---
title: Skills
description: Package reusable, named agent workflows in your data model repository that users can run on demand from chat.
---

Skills are reusable, named instruction packages for the agent — saved workflows a user
can run on demand wherever they work with the agent, including
[Analytics Chat](/docs/explore-analyze/analytics-chat), Workbooks, dashboards, and the
IDE. Instead of re-typing the same multi-step request ("produce a weekly revenue report,
broken down by region, with week-over-week trends…"), a user picks a skill and the agent
follows the workflow you've defined.

Skills are configured as code in your [data model repository](/admin/ai#agent-configuration),
alongside your cubes and views, so they're versioned, reviewed, and deployed like the rest
of your Cube project.

<Note>
A skill guides what the agent does using the same data access the agent already has. The
first version of skills is instructions-only — `title`, `description`, and instructions.
There is no per-skill data scoping or external actions yet.
</Note>

## Defining skills

Skills are defined as Markdown files under `agents/skills/`. Each skill lives in its own
file: the YAML frontmatter holds metadata, and the Markdown body is the instructions the
agent follows.

```markdown
<!-- agents/skills/weekly-revenue-report.md -->
---
title: "Weekly revenue report"
description: "Use when the user asks for a weekly revenue summary, a weekly revenue report, or week-over-week revenue trends."
---
Produce a weekly revenue report:

1. Report total revenue for the requested week, alongside the prior week and the
   week-over-week percentage change.
2. Break revenue down by region, sorted from highest to lowest.
3. Highlight any region whose revenue changed by more than 10% week over week.
4. If the user names a region or a time range, scope the report accordingly.
```

Files placed under a `skills/` directory are treated as skills automatically — no `kind`
property is required. The `name` is inferred from the file name (e.g.,
`weekly-revenue-report.md` → `weekly-revenue-report`). Nested folders are allowed for
organization but do not namespace the skill — skill names must be unique across the
entire `skills/` directory.

### Frontmatter properties

| Property        | Type   | Required | Description                                                                       |
|-----------------|--------|:--------:|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `title`         | string | Yes      | User-facing label shown on the skill button and in the `/` menu.                  |
| `description`   | string | Yes      | What the agent matches free-text requests against to auto-select the skill.       |
| `name`          | string | No       | Unique identifier. Inferred from the file name if omitted.                        |

The Markdown body is the skill's instructions.

### Inlining skills in YAML

You can also inline skills directly in `agents/config.yml` under a `skills` key:

```yaml
# agents/config.yml
skills:
  - name: weekly-revenue-report
    title: "Weekly revenue report"
    description: "Use when the user asks for a weekly revenue summary or week-over-week trends."
    instructions: |
      Produce a weekly revenue report:
      1. Total revenue for the requested week, with the week-over-week change.
      2. A breakdown by region, sorted by revenue descending.
      3. Highlight any region that moved more than 10% week over week.
```

Inline skills use the same `name`, `title` (required), and `description` (required) as
Markdown skills. Since there is no Markdown body in YAML, provide the instructions inline
via the `instructions` key.

<Note>
Skills inlined at the root of `agents/config.yml` are attached to the implicit `auto`
space and applied to the default agent in a [single-agent setup](/admin/ai). In a
[multi-agent setup](/admin/ai/multi-agent), attach skills to a specific space by inlining
them under that space's `skills` key (or by placing Markdown files under
`agents/skills/<space-name>/`).
</Note>

## How skills are surfaced

Skills use **progressive disclosure**. The agent is given a compact catalog of every
available skill — just the `name`, `title`, and `description` — so it knows what each
skill is for without carrying the full instructions. When a skill is run, the agent loads
its complete instructions on demand.

- The chat UI only ever receives a skill's `name`, `title`, and `description`. The full
  instruction body stays server-side and is never sent to the browser.
- Skills are surfaced through a viewer-accessible deployment endpoint, so they work for
  any configured agent as well as the default `auto` agent.
- Because the agent matches against `description`, a well-written description makes
  automatic matching more reliable.

For how skills appear and run in chat — buttons, the `/` menu, and automatic matching —
see [Agent skills](/docs/explore-analyze/skills).

## Deploying and testing

Skills ship through the normal Cube development flow: author the skill on a development
branch, commit, and merge to your production branch. Because skills live on the branch, a
skill on a development branch is testable before it reaches production — open chat against
the dev branch and run the skill to confirm it behaves as intended.

## Permissions

Authoring skills requires data-model edit access — the same access needed to define
[rules](/admin/ai/rules) and [certified queries](/admin/ai/certified-queries). In Cube
Cloud's built-in roles, that means the **Admin** or **Developer**
[roles](/admin/users-and-permissions/roles-and-permissions), or a custom role with
semantic-model edit access.

Running skills is available to anyone with chat access, including **Explorer** and
**Viewer** roles. In-product tips that promote authoring skills, rules, and certified
queries are role-aware and shown only to developers.

## Writing effective skills

- **Phrase `description` as a "use when…" statement.** This is what the agent matches
  against incoming requests, so describe the situations the skill applies to.
- **Write instructions as an explicit workflow.** Number the steps and state the output
  you expect, the same way you'd brief an analyst.
- **Account for added context.** Users can add specifics after selecting a skill (e.g.,
  `/weekly-revenue-report for EMEA, last 6 weeks`), so instruct the agent to honor a
  named region or time range when provided.
- **Keep each skill focused.** One skill should cover one well-defined workflow; create
  separate skills for distinct tasks.
