Help Center/ CodeArts Agent/ User Guide (IDE)/ Skills

Updated on 2026-07-29 GMT+08:00

Skills

Skills are capability encapsulation mechanisms that organize professional knowledge, such as coding experience and solutions to common problems, into reusable modules. They are folders holding commands, scripts, and resources. These specialized packages can be loaded by the agent when needed to enhance task performance and efficiency.

**Table 1** Comparison between skills and other functions
Dimension	Rule	Skill	MCP Server
Definition	Constrains the behavior of an agent.	Describes how to complete a specific task.	Invokes external tools.
Loading method	Is loaded into the context at the beginning of a chat for continuous inference.	Is loaded on demand to reduce context usage.	Is not involved in the inference process; calls external interfaces as required.
Application scenario	Defines code specifications, output formats, team collaboration agreements, etc. Example: Code must comply with PEP 8 specifications.	Encapsulates testing processes, development tasks, complex business logic, etc. Example: executing UI automated testing.	Connects to external systems to perform specific operations. Example: controlling browser-related operations.
Key differences	Controls how an agent should behave, defining the behavior boundary.	Specifies how to complete a task, serving as a process guide.	Provides the capability to invoke tools, representing the execution dimension.

Skill Directory Structure

A skill is a folder with a necessary SKILL.md file and optional resources. It bundles the knowledge and tools needed to perform particular tasks.

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md (Required)
│   ├── YAML frontmatter metadata (Required)
│   │   ├── name: (Required)
│   │   └── description: (Required)
│   └── Markdown instructions (Required)
└── Bundled Resources/ (Optional)
    ├── scripts/      - Executable code (Python, Bash, etc.)
    ├── references/   - Documents to be loaded into the context
    └── assets/       - Files used in the output (templates, icons, fonts, etc.)

**Table 2** Skill parameters
Parameter	Description
skill-name	Serves as the root directory for the entire skill. Replace skill-name with your specific skill's name, such as data-analysis-skill. The skill name consists of lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens (-). It cannot start or end with a hyphen, cannot contain consecutive hyphens, and must be 1 to 64 characters in length.
SKILL.md	Serves as the core description file of a skill. Its name cannot be modified. It includes the following essential sections: YAML frontmatter metadata: Placed at the very top of the SKILL.md file and enclosed by --- at the beginning and end, this section provides structured information readable by AI. It contains two fields: name and description. name: The skill name consists of lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens (-). It cannot start or end with a hyphen, cannot contain consecutive hyphens, and must be 1 to 64 characters in length. The value of name must be the same as that of skill-name. description: The skill description contains a maximum of 1,024 characters. This field is critical for CodeArts Agent to recognize the skill's usage scenarios, and must clearly describe the skill functions and trigger conditions. Markdown instructions: The Markdown content below the YAML metadata, used to detail the usage methods, parameters, examples, and dependencies of the skill.
Bundled Resources (optional)	Holds files needed for the skill. While not mandatory, it enhances the skill's functionality. scripts/: contains executable files like Python and shell scripts that perform specific tasks for the skill. references/: holds essential documents like APIs, domain knowledge, and company policies that support agent skills. It acts as the agent's knowledge base. Documents are loaded into the context when needed for skill execution. assets/: contains resource files like fonts, company logos, and PowerPoint templates. The agent uses these files directly in its output without loading them into the context window.

Writing SKILL.md

Here is an example of a SKILL.md file that includes YAML frontmatter and Markdown content:

---
name: safe-file-reader
description: Read files without making changes. Use when you need read-only files access.
---

# Safe File Reader

This Skill provides read-only file access.

## Instructions

1. Use Read to view file contents
2. Use Grep to search within files
3. Use Glob to find files by pattern

Adding Support Files

Create other files in the same directory as SKILL.md, for example:

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md
├── reference.md
├── examples.md
├── scripts/
│   └── helper.py
└── templates/
    └── template.txt

In SKILL.md, specify the support files to be referenced, for example:

For advanced usage, see [reference.md](reference.md).

