> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.newly.app/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Skills > Teach the agent how to do a task your way. Add skills to one project or to all of your projects, turn them on and off, and use one on demand with a slash. A skill is a short set of instructions that teaches the agent how to do one kind of task your way: how to write your app's copy, how you want tests written, what a release checklist looks like. The agent reads a skill's description and uses the skill whenever a task fits. You can also call one yourself. Newly Agent already comes with built-in skills for building mobile apps. They are always on and aren't listed. The skills described here are the ones you add. ## Where skills work Skills work in every Remote chat, including every chat in the web app. On the Mac app, they work in Local chats that use **Newly Agent** or your own **Claude** login. Chats that use **Codex** don't load them yet. ## Two kinds of skills | Kind | Shown as | Who gets it | | ------------------ | --------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Project skill** | **This project** | Every chat in that project, for everyone working on it. | | **Your own skill** | **My skills** or **All projects** | Every chat you start, in any of your projects, including projects you create later. | Use a project skill for how *this app* should be built, such as its brand voice or naming rules. Use your own skills for how *you* like to work, such as a code-review checklist you want everywhere. ## Add a skill You can add skills from two places: * **The prompt box:** click **+**, then **Skills**, then **+ New**. * **Settings:** open **Settings**, then **+ New skill** in the **Skills** section. Then choose how to add it. ### Write one 1. Pick **Write one**. 2. **Name:** a short name such as `brand-voice`. Spaces turn into hyphens as you type, and the name is always lowercase. 3. **When to use it:** one sentence the agent reads to decide when the skill applies, for example "Writing any user-facing copy". 4. **Instructions:** what the agent should do, step by step. 5. Under **Available in**, choose **This project** or **All projects**, then click **Add skill**. **Add skill** stays grey until the skill has a name and instructions. ### From GitHub 1. Pick **From GitHub** and paste a link to a public GitHub repository or folder. 2. Choose **This project** or **All projects**, then click **Add skill**. What the link points to decides what you get: * **A folder with a `SKILL.md` file** adds that one skill, together with the other files in its folder, such as scripts or reference notes. * **A whole repository, or a folder of skills,** adds every skill inside it at once. For example, a repository that keeps its skills under `skills/` adds all of them. * **A link straight to a `SKILL.md` file** adds just that file. Copies of skills kept in hidden folders (folders whose names start with a dot) are skipped, so you don't get duplicates. If some files in a repository aren't valid skills, the rest are still added. If a repository is too large to read, paste the link to its skills folder instead of the whole repository. ## Use a skill The agent picks up a skill on its own when your request matches the skill's **When to use it** line. You don't have to do anything. To use one right now: 1. Type `/` in the prompt box. A list of your skills that are turned on opens, with this project's first. 2. Keep typing to filter by name or description. 3. Use **↑** and **↓** to move, then **Enter** or **Tab** to pick one. You can also click it. **Esc** closes the list. 4. The skill appears as a chip, such as `/brand-voice`, and the prompt box asks you to **Describe the task**. Type what you want and send. To drop the chip, click its **×**, or press **Backspace** while the prompt box is empty. You can also just type `/brand-voice` at the start of a message, followed by what you want. ## Turn a skill off or remove it Each skill in the list has a switch and a remove button: * **Switch off** to pause a skill. It stays in your list, but the agent doesn't use it and it doesn't appear when you type `/`. Switch it back on at any time. * **Remove** (**×** in the prompt box menu) deletes it. The **Skills** row in the **+** menu shows how many of your skills are on. ## When changes take effect A chat loads its skills when it starts, and again when it wakes up after [going to sleep](/build/sleep-and-limits). Adding, turning off or removing a skill applies: * to every **new chat** straight away * to an existing chat the **next time it wakes up** A chat that is already running keeps the skills it started with. To use a new skill right away, start a new chat. Removing a skill doesn't erase what the agent already read in earlier messages of a chat. For a completely clean start, open a new chat. ## Skills on the Home screen On the Home screen, your first prompt creates a new project. A skill you add there with **This project** is saved to that new project as soon as it's created, so its first chat already has it. If a skill can't be saved, the new project's **Skills** list tells you which one to add again. ## Who can change project skills Anyone who can edit a project can add, turn off or remove its skills. If the project is shared with you for viewing only, trying to change a skill shows "This project is shared with you for viewing. Ask an admin of the project for edit access." See [Share a project](/code/sharing-projects). Your own skills are yours alone. Nobody else sees them, even in projects you share. ## Limits | Limit | Amount | | --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | Skills per project | 50 | | Your own skills | 50 | | One `SKILL.md` file | 100 KB | | Files in one skill's folder | 100 files and 1 MB in total, 256 KB per file | A skill imported from GitHub is a copy. Later changes in the repository don't reach Newly. To take a newer version, remove the skill and add it again. ## Messages you might see | Message | What to do | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | "Couldn't find that repository or branch. Is the repository public?" | Check the link. Private repositories can't be imported. | | "No SKILL.md in that repository or folder." | The link has no skills in it. Point to a folder that contains a `SKILL.md` file. | | "That repository is too large to scan. Paste the link to its skills folder instead." | Link to the folder that holds the skills. | | "You can keep 50 skills here. Remove one first." | Remove a skill you no longer use, then add the new one. | | "The skill's frontmatter has no description. The agent uses it to decide when to run the skill." | The imported `SKILL.md` needs a `description`. Add one in the repository, or write the skill yourself. | ## Write a good skill * **Make "When to use it" specific.** "Writing any user-facing copy" works better than "Copy". * **Keep each skill to one job.** Two small skills beat one long one. * **Write the instructions as steps**, the way you'd brief a teammate. * **Test it.** Start a new chat, type `/` and pick your skill, then ask for a small task and check the result.