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Create a skill

A skill is a reusable, versioned bundle of instructions that tells an agent how to perform a repeatable, multi-step task. Skills are created once in the Skills section and attached to any number of prompt agents.

Every skill is a small file bundle built around a required "SKILL.md" file. To keep skills efficient, "SKILL.md" can have up to 21,856 characters, including the frontmatter. Optional folders keep long detail out of "SKILL.md" and load on demand.

File or folder

Purpose

"SKILL.md"

Required. Holds the frontmatter (name, description, license) and the Markdown body with the instructions and steps. Always loaded when the skill activates.

references/

Background documents the agent reads only when "SKILL.md" links to them. Use them for detail that would otherwise bloat the instructions.

assets/

Static files the skill uses in its output, for example, a Markdown report template or a CSV of reference values. The agent fills them in rather than rewriting them. Bundle files are text only, so images cannot be uploaded here.

scripts/

Runnable helpers the skill can call for logic a model must not improvise, for example, date arithmetic or scoring.

note

Choose a skill when the agent is missing a procedure. If it is missing a fact, add a knowledge source instead. If it is missing the ability to act, add a tool. Learn more: Add a knowledge source.

Create the skill​

Unlike agents and knowledge sources, a skill is created without a dialog. Creatio AI Studio immediately creates an empty draft and opens it for editing.

  1. Go to the Skills section in the navigation panel.
  2. Click New. If your role can publish enterprise content, a menu opens. Select "Personal skill" to keep the skill private to your account, or select "Enterprise skill" to share it across the organization. Users without publishing permissions create a personal skill directly, with no menu.

As a result, Creatio AI Studio creates a draft skill with an auto-generated name, for example, untitled-skill-4f2a91c3, and opens it on the Skill tab. Rename the skill and replace the placeholder description in the next step.

Fill out the SKILL.md frontmatter​

The frontmatter is the header of "SKILL.md." The agent reads it to decide when the skill applies, so treat the Description field as functional configuration rather than documentation. The Skill tab holds the Name and Description fields. The optional frontmatter fields are on the Advanced tab.

  1. Open the Skill tab of the skill.

  2. Fill out the frontmatter fields.

    Field

    Field value

    Name

    Technical slug stored as the "SKILL.md" name value. Chat, routing, package export, and validation all use it. Must be 64 characters or fewer and contain only lowercase letters, digits, and single hyphens, per the agentskills.io specification. For example, "meeting-follow-up." Values such as "Meeting Follow-up" are rejected. You cannot change the name after the skill is published.

    Description

    Short operational description of when the skill applies and what outcome it drives. The catalog, search, routing, and runtime context all read it, so a vague description means the agent does not pick the skill. Must be 1024 characters or fewer.

  3. Click the skill title in the header and enter the display name inline, for example, "Meeting Follow-up." The display name is the human-readable label shown in lists and headers. It is not a field on the Skill tab. When it is empty, Creatio AI Studio falls back to the Name field value.

  4. Write the instructions in the Markdown editor below the fields. It carries no label, and the pane beside it previews the rendered result as you type. Describe when to use the skill and the steps it must follow. Keep it lean and move long detail into the references/ folder.

As a result, Creatio AI Studio saves the draft automatically. The save indicator next to the skill name shows the current state, for example, "Saved."

Example

A "SKILL.md" file that turns rough meeting notes into a consistently structured follow-up.

---
name: meeting-follow-up
description: >-
  Turns rough meeting notes into a consistent, ready-to-send follow-up.
  Use whenever the user pastes meeting notes or asks for a meeting recap,
  summary of a call, or a follow-up email after a meeting.
---

# Meeting Follow-up

Always use the exact structure below so follow-ups look the same no matter
who asks or how messy the notes are.

## Output format

**1. Recap** - 2-3 sentences: what the meeting was about and the outcome.
**2. Decisions** - a bullet list of decisions. If none, write "No decisions recorded."
**3. Action items** - a table with the Action, Owner, and Due date columns.
Every action item needs an owner and a due date. If the notes do not say who
or when, put "TBD" - never invent a name or a date.
**4. Follow-up email** - a short, ready-to-send email the user can copy as-is.

## Rules

- Use only what is in the notes. Never add facts, names, or dates that are not there.
- If the notes are too thin to produce anything useful, ask one short question
  instead of guessing.

Add bundle files​

This step is optional. A single "SKILL.md" file is enough for most skills. Add bundle files when the skill needs reference material, output templates, or deterministic logic.

Bundle files are uploaded from disk. The editor does not create empty files, so prepare the file before you add it.

  1. Open the Skill tab of the skill.
  2. Hover over the target folder in the Files panel: scripts, references, or assets. Files placed under these folders load on demand.
  3. Click the + icon that appears on the folder. This opens the file picker.
  4. Select the file to upload.

As a result, Creatio AI Studio adds the file to the draft bundle, displays the "File uploaded." message, and expands the folder to show the new file.

The file picker accepts text formats only, such as Markdown, plain text, JSON, YAML, CSV, XML, HTML, and source code. Each file must be 512 KB or smaller, a bundle must be 8 MB or smaller, and a bundle holds at most 256 files. Split a reference document that exceeds 512 KB into several files rather than trimming it.

Delete a bundle file​

You can delete a bundle file from a skill draft. The "SKILL.md" file and folders cannot be deleted, and neither can the files of a vendor skill or of a published version.

