agents follow examples more reliably than abstract rules. Include sample code, expected outputs, or decision tables.
* **Iterate with AI** — use AI editing to refine skills over time based on review results and team feedback.
* **Test before deploying** — enable a skill on a single feature first and review the agent's output before assigning it broadly.

***

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Skill Format" icon="file-code" href="/guide/skills/skill-format">
    Learn the SKILL.md file structure, frontmatter reference, and best practices for writing effective instructions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Skills Overview" icon="sparkles" href="/guide/skills/overview">
    Understand how skills fit into the CloudThinker platform and agent workflow.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>
