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

# Skills

> Package reusable instructions that teach agents how to perform specialized tasks

## What are skills?

Skills are reusable instruction packages that teach Realm agents how to perform specialized tasks, such as producing branded documents or following your organization's procedures. Instead of repeating the same detailed guidance in every agent or chat, you capture it once as a skill and reuse it everywhere.

A skill follows the SKILL.md convention: it is a `SKILL.md` instruction file plus any optional supporting files, such as scripts, templates, or reference material. When an agent uses a skill, it reads the instructions and follows them, drawing on its computer environment when the skill includes scripts or templates.

<Note>
  Skills only work in agentic (research) chats. Full Members and Admins can create and upload skills; Collaborators cannot.
</Note>

## Finding and managing skills

Skills live on the **Agents** > **Skills** page. From there you can:

* Switch between grid and list views.
* Search skills by name.
* Sort the list.
* Filter by status (**Published** or **Draft**) and by creator (**Created by me** or **Shared with me**).

## Built-in skills

Realm ships with a set of built-in skills for common document formats:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Word documents" icon="file-word">
    Create and edit Word documents (DOCX)
  </Card>

  <Card title="PDF documents" icon="file-pdf">
    Produce PDF files
  </Card>

  <Card title="PowerPoint" icon="file-powerpoint">
    Build presentations
  </Card>

  <Card title="Excel" icon="file-excel">
    Generate spreadsheets
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Built-in skills are read-only and available to everyone in your organization. You cannot edit or delete them, but you can attach them to agents and reference them in chat just like any other skill.

## Creating a skill

Click **Create** on the Skills page and choose one of three options.

### Ask Realm to create a skill

Opens the skill editor with an agent chat that drafts the skill for you. Describe what you want the skill to do, and the agent writes and edits the skill's files on your behalf. This is the fastest way to go from an idea to a working draft.

### Upload a skill

Bring in a skill you already have. You can upload either:

* A `.zip` bundle containing `SKILL.md` at the root or inside a single top-level folder, along with any supporting files.
* A single `.md` or `.txt` file.

Uploaded skills are published immediately.

### Create from scratch

Enter a title, a description, and an optional emoji icon, then build the skill in the skill editor.

<Note>
  Each file can be up to 25 MB, a skill can total up to 50 MB, and a skill can contain up to 200 files.
</Note>

## The skill editor

The skill editor has three panes:

* **File tree**: Add, rename, and delete the files in the skill. `SKILL.md` is required and cannot be deleted.
* **Content pane**: View and edit the currently selected file.
* **Agent chat sidebar**: Ask the built-in agent to read and edit the skill's draft files for you.

The skill's **title** is a free-text display label. The kebab-case **name** that agents use comes from the `name` field in the `SKILL.md` frontmatter, and the `description` field tells agents when to use the skill. Writing a clear description helps agents pick the right skill at the right time.

## Draft and published versions

Every skill has a draft and, once published, a live version that agents see.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Edit the draft">
    Your changes accumulate in a draft. Click **Save** to keep working on it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Publish">
    Click **Publish** to make the draft the live version that agents use. Publishing requires the `name` in `SKILL.md` frontmatter to be unique within your organization.
  </Step>
</Steps>

You can also:

* **Discard**: Throw away the draft and return to the published version.
* **Unpublish**: Take a skill offline so agents can no longer use it.
* **Delete**: Remove the skill permanently.

## Sharing and permissions

Skills start restricted, so a new skill is visible only to you. Only the skill's owner can change who can access it; people with Viewer or Editor access cannot. As the owner, open the share dialog to:

* Grant specific people **Viewer** or **Editor** access.
* Make the skill available to your entire organization (public).

Built-in skills are available to everyone by default.

## Using skills

There are two ways to put a skill to work.

### Attach a skill to an agent

In the agent editor, open the **Skills** section and add the skills the agent should have. Once attached, the agent can use those skills in agentic chats in the Realm app.

### Reference a skill in chat

Type `/` in the message box and pick a skill to insert a skill chip. The agent then reads that skill's instructions and follows them, using its computer environment when the skill includes scripts or templates.

<Note>
  Skills only work in agentic (research) chats.
</Note>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Creating Agents" icon="plus" href="/agents/creating-agents">
    Attach skills to a custom agent in the agent editor
  </Card>

  <Card title="Writing Instructions" icon="pen" href="/agents/writing-instructions">
    Best practices for guiding agents
  </Card>
</CardGroup>