> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://test-8862363a-tembo-docs-skills-hooks-accuracy.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Agent Skills

> Guide how agents approach sessions with skills in your repository or workspace.

Skills are reusable instructions that guide how agents approach work. They help agents follow multi-step processes like research, planning, implementation, and review instead of doing everything in a single pass.

Tembo loads skills from three places:

* **Repository skills** you commit alongside your code
* **Managed skills** you create in **Settings > Skills**
* **Built-in skills** that ship with every session

## Repository skills

Place each skill in its own directory inside the skills folder for your coding agent. The folder differs per agent, so use the one that matches the agent running your sessions.

| Agent       | Skill directory                  | Entry file  |
| ----------- | -------------------------------- | ----------- |
| Claude Code | `.claude/skills/<skill-name>/`   | `SKILL.md`  |
| Codex       | `.codex/skills/<skill-name>/`    | `SKILL.md`  |
| OpenCode    | `.opencode/skills/<skill-name>/` | `SKILL.md`  |
| Amp         | `.agents/skills/<skill-name>/`   | `SKILL.md`  |
| Pi          | `.agents/skills/<skill-name>/`   | `SKILL.md`  |
| Cursor      | `.cursor/rules/<skill-name>/`    | `SKILL.mdc` |

A skill directory looks like this:

```text theme={null}
.claude/
└── skills/
    └── implementation/
        ├── SKILL.md
        └── checklist.md
```

### Required frontmatter

Every entry file needs YAML frontmatter with `name` and `description`. Tembo skips any skill whose frontmatter is missing or invalid.

```markdown theme={null}
---
name: implementation
description: Research the codebase, plan the change, implement it, then self-review the diff before opening a PR.
---

1. Research the codebase to understand existing patterns
2. Create a plan with specific files and changes
3. Implement the plan following project conventions
4. Run tests and fix any failures
5. Self-review the diff before opening a PR
```

Constraints Tembo enforces when it indexes a skill:

* `name` must be lowercase kebab-case (`a-z`, `0-9`, single hyphens), at most 64 characters
* `name` must exactly match the skill's directory name
* `description` must be a non-empty string of at most 1024 characters
* Entry files larger than 1 MiB, or detected as binary, are skipped

<Note>
  For Cursor skills in `.cursor/rules/`, the skill name comes from the directory name, so frontmatter `name` is optional. `description` is still required.
</Note>

### Using a skill

Ask the agent to use a skill in the session description, or after a PR is opened via the [feedback loop](/features/feedback-loop):

```text theme={null}
@tembo Use the implementation skill for this session
```

```text theme={null}
@tembo Now use the code-review skill to review your changes
```

## Managed skills

Create and manage skills directly in Tembo when you want them available across every repository, without committing files.

Open **Settings > Skills** to:

* Add a new skill, then give it a name and description
* Write the main instructions in `SKILL.md`
* Add extra reference files if needed
* Edit or delete existing skills
* Browse and install community skills from the marketplace

The entry file must be named `SKILL.md`. Tembo writes managed skills into the sandbox at `/workspace/.tembo/agents/skills/<agent>/<skill-slug>/` and copies them into the running agent's own skill directory so the agent discovers them normally. For Cursor, the entry file is converted to `SKILL.mdc`.

<Warning>
  Every skill in your workspace is loaded into every session for that workspace. There is no per-repository or per-agent filtering, so keep descriptions specific enough that agents only invoke a skill when it is relevant.
</Warning>

## Built-in skills

These skills ship with Tembo and are available in every session without any setup:

| Skill                         | What it does                                                                            |
| ----------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `agent-browser`               | Drives a browser to navigate pages, fill forms, take screenshots, and test web apps     |
| `generate-preview-url`        | Exposes a local sandbox port and returns a public preview URL                           |
| `install-custom-dependencies` | Installs system packages with Nix, since sandboxes run on NixOS without `apt` or `brew` |
| `tembo-cli`                   | Uses the sandbox `tembo` CLI for pull requests, previews, uploads, and replies          |
| `tembo-file-upload`           | Uploads sandbox files up to 5 GiB as Tembo assets                                       |
| `tembo-artifact`              | Creates artifacts such as HTML reports, dashboards, diagrams, and CSV or JSON exports   |
| `tembo-git-instructions`      | Applies your workspace commit message and PR title instructions                         |

`tembo-git-instructions` picks up the commit and PR title instructions you set in **Settings > Instructions**. If you leave them blank, Tembo falls back to conventional commit messages.

## What skills are good for

* Enforcing a research-then-implement workflow
* Requiring test coverage before opening a PR
* Defining code review checklists the agent runs against its own output
* Setting quality thresholds for different session types

For broader project context such as build commands, architecture, and conventions, use a [rule file](/features/rule-files) instead. Rule files describe your project; skills describe a procedure.