  1. Open the Skill tab of the skill draft.
  2. Hover over the file in the Files panel.
  3. Click the delete icon that appears on the file.
  4. Click Delete in the confirmation dialog, which names the file.

As a result, Creatio AI Studio removes the file from the draft and displays the "Draft file deleted." message.

note

If "SKILL.md" still links to the file, Creatio AI Studio refuses the deletion with a message that starts with "Could not delete: invalid link in your skill" and names the link. Remove the link from "SKILL.md," then delete the file. If another change to the skill was saved first, Creatio AI Studio displays the "Another change to this skill was saved before yours. Reload the bundle and try deleting again." message. Reload the page and delete the file again.

Set the spec fields and runtime constraints​

This step is optional. The Advanced tab holds the optional "SKILL.md" frontmatter fields and the constraints that control which agents can load the skill. It is a separate tab, next to the Skill, Profile, and Versions tabs.

  1. Go to the Advanced tab of the skill.

  2. Fill out the Spec fields section.

    Field

    Field value

    License

    Optional SPDX license identifier, for example, "MIT" or "Apache-2.0." Recommended if you plan to export the skill.

    Compatibility

    Optional free-form note for readers outside Creatio, for example, "Requires Python 3.14+ and uv." It is prose only. The constraints the runtime enforces are set in the Compatibility section below.

  3. Fill out the Compatibility section.

    Field

    Field value

    Supported agent modes

    The agent runtimes that can load this skill: "SDK," "Builder," and "Flow." At least one mode is required before you can publish. Creatio AI Studio selects all three out of the box.

    Required tools

    The tools the skill must have access to. The skill refuses to load for an agent that lacks them.

As a result, Creatio AI Studio stores the values in the draft. The License and Compatibility field values are written to the "SKILL.md" frontmatter, and the required tools are exposed as the allowed-tools frontmatter value for clients outside Creatio.

Set up the public profile​

This step is optional and does not change runtime behavior. Profile fields control only how the skill is presented to users in cards, pickers, and expanded profile views.

  1. Go to the Profile tab of the skill.

  2. Fill out the profile fields.

    Field

    Field value

    Card summary

    Short public text shown on skill cards, pickers, and compact profile surfaces. Keep it outcome-focused.

    Full description

    Markdown detail shown in expanded skill information views. Use it to explain the scope, inputs, and user-facing behavior.

    When to use

    Guidance that helps users understand when this skill is the right choice.

    Expected outcome

    The result users should expect after the skill runs.

As a result, Creatio AI Studio saves the profile. The fields change only how the skill is presented, not how it behaves at runtime.

Run checks and publish the skill​

Creatio AI Studio validates the draft before it can be published. Every edit to a draft resets its check status, so run the checks again after each change.

  1. Click Run checks in the header, next to Publish and Export. This step is recommended rather than required, and it shows you the problems before the server does.
  2. Review the results. Issues are grouped by severity as "Error" or "Warning" in the Check issues panel. Resolve every error, then run the checks again.
  3. Click Publish in the top right.

As a result, Creatio AI Studio freezes the draft into an immutable version, for example, "v1." Agents pin to a specific version, so improving a skill later cannot silently change the behavior of the agents already using it. To continue editing, click Create draft to start a new draft from the published version.

Important

Creatio AI Studio runs the checks on the server when you publish, whether or not you ran them yourself. A skill with no problems publishes without you clicking Run checks; one with an error is rejected with the "Run skill checks successfully before publishing this version." message.

Publishing also requires a non-empty Name field, a non-empty Description field, and at least one supported agent mode. Replace the default placeholder description before you publish or export the skill.

Creatio AI Studio can detect cleanup opportunities in an edited draft and display the "1 cleanup suggestion(s) for this skill" banner. Click Review and apply to inspect each suggestion. Nothing changes until you apply a suggestion, and you can dismiss the banner instead.

Attach the skill to an agent​

A skill becomes available to an agent only after it is published and attached.

  1. Go to the Agents section in the navigation panel.
  2. Open the prompt agent you want to configure.
  3. Open the Skills tab on the Build tab.
  4. Select the skill in the Attach skill field and click Attach. Only published skills are listed.
  5. Turn on the Enabled toggle for the attachment if it is turned off.
  6. Add a reference to the skill in the agent's system prompt so the agent knows when to invoke it. For example, "When someone pastes meeting notes or asks for a recap after a meeting, use the meeting-follow-up skill and follow its format exactly."
  7. Click Publish to publish the agent.
  8. Deploy the published version to the environments where the agent runs.

As a result, the agent loads the skill at runtime whenever the request matches the skill description. Turn on Show trace in the Preview panel to confirm that the skill is loaded during a test run. In a deployed agent's runs on the Agent Observability page, Available skills in the details of a model call lists every skill offered to the model. In AI Twin, type "/" in the message box to run a skill that is attached to and enabled on the selected agent.

Until every active environment serves the latest release you published, the agent's Skills tab shows Deployment update required and names each environment that still serves an older release. The notice clears once every active environment serves the latest published release. Learn more: Publish, deploy, and promote an agent version.

note

If the skill cannot be attached, Creatio AI Studio explains why. The most common reasons are a skill with no published version, an archived skill, and a skill whose required tools the agent does not have. Enable the missing tools on the agent's Build → Tools tab or, for the tools of an integration such as the Creatio integration, on the Build → Integrations tab, then attach the skill again.

See also​

Create a prompt agent

Add a knowledge source

Creatio AI Studio overview