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Skills

Skills are markdown files that give the agent extra instructions or domain knowledge — loaded automatically at startup and reloaded on every run, so edits take effect without restarting the engine.

Griptape Nodes ships with a built-in skill for building and running workflows. You can add your own alongside it.

Where to put skills

Create a .agents/skills/ folder inside your workspace directory and give each skill its own folder with a SKILL.md inside:

<workspace_directory>/
└── .agents/
    └── skills/
        ├── my-skill/
        │   └── SKILL.md
        └── another-skill/
            └── SKILL.md

The default workspace directory is GriptapeNodes/ inside wherever you launched the engine. You can find the exact path in Settings → File System → Workspace Directory.

Skill file format

Each SKILL.md is a markdown file with a YAML frontmatter block:

---
name: my-skill-name
description: What this skill does and when the agent should use it.
---

# Skill title

Instructions, reference material, or domain knowledge the agent should apply
when this skill is relevant. Write in plain English — the agent reads this as
part of its context.

The name must match the skill's folder name, and description tells the agent when to use the skill. The body can be as long or short as you need — code snippets, step-by-step instructions, reference tables, etc.

Example: a house style guide

---
name: writing-style
description: Apply our house style when drafting or editing text.
---

# Writing Style Guide

- Use sentence case for headings, not title case.
- Prefer active voice.
- Avoid jargon; explain technical terms on first use.
- Maximum sentence length: 25 words.

Hot reload

Tip

Skills are picked up automatically — no engine restart needed. Add a new skill folder under .agents/skills/, and the very next message you send will use it.