Run the helper script:
```bash
python scripts/helper.py input.txt
```

Skill Types

Skills are categorized into three main types: built-in system agents, built-in marketplace agents, and custom agents. These correspond to out-of-the-box underlying capabilities, verified industry expertise, and flexibly customizable extension capabilities, fully meeting task processing needs of agents in various scenarios.

**Table 3** Skill types
Type	Description
System built-in	Built-in basic skills in the system, which are globally available and ready to use out of the box. No extra configuration is required to enjoy stable and continuous basic functional support. Disabling built-in skills will limit the agent's ability to handle related tasks.
Built-in marketplace agents	Built-in expert skills in the system, covering core domains such as unit testing, code review, document generation, security inspection, compilation/building, and code refactoring. All skills have undergone automated testing and specification review, aiming to provide developers with professional and reliable capability support to boost development efficiency.
Custom agents	Customized skills that are independently developed by or imported from users based on business requirements. For details about the specific types of custom skills, see Table 4.

Classification of Custom Skills

Skills are classified into local and cloud skills by creation method, and are divided into enterprise-level, team-level, project-level, and user-level skills by scope of application. You can select the most appropriate skills according to specific development scenarios and collaboration needs, achieving flexible and efficient code management.

**Table 4** Classification of custom skills
Creation Method	Scope of Application	Description
Local	Project	Applied to the current project and stored in a local path Storage directory: ./.codeartsdoer/skills/ in the root directory of the project
Local	User	Effective for all projects of the current user, and stored locally Local storage directory: %USERPROFILE%/.codeartsdoer/skills
Cloud	Enterprise	Skills unified across the enterprise, available to all members, created by the enterprise administrator, and stored in the cloud.
	Team	Skills unified across the team, available to specific teams, created by the enterprise administrator or team administrator, and stored in the cloud.
	User	Available only to the user and stored in the cloud.

If skills with the same name exist, the skill invocation priority is as follows: cloud enterprise skills > cloud team skills > local project skills > local user skills > cloud user skills > built-in system skills.

Constraints

Only the basic and professional packages support the creation of cloud skills.

Creating Local Skills

CodeArts Agent client allows the creation of both project and user skills. They are stored locally. In addition, you can quickly integrate skills by importing existing files or installing them from the marketplace. These flexible and efficient methods help you easily extend development capabilities.

CodeArts Agent allows the installation of project or user skills using npx commands.

Refer to the official documentation to install Node.js and npm.
After the installation is complete, run the following command in the terminal to verify that Node.js and npm are successfully installed:
```
npx -v
```
If the version number is displayed in the command output, Node.js and npm have been successfully installed.
Run the following command to install a skill:
This step uses installing the user skill vercel-react-best-practices as an example.
```
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill vercel-react-best-practices -a codearts-agent
```
In this command, https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills is the address where the skill package to be installed is located, and vercel-react-best-practices is the name of the skill to be installed.
Select the scope of the skill. (Project for project skills, and Global for user skills). Global is selected in this example.

Figure 1 Specifying the scope of the skill
As prompted, select Yes and press Enter to wait for the skill installation to complete.

When Installed 1 skill is displayed, the skill has been successfully installed.
Figure 2 Output indicating successful installation
View the installed skill.
- Go to the local directory %USERPROFILE%/.codeartsdoer/skills to find the target skill vercel-react-best-practices.
- On the settings page of CodeArts Agent IDE, choose Skills and Rules. On the User tab, the target skill vercel-react-best-practices is displayed and is enabled.
Use the skill.
In the chat window of CodeArts Agent, enter the following information and click .
```
Use the skill vercel-react-best-practices to refactor code.
```
After the skill is loaded, a success message is displayed. AI will use this skill to refactor the React and Next.js code under this project.

