#3838th of 43 in Skills, plugins and rules
agentskills
Open specification for SKILL.md folders that give AI agents reusable instructions
Documentation ↗
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- Stars
- 26.1k
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Last commit
- Aug 2026
- Language
- Python
Checked on GitHub.
Overview
Defines the Agent Skills format: a folder with a SKILL.md file holding name and description metadata plus instructions, and optional scripts, references and assets. Agents load skills in three stages (discovery, activation, execution), so only names and descriptions sit in context until a task matches. Originally developed by Anthropic and released as an open standard; the repo holds the spec and docs, not a runtime.
Who it is for: Developers writing skills or adding skill support to agent clients
Strengths
- Minimal format: one SKILL.md with name and description is enough
- Progressive disclosure keeps context small with many skills installed
- Skills can bundle scripts, references and templates in one version-controlled folder
- Supported by multiple agent clients, listed in a client showcase
Weaknesses
- Specification and docs only; it is not an agent or runtime
- Behavior depends on how each client implements skill loading
- No tagged releases; versioning of the spec is not stated in the README
- Skill quality and security of bundled scripts are left to authors
What it needs
- no GPU
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