Skills

Skills are reusable packages of expertise. Think of them as on-demand specialists you can attach to your AI: a research methodology, a debugging framework, a creative writing style. When you ask a relevant question, the right skill loads itself — you don't have to remember what to enable.

Osaurus picks the right skills automatically before each message, so you mostly just enable the ones you want and forget about it.

Quick start

Osaurus ships with six built-in skills:

Skill	What it does
Research Analyst	Structured research with source evaluation and citation
Creative Brainstormer	Ideation and creative problem solving
Study Tutor	Educational guidance using the Socratic method
Productivity Coach	Task management and productivity optimization
Content Summarizer	Distill long content into concise summaries
Debug Assistant	Systematic debugging methodology

To get started:

1. Open the Management window (⌘ ⇧ M) → Skills
2. Built-in skills are enabled by default — toggle off any you don't want
3. Start a new chat — relevant skills load themselves when you ask the right kind of question

How skills get picked

Before every message, Osaurus runs a quick search across your enabled skills (and tools, and methods — see below) and picks the most relevant ones for the question you just asked. The matching skill's instructions are added to the system prompt for that turn.

You don't configure which skills to load per-chat. You just enable them once; the right ones surface when they're needed.

If you'd rather see them all every turn (predictable but heavier on context), each agent has an Auto-discover vs Manual toggle in its Capabilities tab. Agents → Capabilities

Adding your own skills

Importing from GitHub

Any GitHub repo with a .claude-plugin/marketplace.json manifest works:

1. Skills → Import → From GitHub
2. Enter the repo URL (github.com/owner/repo or just owner/repo)
3. Browse the available skills, select what to import
4. Click Import Selected

Osaurus follows the open Agent Skills specification, so anything that targets Claude Skills also works here.

Importing from files

Format	What it is
.md / SKILL.md	Agent Skills format — Markdown with YAML frontmatter
.json	Osaurus export format
.zip	A complete package: SKILL.md + optional references/ and assets/ folders

Skills → Import → From File → pick the file.

Creating your own

Skills → Create Skill:

Field	What it's for
Name	A clear, descriptive name
Description	One-line summary — used to match the skill to your questions, so be specific
Category	Optional grouping ("Development", "Writing")
Instructions	The full guidance for the AI in Markdown
Version / Author	Metadata

Tips:

• Be specific about purpose and approach
• Include examples of expected behavior
• Define any frameworks or methodologies to follow
• Specify output formats when relevant

The description is the most important field. It's what determines whether your skill gets matched to a user question, so write it like a one-line résumé bullet, not a marketing tagline.

Reference files

Add files that load alongside the skill whenever it activates — style guides, terminology, process docs, templates.

1. Edit a skill
2. Add files to its references/ folder
3. Text files (.txt, .md, etc.) are loaded into context (≤100 KB each)

Editing, exporting, deleting

Action	How
Edit	Click a skill → Edit. Built-in skills are read-only but viewable.
Export	Right-click → Export → JSON, Markdown, or ZIP
Delete	Right-click → Delete (custom skills only)
Disable	Toggle the switch — disabled skills are excluded from auto-selection

File format

---
name: Research Analyst
description: Structured research with source evaluation
category: Research
version: 1.0.0
author: Your Name
---

# Research Analyst

You are a research analyst specializing in thorough, well-sourced research.

## Methodology

1. Understand the research question
2. Identify reliable sources
3. Evaluate source credibility
4. Synthesize findings
5. Present with citations

## Output format

Always include:
- Executive summary
- Key findings
- Source citations
- Confidence assessment

Skills are stored as directories at ~/.osaurus/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md, with optional references/ and assets/ subfolders.

A note on Methods

You may see "Methods" mentioned alongside Skills in places like Insights and Capabilities. Methods are learned workflows — when an agent successfully completes a multi-step task, it can save the sequence of steps as a method that future tasks reuse. They're picked by the same auto-selection that picks skills, so you don't have to think about them as a user. If you're building plugins or want to see the scoring math, see Methods.

Troubleshooting

Skills don't appear in chat

• Verify the skill is enabled (toggle is on)
• Make sure the skill's description clearly describes when to use it — auto-selection keys off this
• Start a new chat session
• Try setting the search width to wide in Management → Settings → Capabilities

GitHub import fails

• Ensure the repo is public or you have access
• Verify the repo has .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
• Check your network connection

Skill instructions seem ignored

• Review the instructions for clarity and specificity
• Make the description more specific so auto-selection matches it on the right queries
• Try being more explicit in your prompt

Import format errors

• .md files: ensure valid YAML frontmatter between --- markers
• .zip files: SKILL.md must be at the root or in a named folder
• .json files: validate JSON syntax

Under the hood

Curious about how methods are scored, the auto-selection mechanics, or the search width tiers? See Methods.

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Related:

• Agents — skills are auto-selected per agent per turn
• Tools & Plugins — what tools exist and how they're built
• Methods — the developer view on the auto-selection layer
• Agent Skills Specification — the open format Osaurus follows