Multiple out-of-the-box skills are available in the marketplace to help you quickly boost development efficiency. The following describes how to find and add these skills.

Log in to CodeArts Agent IDE as instructed in Quick Start.
Click in the upper right corner of CodeArts Agent IDE to open the settings page.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Skills and Rules. The Installed tab is displayed.

Click the Marketplace tab and search for skills.

**Table 5** Searching for skills
Search Method	Procedure
Source	You can obtain official and featured skills in the marketplace. Official: skills provided by CodeArts Agent. Featured: screened third-party skills. Select a skill source from the All Sources drop-down list on the top of the page. You can also enter a skill name or keyword in the search box to quickly find skills.
Name	Click the sorting icon next to By name in the upper right corner of the page to find skills by name.
Update time	Click the sorting icon next to Last updated in the upper right corner of the page to find skills by update time.

Add skills.
1. Use either of the following methods to display the dialog box for selecting the skill installation location:
  - Click next to the target skill.
  - Click the name of the target skill to go to its details page, and then click Create in the upper right corner.
  If a created or imported skill shares the same name as a skill in the marketplace, that marketplace skill will be displayed as installed.
2. Select the installation location for the skill as a project or user skill and click OK.
  After the installation is successful, next to the skill changes to Installed.

(Optional) Update skills, change skill installation locations, or uninstall skills based on your actual needs.

**Table 6** Managing skills
Operation	Procedure
Updating a skill	If a created or imported skill shares the same name as a skill in the marketplace but has a different version, that marketplace skill will be displayed as installed and to be updated. Performing an update will overwrite the original skill content with the skill content from the marketplace. Update a skill using either of the following methods: Move the cursor to the skill to be updated and click . After the update is successful, the To be updated label in the upper right corner of the skill automatically disappears. Click the name of the skill to be updated to access the skill details page. Click Update in the upper right corner. After the update is successful, the To be updated label in the upper right corner of the skill automatically disappears.
Modifying the skill installation location	Click the name of the skill whose installation location is to be modified. The skill details page is displayed. Click Project or User in the upper right corner. In the displayed dialog box, select the target installation location. When the skill installation location changes from the original to the modified one, the modification is successful.
Uninstalling a skill	Uninstall a skill using either of the following methods: Move the cursor to the skill to be uninstalled and click . After the uninstallation is successful, changes to . Click the name of the skill to be uninstalled to access the skill details page. Click Uninstall in the upper right corner. After the uninstallation is successful, Uninstall and Project/User in the upper right corner change to Create.

A skill customized for the current project is distributed along with the repository. A local project skill takes effect immediately after creation, and the agent determines when to use it.

Log in to CodeArts Agent IDE as instructed in Quick Start.
Click in the upper right corner of CodeArts Agent IDE to open the settings page.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Skills and Rules. The Installed tab is displayed.
On the Project tab, click next to a skill to go to the page for creating a skill.

Set parameters for creating a local project skill as instructed in Table 7.

**Table 7** Parameters for creating a local project skill
Parameter	Description
Skill Name	Name of the project skill to be created, for example, data-cleaner-skill. Naming rules: The name consists of lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens (-). It cannot start or end with a hyphen, cannot contain consecutive hyphens, and must be 1 to 64 characters in length.
Description	Description of the skill. Enter up to 1,024 characters.
Instruction	Instructions of the skill, used to elaborate on its usage, parameters, examples, and dependencies. Enter up to 50,000 characters.

Click OK to complete the skill creation.

On the Project tab, view the created local project skill. After a skill is created, it is enabled by default. Its file is stored in the ./codeartsdoer/skills directory of the project's root directory.

Customize your skills based on your habits and preferences. CodeArts Agent uses these settings to deliver tailored results for every project. Once added, local user skills apply instantly, and the agent decides when to activate them.

Log in to CodeArts Agent IDE as instructed in Quick Start.
Click in the upper right corner of CodeArts Agent IDE to open the settings page.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Skills and Rules. The Installed tab is displayed.
On the User tab, click next to a skill to go to the page for creating a skill.

