> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://test-8862363a-tembo-docs-agent-skills-directories.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Agent Skills

> Guide how agents approach sessions with custom skills in your repository.

Skills are instructions that live in your repository and guide how agents approach work. They help agents follow multi-step processes like research, planning, implementation, and review instead of doing everything in a single pass.

## How it works

A skill is a directory that contains an entry file with YAML frontmatter. Place it under the skills directory for your [coding agent](/features/agents#agent-harness) at the root of your repository. Each agent discovers skills from its own location:

| Harness     | Skill directory    | Entry file  |
| ----------- | ------------------ | ----------- |
| Claude Code | `.claude/skills`   | `SKILL.md`  |
| Codex       | `.codex/skills`    | `SKILL.md`  |
| OpenCode    | `.opencode/skills` | `SKILL.md`  |
| Cursor      | `.cursor/rules`    | `SKILL.mdc` |
| Amp         | `.agents/skills`   | `SKILL.md`  |
| Pi          | `.agents/skills`   | `SKILL.md`  |

`.agents/skills` is the agent-agnostic location: it is read by Tembo's default agent (Pi) and by Amp. The path is one skill directory per skill, for example `.claude/skills/code-review/SKILL.md`.

### Skill file format

Every entry file starts with YAML frontmatter:

```markdown theme={null}
---
name: code-review
description: Review the diff for correctness and style before opening a PR.
---

1. Read the full diff and summarize what changed.
2. Check each change against the project's conventions.
3. Flag correctness bugs, missing tests, and style issues.
4. Only open a PR once the checklist passes.
```

Requirements Tembo enforces when it picks up a skill:

* `description` is required, and must be 1024 characters or fewer.
* `name` is required in `SKILL.md` files and must exactly match the skill's directory name. It must be lowercase kebab-case (`^[a-z0-9]+(-[a-z0-9]+)*$`) and 64 characters or fewer.
* Cursor's `SKILL.mdc` files take the name from the directory, so only `description` is required in frontmatter.
* The entry file must be UTF-8 text under 1 MB. Files that miss any requirement are skipped silently.

The agent picks up these skills when working on sessions in that repo. You need to instruct the agent to use a skill, either in the session description or after a PR is opened via the [feedback loop](/features/feedback-loop):

```
@tembo Use the implementation skill for this session
```

```
@tembo Now use the code-review skill to review your changes
```

## Example

A skill that guides the agent through a structured implementation flow, saved as `.claude/skills/implementation/SKILL.md`:

```markdown theme={null}
---
name: implementation
description: Research, plan, implement, and self-review before opening a PR.
---

1. Research the codebase to understand existing patterns
2. Create a plan with specific files and changes
3. Implement the plan following project conventions
4. Run tests and fix any failures
5. Self-review the diff before opening a PR
```

## What skills are good for

* Enforcing a research-then-implement workflow
* Requiring test coverage before opening a PR
* Defining code review checklists the agent runs against its own output
* Setting quality thresholds for different session types

## What's coming

We're building first-party skill support and planning mode so Tembo can handle work in staged steps:

**Research → Plan → Implement → Review → Iterate**

This will improve PR quality on larger sessions, where today the agent may need a few iterations before the output is merge-ready. [Rule files](/features/rule-files) and skills in dotfile directories are the best way to guide agents today.

## Tembo Managed Skills

You can also create and manage skills directly in Tembo.

Open **Settings** → **Skills** to:

* Add a new skill
* Give it a name and description
* Write the main instructions in `SKILL.md`
* Add extra reference files if needed
* Edit or delete existing skills

Tembo managed skills are stored in your workspace settings and loaded into sessions automatically when Tembo runs an agent.