> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://modem.dev/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Agent Skills
> Teach the agent how your team works with reusable instructions
export const Prompt = ({text, variant = 'accent'}) => {
const [copied, setCopied] = useState(false);
const handleCopy = async () => {
try {
await navigator.clipboard.writeText(text);
setCopied(true);
setTimeout(() => setCopied(false), 2000);
} catch {}
};
const clipboardIcon = ;
const checkIcon = ;
const promptIcon = ;
return
{promptIcon}
{text}
;
};
**Skills** are reusable instructions you write once and the [Modem Agent](/docs/features/agent) can pull in whenever a relevant task comes up. Each skill is a markdown document that captures how your team handles a specific workflow: an escalation playbook, a release notes format, a bug triage checklist, the steps you take when a topic mentions a security report.
Skills are private to your organization. Other Modem customers cannot see them, and the agent only loads them inside your organization's chats and automations.
## How It Works
Each skill has three parts:
| Field | Purpose |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Slug** | A short, unique name for the skill (e.g. `bug-triage-checklist`). Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens. |
| **Description** | A one-line summary of when to use the skill. The agent reads this to decide whether the skill is relevant. |
| **Body** | The full instructions in Markdown. Headings, lists, examples, links to internal docs, whatever helps the agent follow your process. |
When you chat with the agent, it sees the slug and description of every skill in your organization. If a skill looks relevant to what you're asking, the agent reads the full body and follows the instructions. You can also reference a skill by name in your prompt to make sure it gets used.
Skills are guidance, not overrides. The agent still follows Modem's built-in security and privacy rules, and tools that require approval
still require approval, even if a skill says otherwise.
## What Skills Are Good For
Skills work best for workflows your team repeats. A few examples:
* **Triage playbooks.** "When a topic mentions a billing issue, look up the customer's plan, check for related Linear tickets, and post a summary in #support-leads."
* **Output formats.** "Release notes should always include a 'For Customers' section with non-technical language and a 'For Internal' section with implementation details."
* **House style.** "When summarizing user feedback, never use the word 'users' — say 'customers' or 'developers' depending on context."
* **Source-of-truth links.** "Our PR review checklist lives at \[internal URL]. Always reference it when asked about code review."
* **Multi-step processes.** "When asked to draft a customer email, write a first draft, check it against our tone guide, and ask me to confirm before sending."
If you find yourself pasting the same context into the agent every time you ask a similar question, that context belongs in a skill.
## Creating a Skill
Skills live in **Settings → Skills**. Only organization admins can create, edit, or delete skills. Members can see the list and trigger skills through the agent.
There are two ways to create one.
### With the agent
The fastest way is to describe what you want and let the agent draft it.
The agent will write a draft skill and confirm before saving. You can edit it afterwards from the Skills page.
### Manually
Go to **Settings → Skills** in your dashboard and click **Add Skill → Create manually**.
Use a short, descriptive name like `release-notes-format` or `customer-escalation`. Up to 60 characters.
One sentence that tells the agent when this skill applies. Up to 240 characters. The agent uses this to decide whether to load the
full body, so be specific.
Plain Markdown. Headings, lists, code blocks, and links all work. Up to 20,000 characters. Treat it like a runbook a new teammate
would follow.
Click **Create Skill**. The skill is immediately available to the agent for everyone in your organization.
## Writing Effective Skills
A few patterns that work well:
* **Lead with when to use it.** Start the body with a sentence or two on the trigger conditions, even though the description already covers it. The agent benefits from the reminder once it has the full text.
* **Reference exact tool and field names.** If you want the agent to update a Linear issue's priority, say "set the `priority` field" rather than "update the urgency."
* **Show the desired output shape.** If the skill produces a summary, message, or document, include a short example of what it should look like.
* **Note approval and safety rules.** If certain steps need human confirmation ("ask me before posting in #announcements"), say so explicitly.
* **Keep it focused.** One skill per workflow. If a skill grows past a few thousand characters, consider splitting it into related skills the agent can compose.
## Managing Skills
The Skills page shows every skill in your organization with its description, the last person who edited it, and when it was last updated. From there you can:
* **Edit** a skill to update the slug, description, or body.
* **Delete** a skill you no longer need. The agent stops using it immediately.
Updates take effect on the next agent message. There is no separate publish step.
## Built-in Skills
Modem also ships with a set of built-in skills covering common product-team workflows — topics like weekly activity digests, GitHub interaction patterns, and user health analysis. These are always available to the agent and cannot be edited. Skills you create in **Settings → Skills** sit alongside the built-in set and never override Modem's safety rules.
## Related
How the agent uses your data and tools to answer questions and take action.
Run agent prompts on a schedule or in response to events. Automations can use skills too.