Set parameters for creating a local user skill as instructed in Table 8.

**Table 8** Parameters for creating a local user skill
Parameter	Description
Skill Name	Name of the user skill to be created, for example, data-validator-skill. Naming rules: The name consists of lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens (-). It cannot start or end with a hyphen, cannot contain consecutive hyphens, and must be 1 to 64 characters in length.
Description	Description of the skill. Enter up to 1,024 characters.
Instruction	Instructions of the skill, used to elaborate on its usage, parameters, examples, and dependencies. Enter up to 50,000 characters.

Click OK to complete the skill creation.

On the User tab, view the created local user skill. After a skill is created, it is enabled by default. Its file is stored in the local %USERPROFILE %/.codeartsdoer/skills directory.

You can conveniently invoke and use relevant functions by importing a local skill file into your CodeArts Agent.

Before importing, verify that the skill file meets the standards specified in Skill Directory Structure and Writing SKILL.md. For example, the root directory of each skill folder must contain a SKILL.md file, which must include the skill name, description, and other details in YAML format. If the skill file does not comply with these specifications, adjust it before importing, as the import may otherwise fail.

Log in to CodeArts Agent IDE as instructed in Quick Start.
Click in the upper right corner of CodeArts Agent IDE to open the settings page.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Skills and Rules. The Installed tab is displayed.
On the Project or User tab, click and choose Import.
In the displayed dialog box, select a local skill ZIP file and click OK.

Only one ZIP file can be uploaded at a time. The file can contain multiple skill folders, and the total file size cannot exceed 5 MB.

After the import is successful, the skill name is displayed in the skill list.

Example: If you need to import both skills in DOCX and PPTX files into CodeArts Agent at the same time, you can place both skill folders into a single ZIP file and then upload it to achieve a batch upload.

Creating Skills on the Cloud

To create an enterprise skill, a team skill, or user skill on the cloud, perform the following steps: Before creating a cloud skill, ensure that you have purchased CodeArts Agent basic or professional edition.

Log in to the CodeArts Agent console.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Agent Settings > Skills and Rules. The skill and rule lists are displayed.
On the Skills tab, click Add Skill in the upper right corner. The Add Skill dialog box is displayed.
Right-click in the blue box area and upload the target skill ZIP file from the local. Alternatively, drag and drop the local skill ZIP file to the blue box area and click OK.
- The skill ZIP file must conform to the required directory structure; otherwise, the import may fail. For example, the root directory of each skill folder must contain a SKILL.md file, which must include the skill name, description, and other details in YAML format.
- Only one ZIP file can be uploaded at a time. The file can contain multiple skill folders, and the total file size cannot exceed 5 MB.
Figure 3 Creating a skill

Set parameters for creating a cloud skill as instructed in Table 9.

Figure 4 Creating a cloud skill
Click to enlarge

**Table 9** Cloud skill parameters
Parameter	Description
Change	If you need to re-upload a skill ZIP file, click Change and re-upload it as instructed in 4.
Applied To	Private: available only to yourself and will not be shared with other users. Team: available to specified teams and can be created by enterprise administrators or team administrators. Enterprise: available to all members of the entire enterprise, and can only be created by enterprise administrators.
Teams	This parameter is displayed only when Applied To is set to Team. Select a team from the drop-down list. If no team has been created, create one first. Enterprise administrators can view and select all teams, while team administrators can only view and select the team they belong to.
Tag	(Optional) Several types of tags have been preset in CodeArts Agent. Select tags from the drop-down list as required.

Click Confirm and Enable to complete the skill creation.

On the Skills tab, view the created skill. To immediately view the created cloud skill on the client, go to the corresponding skill tab (Enterprise/Team/User) under Skills and Rules on the client, and click or choose > Update in the skills area. Then the cloud skill is synchronized to the client.
- The CodeArts Agent client automatically synchronizes cloud skills every 24 hours.
- The CodeArts Agent client synchronizes only enabled skills.

