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

# Skills

> Installable plugins that extend Bolly's capabilities

Skills are plugins that add new capabilities, behaviors, or knowledge to Bolly. When a skill is activated, its instructions are injected into Bolly's system prompt.

## How skills work

Each skill is a `SKILL.md` file with YAML frontmatter and Markdown instructions:

```yaml theme={null}
---
name: Example Skill
description: What this skill does
license: MIT
compatibility: claude-opus
metadata:
  tags: ["productivity", "coding"]
allowed-tools: "run_command,read_file,write_file"
---

# Instructions

When the user asks about X, follow these steps:
1. ...
2. ...
```

When activated, the Markdown body gets injected into Bolly's system prompt — giving it new knowledge and behaviors.

## Installing skills

Skills can be installed from GitHub repositories. The installation flow:

1. Bolly fetches the `SKILL.md` from the specified GitHub repo
2. Parses the frontmatter and instructions
3. Stores the skill config in `~/.bolly/instances/{slug}/skills/{id}.json`

## Managing skills

Bolly has three tools for skill management:

| Tool                   | Description                                            |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| `list_skills`          | Show all installed skills with descriptions and status |
| `activate_skill`       | Enable or disable a skill                              |
| `read_skill_reference` | Read bundled documentation from a skill                |

## Skill resources

Skills can include additional files:

* `references/` — documentation and guides
* `scripts/` — automation scripts
* `assets/` — images, templates, data files

Bolly can read these via the `read_skill_reference` tool when it needs more context.

## Per-instance skills

Skills are installed per instance. Different Bolly instances can have different skills enabled — a work-focused instance might have coding skills, while a personal one might have journaling skills.

## Built-in skills

Bolly ships with selected built-in skills that are enabled by default. These can be toggled on or off per instance.