reference
FAQ & glossary
- Do I need a skill for every task?
- No. Use skills for repeatable, multi-step workflows or rules you keep forgetting to paste. One-off questions are fine without a skill.
- Is a skill the same as a plugin or MCP server?
- Not necessarily. A skill is primarily instructions (and maybe local helpers). Plugins or tool servers expose callable APIs; a skill may tell the agent when and how to use those tools.
- Can skills run code by themselves?
- The markdown cannot execute. An agent following the skill may run listed scripts if the environment allows it. Treat helper scripts with the same review you give other repo code.
- Who maintains this site?
- These pages are a generic, unofficial explainer. They do not represent any company and are not official documentation.
Glossary
- Frontmatter
- YAML metadata at the top of a skill markdown file, commonly including
nameanddescription. - Catalog / matcher
- The agent-side list of skill names and descriptions used to decide what to load.
- Helper
- A script or reference file living beside
SKILL.mdand invoked or opened per the instructions. - Trigger
- The user intents or task shapes that should cause the skill to load.
- Vendor-neutral
- Described without tying behavior to one product’s proprietary format—useful when comparing ideas across tools.