Using Skills

Log in to CodeArts Agent IDE as instructed in Quick Start.
At the bottom of the input box on the chat panel, choose Built-in > Agent to switch to the agent mode. The selected model is displayed on the right. You can select a model as required from the drop-down list.

If the chat panel of CodeArts Agent is not displayed, click (Expand AI Sidebar) in the upper right corner of the top menu bar to open it.

Use a skill in either of the following ways:

Method 1: Enter the skill name to invoke it.

In the input box of the chat panel, enter the following information and click

Use skill-creator to generate a set of standards that must be followed during a drawing process, named drawing-standards, with the following content:
- The horizontal axis is the x-axis.
- The vertical axis is the y-axis.
- The origin O(0,0) must be clearly marked.
- The arrows, scales, and unit lengths of the axes must be consistent.
- Tick marks should be thin solid lines.
- Axis lines should be slightly thicker solid lines.

Method 2: Invoke a skill using the / command.

Before invoking a skill using the / command, ensure that the skill is in the enabled state. You can select a maximum of 20 skills at a time in the input box.

In the input box of the chat panel, enter /, select /skill-creator from the displayed menu, enter the following content, and click :

Generate a set of standards that must be followed during a drawing process, named drawing-standards, with the following content:
- The horizontal axis is the x-axis.
- The vertical axis is the y-axis.
- The origin O(0,0) must be clearly marked.
- The arrows, scales, and unit lengths of the axes must be consistent.
- Tick marks should be thin solid lines.
- Axis lines should be slightly thicker solid lines.

Figure 5 Invoking skills using the / command
Click to enlarge

View the skill invoking result.

Managing Skills

CodeArts Agent IDE features comprehensive lifecycle management on skills. It allows you to finely manage and continuously optimize existing skills based on your actual business scenarios.

**Table 10** Managing local skills
Operation	Procedure
Enabling or disabling a local skill	On the settings page of CodeArts Agent IDE, choose Skills and Rules > Project > Skills or Skills and Rules > User > Skills. Toggle a target skill on or off. When a project skill is created, CodeArts Agent generates a file named ProjectSkillStatus.txt in the ./.codeartsdoer/skills/ directory at the project root to record the enablement status of each skill within the project. Each line records the status of one skill in the format of Skill name=true (indicating it is enabled) or Skill name=false (indicating it is disabled). After a skill is deleted, its corresponding record in the ProjectSkillStatus.txt file is also removed to ensure that the file content stays consistent with the project status. Figure 6 Example of the ProjectSkillStatus file
Batch enabling or disabling local skills	On the settings page of CodeArts Agent IDE, choose Skills and Rules > Project > Skills or Skills and Rules > User > Skills. Click in the upper right corner and choose Batch Operate. Select the target skills and click Enable or Disable in the upper right corner.
Editing a local skill	On the settings page of CodeArts Agent IDE, choose Skills and Rules > Project > Skills or Skills and Rules > User > Skills. Hover the cursor on the target skill and click to edit the skill.
Deleting a local skill	On the settings page of CodeArts Agent IDE, choose Skills and Rules > Project > Skills or Skills and Rules > User > Skills. Hover the cursor on the target skill and click to delete the skill. The target skill is successfully deleted when it is removed from the skill list. CAUTION: Deleting a skill will affect the agents using it. Deleted skills cannot be recovered. Exercise caution when performing this operation.
Viewing a local skill	On the settings page of CodeArts Agent IDE, choose Skills and Rules > Project > Skills or Skills and Rules > User > Skills. Hover the cursor on the target skill and click to view the skill details.

Table 11 shows the operation permissions of different roles on managing cloud skills.

**Table 11** Operation permissions of different roles on cloud skills
Role	Enterprise Skill	Team Skill	User Skill (Operations Except Editing)	User Skill (Editing)
Enterprise administrators	All operations on all skills.	All operations on all skills.	All operations except editing on all skills.	Editing on skills created by themselves.
Team administrators	The following operations can be performed: View cloud skill details. Favorite or unfavorite skills.	All operations on skills created by members of their own team.	All operations except editing on skills created by members of their own team.	Editing on skills created by themselves.
Team members	The following operations can be performed: View cloud skill details. Favorite or unfavorite skills.	The following operations can be performed on skills created by members of their own team: View cloud skill details. Favorite or unfavorite skills.	All operations except editing on skills created by themselves.	Editing on skills created by themselves.
Enterprise members	The following operations can be performed: View cloud skill details. Favorite or unfavorite skills.	No operation permissions.	All operations except editing on skills created by themselves.	Editing on skills created by themselves.

**Table 12** Managing Cloud Skills
Operation	Procedure
Viewing cloud skill details	On the CodeArts Agent console, choose Skills & Rules, click the Skills tab, and then click the name of the target skill to view its details. On the settings page of CodeArts Agent IDE, choose Skills and Rules. Go to the corresponding skill tab (Enterprise/Team/User). Hover the cursor on the target skill and click to view the skill details.
Editing cloud skills	On the CodeArts Agent console, choose Skills & Rules, click the Skills tab, and view the status of the target skill. If it is enabled, disable it first. If it is disabled, go to the next step to edit the skill. Click Edit next to the target skill.
Deleting a cloud skill	On the CodeArts Agent console, choose Skills & Rules, click the Skills tab, and view the status of the target skill. If it is enabled, disable it first. If it is disabled, go to the next step to delete the skill. Click Delete next to the target skill. The target skill is successfully deleted when it is removed from the skill list. CAUTION: Deleting a skill will affect the agents using it. Deleted skills cannot be recovered. Exercise caution when performing this operation.
Enabling or disabling a cloud skill	Use either of the following methods to enable or disable a cloud skill: On the CodeArts Agent console, choose Skills & Rules, click the Skills tab, and click / next to the target skill. On the settings page of CodeArts Agent IDE, choose Skills and Rules. Go to the corresponding skill tab (Enterprise/Team/User). Toggle a target skill on or off. Only enabled skills can be synchronized to the CodeArts Agent client.
Adding a cloud skill to favorites or removing it	On the CodeArts Agent console, choose Skills & Rules, click the Skills tab, and click Favorite or Unfavorite next to the target skill. View the favorites on the Favorites tab.
Batch deleting cloud skills	On the CodeArts Agent console, choose Skills & Rules, click the Skills tab, and view the status of the target skill. If it is enabled, disable it first. If it is disabled, go to the next step to delete the skill. Select the target skills and choose More > Batch Delete in the upper right corner. A confirmation dialog box is displayed. Enter DELETE or click Autofill, and then click OK. The target skill is successfully deleted when it is removed from the skill list.
Batch enabling or disabling cloud skills	Use either of the following methods to batch enable or disable cloud skills: On the CodeArts Agent console, choose Skills & Rules, and click the Skills tab. Select the target skills and click Batch Enable or choose More > Batch Disable in the upper right corner. On the settings page of CodeArts Agent IDE, choose Skills and Rules. Go to the corresponding skill tab (Enterprise/Team). Click in the upper right corner. Select the target skills and click Enable or Disable in the upper right corner. On the settings page of CodeArts Agent IDE, choose Settings > Skills and Rules > User. Choose > Batch Operate in the upper right corner. Select the target skills and click Enable or Disable in the upper right corner. Only enabled skills can be synchronized to the CodeArts Agent client.
Batch adding cloud skills to favorites or removing them	On the CodeArts Agent console, choose Skills & Rules, and click the Skills tab. Select the target skills and choose More > Batch Favorite or More > Batch Unfavorite in the upper right corner. View the favorites on the Favorites tab.